Closed to Submission

This post is brought to you by
the one and only, Lisha Cauthen.

Your manuscript is shiny and happy. You’ve done your research and found the perfect agent for you, your novel and your career.

But there’s a problem–the agent is closed to submissions.

Do you give up? Not necessarily. If you’re convinced that this agent is for you, there are a couple of things you can do:

1. The best bet is to meet the agent at a conference. That might mean a bit of travel, on your part. Or going to a conference that is not necessarily your genre. Are you willing to spend time and money to meet an agent who might not sign you up, after all? If so, then do it!
2. Watch the agent’s website and blog to see if by some miracle he opens for a small window of time. It happens.
3. Scour pitchfests and online contests, sometimes the agents participating are those who are normally closed to queries.
4. Spread the word among your friends and acquaintances that you’re looking for a way to submit to your Agent of Choice. One of these dear people might be repped by that agent, and would be willing to refer you. PLEASE DO NOT COLD CALL CLIENTS WHO YOU DO NOT KNOW BECAUSE YUK. YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE THAT PERSON.

Submitting to a closed agent isn’t necessarily an impossible task, but you do need to use your ingenuity. And get a little lucky.