Article Directory :: Writing & Speaking Articles

How to Land an Agent With Your Latino Book

By Jeff Rivera

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 19Mar2011 Word count: 435 Viewed: 290 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

With over 40 million Latinos in this country, it's no wonder that literary agents are hot on the genre, and that doesn't mean it has to be an ethnic-central novel, either. It can, and should, be a hot mainstream novel that happens to feature a strong Latino lead. By surveying feedback from literary agents and editors whom I know, I know this to, indeed, be fact. As the population increases and authors such as Junot Diaz continue to receive multiple accolades for their work, the demand for Latino-themed novels will continue to grow, as well.

If you've written a novel with a Latino lead, there are a few things to consider. One is that although agents are hot for this genre, the same rules for strong characters and plot apply. Sloppy writing will definitely not ring their bells. No agent is going to reprsent a book, no matter the genre, if it has a weak plot with weak characters. No matter what, the agent wants to be wowed, so wow them! Furthermore, Chica lit, a spinoff of the now dead genre Chick lit, is virtually dead too, so if that's the direction you were planning on going in, don't.

You can see some examples of personalized query letters that landed my clients agents here: http://tinyurl.com/67f8hf4

See what you can do to make the genre fresh and appealing. Start by reading as much of the genre as possible. Think about what it is that makes your writing different. What's funny is often times, if you brand the same book as 'women's fiction' rather than 'Chick lit,' you'll be able to go a lot further with your book. It's being aware of little tweaks that you can make like that that can mean the difference between rejection or landing an agent.

Like most book genres, a strong platform doesn't hurt, even with fiction. If you've won major awards, have a strong educational background, have a blog with thousands of followers or have access to major media outlets, you're a virtual shoe-in for representation. Make sure that your platform comes across as strong as possible in your query. Fail to include that, and you can be sure that no agent will want to touch you.

View examples of the query letters that landed my clients an agent at: http://tinyurl.com/67f8hf4

Follow these tips and guidelines and you'll find yourself one step closer to landing an agent with your Latino-themed novel.

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here

More articles by Jeff Rivera

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details