How to Get an Agent (Part 1)
How do I get an agent? That’s one of the questions I get most from aspiring illustrators. So let’s talk agents today! This is Part 1 where we’ll talk about your portfolio readiness, types of agents, how to find them, how to let them find you, and how to apply to agents.
Part 2 will cover what to do before you sign up with an agent (if you get offered representation) and how to deal with rejections (if you don’t get offered representation or don’t hear any responses from agents).
Let’s get started.
Evaluate first - Is your portfolio good enough?
This is a question that I think a lot of illustrators don’t honestly ask themselves before trying to find an agent. Without a strong portfolio of work that in the first place, you won’t get very far in trying to get agent representation. Focus on improving your portfolio first rather than rushing to contact agents.
A strong portfolio doesn’t just mean technically-skilled artwork, your work needs to be commercially viable and in a similar standard to contemporary illustration projects in your area of interest:
Commercially viable: Illustration and agents are both businesses. Your art needs to sell. No matter how beautiful your work is, if it has no real-world application or commercial potential, an agent cannot get you work so they’re not going to sign you on.
Contemporary: While you don’t need to follow trends religiously, your work needs to be something that is viable and in demand in the contemporary market. If your illustration style hasn’t been seen in products (e.g. books, stationery, advertisements) in 20+ years, you will need to bridge that gap.
Identify the type of agent that suits you
I’m focusing on two kinds of agencies I have experience with - illustration agents and literary agents. The type of agent you choose depends on the type of work you want them to get you work in.
Literary agents:
Literary agents only deal with publishing work. This means they will be working to get you projects in the book market (e.g. picture books, book covers, non-fiction books etc.)
Literary agents typically prefer illustrators who have the potential to be an author-illustrator (i.e you can both write and illustrate books), however some do take on illustrators who only want to do book art without writing at all.
Due to the focus on only the publishing world, literary agents take a smaller commission percentage than illustration agents - usually 15%.
I initially signed to a literary agent first as I wanted an agent to focus solely on the book illustration side of things. I already have my own contacts in licensing and was happy to continue managing any non-publishing projects myself at that point.
Illustration agents:
Illustration agents cover all the possible areas of commercial illustration - publishing, editorial, licensing for products, packaging design, advertising, film & animation, and more.
If you are a versatile illustrator who can AND want to work across different industries, then an illustration agent will be a better choice than literary.
You’re likely to get more projects from an illustration agent than a literary agent, simply due to how wide their coverage of the markets are.
However, due to their broad coverage of so many industries, illustration agents take a much higher commission percentage than literary agents - usually between 20 - 50%.
I am currently signed on to an illustration agent which I found to be a better fit for me. Although I love children’s book illustration and am still working on a lot of those projects, I didn’t want to limit my growth in only one area so I switched to an illustration agent.
You need to pick the type of agent that aligns with the kind of work you want to do. And there’s nothing wrong with trying both types (but not at the same time! You can only be signed to one agent at a time typically) for experience, and evaluate which suits you better.
Identify the kind of agent relationship you prefer
This was something I didn’t think as much about at the beginning, and I think it’s a fairly important consideration when deciding which agents to sign on with. Every illustrator is different and the kind of relationship you prefer depends on your personality.
For example, if you are someone who need a very personal relationship with your agent, then you may want to sign on to agent who is able to provide that level of attention to you. This may be a boutique agency that only represents a small number of artists rather than the big illustration agencies with 200+ artists on their roster.
If you’re highly-motivated and quite self-directed (which I am), an agent with a large roster of artists won’t affect you that much since you won’t need hand-holding or as much personal attention. Make the decision on what works best for you.
How to find agents
The best way to find agents is to do lots of research. There are 2 ways you can do this:
Look up other illustrators’ agents: Find illustrators whose work you like and are at a similar level / quality to yours and look up who they’re being represented by. This is usually disclosed on their website and social media pages. This is a good way to check which illustrators are on their roster and if your work fits in with their line up of artists before you apply. This is my favourite way of researching for agents.
Agent directories: If you’re interested in children’s publishing, there are two big agent directories you can purchase with contact details and submission guidelines.
SCBWI The Essential Guide to Publishing for Children: This guide covers a lot of career advice for writers and illustrators interested in the book market so it’s a very useful resource and it includes about a very comprehensive directory (~15 pages) of agents. You can get this PDF guide for free if you are a member of SCBWI (Society of Children Books Writers and Illustrators).
Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook: The title of this book is a mouthful but it is another very useful book with a lot of career advice for aspiring book writers and illustrators, as well as a long directory of active agents. This book is published annually so get the latest copy if you can.
Both directories are focused on the publishing world but illustration agents that cover more than just publishing are also represented in there. I’m not aware of a directory of agents for those that don’t cover publishing at all (e.g. agents that only cover licensing).
How to get agents’attention (let them find you!)
Now that we’ve talked about the ways you can find agents, let’s talk about the reverse - how to get their attention and let them discover you! Having both in tandem will open you up to more opportunities to contact agents you may not be aware of. Here are 3 ways you can do this:
Sign up for portfolio reviews: Get your portfolio professionally critiqued by agents. These are usually advertised through professional illustration/publishing bodies like SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) or Association of Illustrators (in the UK). There are usually portfolio review sessions at events like a children’s book illustration or publishing conference. Some agents also offer portfolio reviews as a paid service.
Please note you do not pay an agent to get represented by them. This is not what I’m talking about here. Getting a professional critique (paid or free) helps you both improve your work and also get agents’ eyes on your work without competing with the hundreds of emails and mailers they likely get every week.
If your work isn’t good enough for representation, agents will normally be honest with you at these critique sessions so you can then work on improving your work to the appropriate standard. On the other hand, if they are really impressed with your work, you can then follow up with a conversation about representation. You’re more likely to get a response from them if they’ve already met or spoken to you in the first place.Submit to illustration awards: Agents pay attention to industry awards. Just do your research and make sure you are submitting to awards that are organised by legitimate bodies. Some awards I’m aware of are the World Illustration Awards, V&A Illustration Awards, Faber-Andlyn FAB Award. When I was shortlisted for the FAB Award in 2020, I received multiple offers of representation before I even applied for one.
Be active on social media (Twitter and Instagram): This is not something I enjoy so I do this very sparingly but it has definitely worked for a lot of other illustrators. If you already use social media regularly, add this to your arsenal.
On Twitter, there are popular events like #KidLitArtPostcard (happens the first Thursday each month) where you can post a virtual postcard of your work and contact details and mention you’re looking for representation. There is also #PortfolioDay (quarterly event). These hashtag has become very popular so participating in it gets your work seen by more people, and consequently more agents are likely going to see them too.
On Instagram, there are always ongoing art challenges and my favourite one for children’s publishing style art is #FolktaleWeek which is usually in November (see my 2021 entries). I’ve actually heard many agents mention that they check this hashtag every year when the challenge is in full swing.
How to apply/submit to agents
Once you have a list of agents you’re interested in, it’s time to apply or submit your application to them. Here are my 4 best tips for this process:
Read their submissions guidelines and FOLLOW IT EXACTLY. For example, if they ask for an email with 4 JPEGs images that are not more than 3MB each, don’t send a PDF or ZIP file of 10 images, or images at 5MB each! Ignoring submission guidelines make you look unprofessional. No matter how amazing your work is, you are leaving a bad impression right at the start and you’re not likely to get a response.
Personalise your email. Don’t just write the exact same email to all the agents you’re interested in and addressing them as “To Whom It May Concern” or “Hi Sir/Madam”, and definitely do not send one email to multiple agents using Bcc (Blind Carbon Copy)! If you really like an agency for whatever reason, tell them. Make it clear you actually did your research and you’re not just sending a cold email to 100 agents and crossing your fingers that someone will respond. Trust me, they can tell it’s a blanket email and you will not get a response.
Proofread your email. Check and double-check your email. Are there any spelling mistakes? Did you attach the right files? Are your contact details all correct? Proofreading is just good practice with any email really, but it’s particularly important when you want to make a good impression when applying to agents.
Have a professional portfolio website ready with 10-12 pieces of your best work. It is not good enough to just have Instagram. A lot of times agents only accept a small number of artwork for their submission guidelines, and having the rest of your work on a portfolio site gives them the chance to see more of your beautiful art. Portfolio websites are very easy to create with platforms like Squarespace, Wix, or Adobe Portfolio so this is a relatively easy task.
At the end of the day, you need to show that you are a professional and doing these communicate that you are serious about your career and working together with the potential agent.
The Waiting Game
Once you have submitted your work, it’s time to just wait. This is difficult to do, but you just have to be patient. It can take weeks or months before you get a response, or sometimes, you won’t get any response at all!
In Part 2, we will discuss what to do if you do get representation offers, and how to deal with rejection if you don’t.
Hope you enjoyed this article. If you have any questions/comments on the above, leave a comment or drop me an email.
