4-Week Intensive Online Course For Learning to Query and Find the Right Agent for Your Completed Novel Manuscript.
Your Instructor: Bree Ogden (literary agent at D4EO Literary Agency)
Where: Online — Available everywhere!
When: This class is not currently enrolling. To be notified when it is offered again, Click Here
Enrollment: 15 Students Maximum
Price: $397
Class Description
An intensive four-week online course aimed at demystifying the process of landing an agent, all while building up a wealth of knowledge to head you in the right direction once the querying commences! Ideal for writers who are at the impasse of having a completed manuscript but feel immobilized by the notion of querying agents. The truth is, researching and querying agents is an art form. It takes time and effort and a lot of know-how.
This course offers a unique, hands-on experience in research and querying agents, all while receiving vital information and technical critiques from an agent who has seen numerous query blunders and successes.
What This Class Covers
Week One: “He’s Just Not That Into You” And Other Dating Puns About Literary Agents.
You’ve most likely heard it a million times: The relationship you have with your agent is like a marriage. So what exactly does an agent do for you and your manuscript? Your career? Is an agent truly going to be your champion? Are they going to fight for you? And what is your role in this process? This first lecture gives an in-depth look into the agent/editor relationship as well as the agent/client relationship.
Week Two: Research Is Your Fastest Bullet Against Rejection.
You could become a spaghetti writer. Throw agents against the wall and see if they stick. But your best defense against form rejections is properly researching agents. It may take you an hour to find one good agent to query, but that hour of research will be well spent when you realize that you’re seeing less and less form rejections, and more critiques.
Week Three: Your Query Letter. The Nail in the Coffin.
You think you have an entire synopsis to impress an agent, but really, you have one sentence. If you blow your entrance, no one will pay attention to you. A great query letter is about so much more than a convincing synopsis of your manuscript. It’s about relating, conversing, understanding, and grabbing a hold of the agent. We’ll craft query letters and then out them under the microscope.
Week Four: Naughty Query and Pitching Behavior Exposed!
Learn the dos and don’ts of courting an agent. As well as proper conference etiquette and a few other tricks of the trade.
Week Four Part Two: Show ‘Em What You Got.
You are now not only armed with knowledge, you are armed with a great query letter and multiple agents that are appropriate for your material. This portion of the class will focus on the real life experience of querying an agent. It will also prepare you to pitch at conferences by perfecting your elevator pitch and role playing conference scenarios.
Goals Of This Class
- Come to a comprehensive understanding of literary agents and their role in your progress as an author.
- Weed out the bad agents from the good ones, the ones who will work well with you from the ones who won’t.
- Realize that every agent is not for you by finding a simple, realistic, and precise research method to pinpoint which agents will most appreciate your work.
- Perfect a query letter that not only puts your best foot forward, but also escapes all the mysterious query pitfalls.
- Build a list of real agents whom you would love to query, and get the right feedback on your choices.
- Learn that your manuscript is not the only thing responsible for landing you an agent. Your personality plays a large factor as well.
- Under the tutelage of a literary agent, you will get a chance to query agents and present your work to other industry professionals for the first time.
