What if your research turns up little or nothing? It’s possible that the agent is new, and is only beginning to build a track record, or that the agent is successful but prefers to keep a low profile. However, it’s also possible that the agent isn’t very good at selling books, or that he’s someone who makes his money from charging fees, rather than from placing manuscripts.

If you do decide to query an agent you can’t find out much about, proceed with caution--and if the agent offers to represent you, be sure to ask for a list of recent sales. A reputable agent should be willing to respond with concrete, verifiable information (author, book title, and publisher--not just a client list or a string of publishers' names). An agent who refuses to answer, or chastises you for asking the question, is one you want to avoid.

Links to Resources Mentioned Above

Writer Beware

Preditors and Editors

Agent Research & Evaluation

Google Groups

Google

AAR website

Publishers Weekly

Locus Magazine

Publisher’s Marketplace

Publisher’s Lunch

Publishers’ Rights Listings:

Alfred A. Knopf
Bantam Dell
Perseus Book Group
St. Martins Press
Harcourt Brace
Henry Holt & Co.
Simon & Schuster’s downloadable catalogues

Copyright 2002-03 Victoria Strauss

This article may be reproduced, with permission, for distribution to writers' groups. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

I was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. My father, a university professor, was very successful in obtaining research grants and guest professorships, and during my childhood and adolescence we traveled almost as much as a military family, never staying in one place for more than a couple of years at a time. In addition to several U.S. states, I've lived in Ireland, England, and Germany, and traveled throughout Europe.

I graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Comparative Religion--which didn't do much to help me find a conventional job, but did satisfy my fascination with world belief systems, an interest that enduringly informs my writing. After that I supported my writing habit through a variety of mostly ill-paid and often odd

positions, winding up eventually as the financial manager of a not-for-profit corporation (a very strange place for a “D” math student to find herself!). A few years ago I happily left the world of salaries and offices behind to begin writing full-time, a decision which has made me a good deal poorer but a great deal happier.

I enthusiastically wrote stories and poems as a child, but for some reason it never occurred to me I could make a career of it (even though my mother is a published novelist). I began my first novel, The Lady of Rhuddesmere, essentially as an excuse to take a year off between high school and college. But some deeper instinct must have guided me, because by the end of the first chapter I was hooked, and before the book was halfway done I knew that writing was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Nearly ten years later, thanks to the efforts of my dedicated agent, Lady was finally published. Two more young adult fantasies followed: Worldstone and Guardian of the Hills. Though I enjoy writing for young people, I've always wanted to work in adult fiction, so I embarked upon The Arm of the Stone and its sequel, The Garden of the Stone. My next two books will comprise a duology; the first is called The Burning Land. I'm currently at work on the second, which as yet is untitled.

I live in Amherst, Massachusetts, with my wonderful husband Rob (who doesn't understand my need to write, but fully supports it), and two cats. In my spare time I'm an avid gardener, a voracious and eclectic reader, an enthusiastic hiker, a dedicated movie buff, and a frequent attender of craft shows. I also write the occasional freelance article and book review.

My professional affiliations include the Author's Guild, NovelistsInc, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, where I'm a member of the Writing Scams Committee. Along with other intrepid scam hunters, I help wage a vigorous campaign against the huge variety of literary schemes and scams that prey on writers. As part of that effort, I created and maintain Writer Beware, a compendium of warnings about literary fraud.