There is this thing called a “pitch” or a “query form” that can be daunting. I say this as someone who has yet to query an agent because the pitch itself is daunting to me.

Here’s a great how-to example from Cassie Maines, an agent and writer with Howland Literary Agency.

Eric Smith has devoted an entire page to the variants of this genre on his blog, including notes on why talking about yourself in relation to other authors may be a mistake. Smith also includes a fabulous list of twitter authors and agents who regularly spend time discussing the system and how it works.

On the book review side, Adam Morgan compiled a long list of sources and references which is right here. And there is a related twitter thread filled with helpful comments from book critics, including this one:

All this is just to say: twitter often serves as a resource for writers reviewing books and looking for agents. Don’t be afraid to engage the generosity of twitter literature community, especially if you don’t have personal access to publishers.