Publishing, Then & Now: Is it harder to find an agent today than it used to be?

Getting an agent seems almost impossible according to so many writers who are searching--but is it actually harder now than 20 years ago? (The short answer: I think so.)

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Lately I’ve had so many conversations with writing clients and MFA graduates about how it seems nearly impossible to get an agent. So I’ve been thinking about why this might be, and what has changed since I was looking for an agent myself, 20 years ago.

Picture this: It’s 2003 (yes, it’s been twenty years, Miriam Altshuler!), the year I first began searching for an agent—and the whole world was different. Email existed but people weren’t using it much (my university—I kid you not—actually posted signs in the halls of faculty departments begging us to check our emails at least once per week). Everyone still had land lines, we printed everything out, there was definitely no wifi and we saved everything to discs. I had my dissertation saved to like, 8 hard discs, one I kept at my parents’ house, another in my own house, yet another at a friend’s house, and so on and so forth (I worried about destruction in a fire.)

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If you wanted an agent: you had to physically print out entire copies of your book, plus print out your query letter on fancy paper, put everything into a manila envelope, hand write the address of the agent, then take a trip to the post office to mail your manuscript to each agent you hoped might be willing to represent you.

This was the process I used to get my current agent, Miriam Altshuler, of Defiore.

I contacted Miriam through a mutual connection, and I also sent manuscripts to about 6, maybe 7 other agents. Two of those agents responded with interest—by actually calling my office landline. We had phone conversations about their thoughts on my project and what working with them would look like, and one of the agents I liked a lot. But then Miriam called me (from a taxi if I remember correctly) and the rest is history. I had no doubt that Miriam was the agent for me and now she’s represented all my books ever since, across all the genres I publish in—from serious nonfiction to memoir to novels for adults, young adults, and middle grade audiences.

Today: I think having communications with 3 agents would not happen, at least not in my case.

But back then? I think it was fairly normal to have a handful of agents exploring the possibility of working together with a new author—over the phone.

So what has changed?