The Smart Way to Find a Literary Agent
Don't go it alone searching for a literary agent. Find a love army. This workshop will give you resources (query letter tips, agent matching), support and confidence. Join us July 29.
You typed THE END. Now, your book is ready to find its path to publishing.
So, what do you need?
A literary agent, of course.
But wait!
You need more than a plan. You need a love army.
Agents + Allies
11 a.m. to 1 p.m. MDT
July 29
In this two-hour introductory workshop, you’ll get everything you need to start your search for a literary agent. Plus, you’ll gain allies—a mentor to guide you and peers who will support you.
This workshop is resource-rich, and it’s a confidence builder. It’s the perfect place from which to launch your search for a literary agent.
I tell my author clients that they need three things before they seek an agent:
A sterling silver query letter.
The next two writers who sign up for this class will get a customized critique of their query letter.
A list of 25 agents who are active, effective and looking for books like yours.
Don’t do a random internet search, and don’t ask Chat GPT. Don’t put in hours and hours researching Publishers Marketplace or Query Tracker. This workshop will give you the smart way to use those tools.
The confidence that you have prepared well.
You have the documents—a query letter, a book proposal if you’re pitching a nonfiction book and a full manuscript edited by a professional developmental editor that is ready for an agent to ask for it.
You have the resources. That’s the list of agents customized to you.
You have the allies. These are the people who will resource you up.
ABOUT THAT QUERY LETTER
You’ll find a million bits of advice about how to do this well. You’ll find a billion query letter clinics.
Your head will spin from all the input, and you’ll have a trillion ways to do it.
This workshop is about how to do it right. Know you did it right. Know you’re ready.
You’ll learn what key marks to hit.
You’ll learn how to have one big, clear, concise hook, then spike the letter with a hook in every sentence. (And remember, you, the author, are the hook, too.)
You’ll learn what to leave out. That’s the hard part, right? You have to get 300 pages into one paragraph.
You’ll get a master class in the art of compression.
The mantra for a query letter is: It must be clear, compelling and concise.
I’ll set you up with a strategy for honing this letter until it’s pitch perfect.
ABOUT THAT LIST OF AGENTS
You’re looking for agents who are active, effective and matched to you and your book.
I’ll give you the criteria for determining who is active. For first-time authors, you want to find career-builders and up-and-coming agents, along with tried-and-true super-professionals.
I’ll give you the criteria for determining who is effective. That goes beyond their track record. It goes to their relationship with acquisition editors and their knowledge of the marketplace.
I’ll give you criteria for determining who is matched to you and your book. You’ll develop markers for assessing their “what I like” and wish list statements, and you’ll gain tools for analyzing their notable books in your genre.
ABOUT THE CONFIDENCE
Here’s the thing that’s missing from most agent services that supply you with a robust query letter and a list of agents: Mentorship and allies.
How do you know if your pitch is landing?
How do you know if your book is ready to confront the marketplace? Is the content right? Is your platform strong?
And how do you keep forging on?
It’s not an easy road. But that’s because it has a big payoff. In the end, you gain an advocate for your author career—an agent who will get a great deal for you and will have your back when you negotiate a contract with a publisher.
How do you keep going when you get ghosted by agents?
How do you keep going when you don’t get even a whisper of feedback?
You need allies and a trusted mentor. They give you feedback. In Agents + Allies, we create a practice field, where you can be sure your pitch is landing, where you can do some A/B testing on your query letter and elevator pitch. Your mentor can tell you how to read the tea leaves—and when no answer means nothing at all.
You don’t write a book alone. You write through the page to readers.
You don’t shop your book alone. We do it together.
Trust me, this the essential difference in your outcome. This will help your search be sustainable.
You need more than a strategy—you need a cohort.
This workshop will guide you in getting started assembling your allies and mentors.
Register here
$127
[STORY COLLECTIVE MEMBERS receive $30 off this class with the coupon code: COLLECTIVE29july]
And if you want more allies…
By attending this workshop, you are eligible for a discount membership to The Story Catalyst Collective, a monthly call that I call a literary boost for your writing—and the most supportive community you’ll ever know.
Within that group, there is a Breakthrough Room for Agents + Allies, where you may continue on with what you took from this workshop and share query letters and agent tips with other writers who are right where you are on the journey.
Join for a year while you’re on your search.
DON’T WANT TO D.I.Y. ON YOUR AGENT SPREADSHEET?
It is a TON of work! If you’d rather have an expert-selected, customized list, this package may be the best fit.
FOR CUSTOMIZED AGENT AND PUBLISHING PACKAGES, find out more here.
https://www.carolynflynn.com/work-with-me/path-to-publishing-package/
Or book it here:
https://calendly.com/carolyn-777/path-to-publishing-deposit-and-schedule?month=2026-06