There’s a new online service being marketed to writers and literary agents. Hosted by WeBook, AgentInbox is “a service that connects publication-ready authors with reputable, vetted literary agents.”
How does it work? For now, you go in, create a profile, and then decide what manuscript you want to submit. Based on a form you fill out, you are offered a list of the various agents who fit your criteria and who have signed up to participate in the site. You can research them, view their agency websites, and see what they want in a submission, such as a query letter, the first fifty pages, a synopsis, or all of the above. Then, once you’ve selected the agents you want to query, you go through each, providing the necessary info, and send it off. WeBook steps in momentarily to review your submission and make sure it is formatted properly. Then you get notifications when the queries are passed on to the agents, and you can monitor their progress, such as whether they’ve been read, rejected, etc.
I sent out a few submissions through the site to test it out, and it does offer some good features. While certainly not a comprehensive list, it does present–from what I’ve seen so far–professional and legitimate literary agencies, and cuts out a bit of the digging around and researching one might have to do to come up with them in the first place. It’s hardly going to replace my little query spreadsheet I use to monitor what stories I’ve sent where, but it is a nifty tool that I think I’ll be using again. The process is nicely streamlined, though right now, if you have two agents with a different set of submission requirements, they’ll each require a separate session to get the info in.
At this time, the service is free, though I’ve little doubt that once it becomes popular enough, they’ll switch to a subscription or fee for at least some of the features.
What do you all think? Anyone else used this site yet? Do you find it helpful?
Thanks buddy – I'll give that a try 🙂