Since I signed with my literary agent, I’ve had multiple people ask how that worked, what I did right, and what advice I have for other writers hoping to take that next step towards a publishing contract.

I’m a firm believer that nothing — including getting an agent, including publishing a book — is a zero sum game. So I am happy to share any information that other agent-seeking writers may find helpful! But before I do, a few caveats, of the perhaps obvious but still important variety.

I have signed with a grand total of one agent. I went through a grand total of three weeks of querying. I have yet to get a publishing contract, nor am I guaranteed one with this book or any other. I know plenty of writers who work directly with publishers or who go the full indie route, and I have nothing but admiration for them. My experience getting my literary agent is just that: my experience. And to start, it’s probably helpful to know what that looked like.

Like every petrified author searching for representation, I started by pulling together my materials: finished novel, query letter, one-page synopsis, list of agents I wanted to query. I had divided my list of agents into “rounds,” and I sent out queries to my first round of agents on a Friday in April. I had a minor panic attack, sent way too many all-caps texts messages, and went on with my day knowing that querying is a long process.

Ten days later, an agent requested a full. (There might have been some shrieking and dancing when I read that email.)  The fact that she was the first agent that responded and asked to read the full manuscript gave me a huge confidence boost, and I sent my query to my round two agents right then, even though I had planned to wait a month.

(After I sent the full manuscript to that first agent, I returned to my inbox to find that a pass had arrived from another agent. Just to keep things in perspective.)

A week after that, I heard back from an agent from my round two list, requesting a full. (More shrieking, more happy dancing.) I sent the full, asking in my email if she could give me an estimate of her current reading time, since it was also in front of another agent. She replied (very kindly) that she was hoping to get to it in the next week or two but would bump it up her list since it was out with another agent as well.

The very next morning, she emailed me back to say that she had read the whole manuscript and was I available to schedule a call that week? Two days later, we got on the phone, talked about the manuscript and my plans as an author, and she offered me representation. One week later, after giving the other agent who had my full a chance to read and receiving a very complimentary pass from her, I signed with the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.

(Additional details: in the two months after I signed, I also received four more passes and two more requests for fulls from agents who had not seen my email withdrawing my query. Everyone else, I assume, just said “whew, one less query I need to read” and went on with their lives. I would never want to have the inbox of a lit agent, my friends.)

A huge part of landing an agent is, unfortunately out of our control. We have no way of knowing whether an agent is sick or exhausted or just had a huge fight with a loved one when they read our query. We don’t know if they had a mortal enemy in middle school with the same name as our main character or if they just signed another author in the same genre.

All these things can tank this book’s chances with that agent, and there is no way to account for them. I could not account for them. You can’t either. Part of this process is just dumb luck and perseverance.

That being said, there is another huge part that is setting yourself up to succeed. And while I may have missed or forgotten or never known about many ways to do that, here are a few that I can highly recommend for those of you diving into the querying trenches.

• Write the best book you can. Is that stupidly obvious advice? Probably. It’s also very, very real. I worked on this book (off and on) for three years. I had multiple rounds of readers look at it. The draft that I finally submitted was #5. And every agent I heard from (including several who replied to my nudge) commented on how polished and professional the manuscript already was. Does this mean I’m guaranteed a publishing contract? Nope. Did it help my querying process go smoothly? I feel pretty confident saying yes.
• Learn about querying. My favorite resources were QueryShark and Successful Queries on Writer’s Digest.
• Use your synopsis. Writing a one-page synopsis was both hard and incredibly helpful. I did this before I wrote my query, and it really helped me identify the critical characters, essential plot points, and how much of both I should cover in the query. If you need help writing a synopsis (I definitely did) this guide is excellent.
• Take time on your query letter. I spent a month writing and polishing my query letter. I read back jacket copy for books in my genre. I got readers who didn’t know the book at all to give me feedback on whether it caught their attention. I got readers who did know the book to give me feedback on whether it accurately represented what I was querying. I wrote multiple drafts. Looking at it now, I still see areas where I could improve.  But that query was one smooth sucker by the time I finally sent it out.
• Do your research. Not everyone wants or needs a four page spreadsheet dividing 30+ agents into four rounds, including their MSWL, contact info, agency info, twitter info, best comps to mention, and anything else I thought might be helpful. But it probably couldn’t hurt. Whether you love spreadsheets like me or just keep a list in a notebook, do your research about who you are querying.
• Don’t be afraid to take a leap. The first agent who requested my full was not one I queried — a colleague at her agency forwarded my query to her. I had skipped querying her because she’s known for giving query advice, and that was just too intimidating for me. The agent I signed with was not on my round one list — not because I didn’t think she would be great to work with (I thought she looked awesome) but because she didn’t specifically list my genre on her wishlist, though she listed adjacent genres and said she “loved to be surprised.” Obviously, don’t query agents who are a bad match for your project (don’t send an adult novel to someone who only represents picture books). But don’t be afraid to go out on a limb and query someone who you think might be a good fit but maybe intimidates you a little. The worst that can happen is they pass — and that’s the same result that happens if you don’t query at all.

Querying made me think a lot about my time in the acting world — specifically when I was on the director’s side of the table. Auditioning is so intimidating when you’re an actor, but it’s so hopeful when you’re directing. When each new person comes in, you think, “Be the one. Be the actor who is exactly right. Help me make this play fly.”

I didn’t receive a single nasty or unkind email. In fact, when I nudged agents to let them know I had received an offer of representation, many of them went out of their way to be complimentary and congratulate me on my success. (This was when I discovered that agents use the lovely phrase “step aside” when they aren’t going to make a counter offer, as if to say, “It sounds like this person is going to be so good for you, I’m happy you’re together though I know we could have been great too.”) Even when you get a form rejection, agents have phrased them in the most encouraging manner possible.

Literary agents want your book to be amazing. They want to find an absolute gem waiting in their inbox. They want to spend all night reading  a manuscript that they just can’t put down. That’s why they’re doing this job.

And honestly, keeping that in mind is probably my best advice.

Good luck to anyone out there querying — I hope somewhere in those many paragraphs is a sentence or two that will help and encourage you down the exciting path ahead!