how important is it to get an agent? how hard is it?

[GlitteringGrass]

I'm working on something and it may well be a colossal waste of time but at least its not the most unwholesome use of my time as I'm using my brain and it's fun too. If I'm honest though -when I come up for air- I do fantasize about it being a successful book. And if I let my fantasy run rampant, I'm a successful author with children on the edge of their seats waiting for the next installment of a series that humbles the one about the boy wizard that they made a bunch of movies about.
However, while I don't mind the sometimes gruelling process of pen on paper, working out the kinks and repeated redrafts, everything that happens after you've finished is a total alienating mystery to me. I would be interested in getting traditionally published....but I've heard that there is something called a slush pile which is best avoided and an agent can help you in this. So how hard is it to get an agent?
Thanks

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

Hard in the sense that your book has to be excellent but not a hard process iyswim.

[FiveHoursSleep]

Would you think about using a literary consultant?
This lady is a friend of mine, and she specialises in giving you an honest appraisal of your work, and helping you maximise your chances of success in traditional or self publishing.
thebookanalyst.co.uk/

[ImperialBlether]

The slush pile is simply an inbox (usually) containing submissions from writers without an agent. There is no way you can avoid it. The agents' office is where the slush pile lives. Publishers won't even look at a manuscript unless it comes via an agent or a recommendation from a colleague, so they don't have a slush pile.

You can send out multiple submissions but you need to follow the guidelines on the agents' websites to the letter. Don't bother sending anything unless it's complete. Each agent will state what they want you to send and it's time consuming getting it right. Don't ever send a generic email - it will signal you are an amateur.

Look at the agencies' websites. Find an agent within the agency and send them a personalised email, stating why you are applying specifically to them. This might be because of their interests or because of the authors they represent.

Don't compare yourself to a well known writer. Don't say your book would make a good film. Don't say your friends like it. Don't say it gets better as the book progresses.

Only send what they state they want. Read the instructions carefully. If you email one agent and call her by another agent's name, you can forget it. If you send the whole book instead of three chapters, forget it. If you don't send a covering, personal email, forget it.

Keep a record of who you've sent your work to and what exactly you've sent them. Don't send them three chapters then start to fiddle around with the three chapters - if you do this, save it under a different name. I found it easier to name each document eg Chapters 1-3 of X,Y,Z for John Smith. You know, then, exactly what they've seen.

One agency (Johnson & Alcock) asked for the following questions to be answered - I found it a really useful thing to do, but really difficult.

1. Give us your best sales pitch and sound bite - in one sentence how would you sell your book/idea to a publisher?

1. Give us your two to three sentence summary of what your book is about.

1. Tell us in two to three sentences about the intended audience and whether there are any useful comparisons you would make with other books and authors.

1. Tell us about yourself - again in two to three sentences.

1. If you have already published the work independently or through a third party online, e.g. Amazon, tell us how it has gone so far. We love (accurate) hard figures and statistics!

1. Let us know if your proposal is with other agents/agencies and/or publishers.

[SheGotAllDaMoves]

There are some publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts ( ie those directly from the author) but many are small digital outfits.

The main large trad publishing houses all generally want to hear from agents.

Plus it is all but impossible to sell your work abroad without an agent.

[whatsagoodusername]

I did work experience in a couple of publishing houses. My job was mainly reading slush pile submissions. If anything seemed good, we were to pass it on to an editorial assistant, who would read it, then pass it on to an editor if it was any good.

I was told one manuscript had been published from the slush pile in a few years.

Agents bypass the pile and editorial assistants.

[GlitteringGrass]

Thanks for all the effort you went to

[MissBattleaxe]

1.Get the Writers and Artists Yearbook. It's an essential directory. There's one every year.

2.Find a book by an author in a similar vein to you and look in their acknowledgments to see if they thank their agent so you can find out by name what agent deals with books in your field.

i.e "Thanks to Bob at Curtis Brown who is the best agent in the world" etc

1. Sorry if I'm preaching to the converted here, but preferred layout is thus- one side of A4, double spaced and numbered. It's helpful to have your name or the title in a little header or footer.