A while back I came across an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit. The person was a literary agent, and the writers asked a ton of really great questions. One of the things that jumped out at me was TOPIC.
How important is your topic to an agent?
There are some important things to remember when querying an agent:
1. What are they asking for?
2. Who else have they worked with?
3. Is your topic going to be something that will interest them?
1. What are they asking for?
A lot of authors/writers tend to overlook point #1, which is often the most important! Don't query an agent that's looking for historical fiction about your vampire novel! Read their guidelines and make sure you're sending your stuff to the right person!
When you write your query, be sure to make it personal (know the agent's name!) and tell the agent what makes your novel special. Don't compare it to what you think it's like; talk about what makes it new and different. Also, make sure your lede is killer and will grab them right away.
2. Who else have they worked with?
Do some research about the agent(s) you want to query. Every person you work with on your book is someone you choose; you should know who they are and what they're done in their career. You also should know who to chase and who to avoid. Your book is your masterpiece, you shouldn't just send to it to anyone!
3. Is your topic going to interest them?
According to the AMA, this agent won't read manuscripts or respond to queries if the topic isn't interesting to them. This totally makes sense. The agent is the one who will be selling your book to publishing houses. You want them to love and be excited about your manuscript, so make sure it's something in their list of topics/genres that they're looking for.
Hopefully these are enough to get you started! For more of the agent's tips, check out their first and second AMA on the r/writing subreddit!
Catch you next week!