Dear Geist,
How can I find a literary agent, and information on publishers of illustrated novels, for my illustrated book about Amazonian myths and folklore? From my experience with my first literary agent I am aware that it is typically more difficult to find publishers and agents for books of this kind.
—Harrison Love, Los Angeles CA
Dear Harrison,
Please take a look at the Advice for the Lit-Lorn post Book written, now what? for more information on special-interest books. It’s smart to become familiar with books similar to yours in subject, content, tone and presentation. The readers and buyers of those books are potential readers and buyers of yours, and publishers of similar books are more likely than others to consider your book.
We’re guessing that you’re in the market for a new agent because the one you refer to in your note has been unable to place your manuscript—illustrated fiction for adult readers being a much more specialized category than conventional fiction.
A few things you might try:
Research South American publishers with an eye to proposing that they translate and publish the book (if your agent didn’t do so).
Go through the North American BISAC codes to find the precise category (or categories) that would apply to your book in the marketplace. Try several angles: the river, the location, the people, the main elements of the story. (See the post Book written, now what? for more on these codes.) Then search the codes to see what other books are in that category, and search those books to see how they’re doing in terms of sales, media coverage and online chat.
Consider marketing your digital edition, or undertaking ebook self-publication.
We can also recommend the Writers’ Union of Canada website as a good source of reliable information on getting an agent, getting published and self-publishing.
—The Editors
