How Social Media Helped Me Land an Agent

How Social Media Helped Me Land an Agent Like most writers these days, I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Yes, it can be one giant time vacuum. Were talking the granddaddy of vacuums- were talking Dyson. But writers need a life. Right? So the hours spent on Facebook are in the best interest of my career, right? They can be. With all the moaning about the downside of social media (mainly the time aspect), we writers tend to overlook the sheer beauty of what the various platforms provide: accessibility. Never before have we had the opportunity to be â€Å"friends† with so many publishers, agents, and other writers. Conferences are expensive and not everyone can afford to attend the more popular ones, the ones where big-name editors and agents are most likely to show up. Years ago, the only way to meet agents and editors was to attend conferences and hope you make the cut for a pitch session. Or hopefully grab a seat in their standing-room-only panel discussion. Or you could follow them into the bar, or restroom, or hotel elevator. In which case, if youre like most writers, youre a bit introverted so that elevator ride is probably going to be rather quiet. And the restroom thing- not cool. At all. Thats where social media comes in. Its much more pleasant, for all parties involved, to find an agent and follow them on Twitter than to follow them into a bathroom! If you prefer Facebook, send them a friend request. Follow their RSS feed. Comment on their posts. And comment again. And again. You know youre getting somewhere when the agent starts to comment on your comments. Im â€Å"friends† with and follow several agents. Ive had these cyber relationships for a year or more with various agents, and like any good relationship, it takes time to build. Ive been in the business long enough to say Ive sent my share of query letters to agents, without much success. But social media opened up not only a whole new door, but a golden door for me. Through Facebook, I was able to establish a friendly relationship with different agents before seeking a business relationship with just one. And even then, when I did approach the agent through a private message, it wasnt intended to be a query. I simply had a question, between friends, about the industry. That cyber conversation turned into a phone chat, which turned into longer talk which turned into an offer of representation. Social media not only helped me find my agent, it allowed me the opportunity to get to know her as a person before ever signing a contract. To me, thats just as important as how many deals theyve made. If I dont respect and like you as a person, how am I ever going to feel comfortable trusting you with my career? So go ahead and follow a couple of agents. You might be surprised where it can lead.