Adrienne answers questions after her presentation.

Since 1994, Adrienne Reed has worked editorially, as an agent, and handling foreign rights with one of the most respected agencies in the Northwest – Elizabeth Wales Literary Agency. The agency was formed in 1988 and represents about 60 west coast clients, about 40% fiction and 60% non-fiction, specializing in narrative non-fiction, or non-fiction told as a story. They look for progressive, multi-cultural work and have a very eclectic list of works sold and writers represented.

Some tips Adrienne passes along to our meeting were:

Do your research by finding books similar to yours and looking at the author's acknowledgement or thanks to their agent. This will let you know which agents handle similar material. Then, go to the several agents listing books or Websites and find out details about the type of submissions they want and the formats.

It's good to have a track record to point to such as shorter works in literary journals or magazines when writing your query letter to an agent. Referrals from other writers the agent handles are also helpful as are contacts made at conferences. Agents want to know you did your homework and thus will be easy to work with.

Agents are always looking for the "drop dead gorgeous" project such as a compelling story or voice. They want to believe in the project and the ability to sell it since they don't get paid unless it sells.

The role of the agent is  becoming increasingly editorial as publishers overwork their editors and there is less time to develop projects and authors.