I recently wrote a how-to book that has a niche market – but quite a large niche market – that is untapped. I grew up in Minnesota and am currently living in Iowa, and am looking for someone willing to take this project on – but with the resources I’ve looked at I am having trouble finding a literary agent that will take on my book. I appreciate any help anybody can offer me! I am not sure if I am being naive in thinking it will help, but I feel having a “midwest connection” with a literary agent and/or publisher could/would help my cause. Thanks!
Agents have to sort through an average of 200 submissions a day. So finding one that is close by wont do you any good. Besides, most publisher are based in New York anyway. You must ask yourself what makes ‘you’ different as a professional writer from everybody else that thinks their work is the next best thing. Then you must figure out how to convey this out of a pile of others that feel this same way. It all just comes across as bla, bla, bla to agents after awhile I’m sure.
They say that new agents take on new authors the most though. But just like they are taking a risk on the author, the author is taking a risk on them. Cause they might suck as a agent and with no track record nobody knows.
Here:
I hope not, because they’re a long, long way from the absolutely necessary connections in publishing, which are in New York.
You do not need to ever meet your agent face to face, so long as you are diligent about researching the reputation and sales record of any agent before you sent that first query letter.
I have fears about your use of the term ‘project,’ though. Is you how-to in need to improvements? No agent seeks projects, other than excellent and marketable books to sell to publishers seeking that sort of work.
My own experience is not in non-fic, but having a platform and a plan for reaching that niche market could really help. I advise you to check in at AbsoluteWrite and find out what the other niche nonfic writers are doing to market their work.
A best guess is that a true niche market (which is by definition small and specialized) would be most likely to find a home at a small, indie publisher, without an agent’s involvement.