It’s true, finding “the one,” the right agent for an author is like dating, all over again. Since I had met my husband before online dating was really a thing, I feel like I’m cast back into the dating pool, trying to get to know a number of agents online. You do your proper cyberstalking, you know, online research to figure out what kind of authors they’re into and what their really looking for in someone.

It’s amazing how active a number of agents are on Twitter. You can learn so much about what their interests are, query tips and more. And one fine day, you actually decide to insert yourself into a conversation on Twitter with an agent. That’s when it sets in, questions fill your mind.

If you’ve queried this agent already, and they tweet you back, you start questioning yourself…what does this mean? Are they thinking about me/my book? Do they know I’ve queried them?

When they provide a #pubtip #querytip (usually what not to do), you secretly hope they AREN’T talking about you then.  An agent recently Tweeted that she was jealous of the manuscript her colleague was reading…and you wish, now, that they were talking about you.

If you’re lucky enough to attend a conference with one-on-one pitch sessions, then welcome to speed dating! You better have your elevator pitch ready and wipe off the sweaty palms. Once you take a seat, you’ve got less than 10 minutes to make an impression and see if there’s a connection. I recently attended a conference and was exhausted by the end of the weekend. But at the end of the day, I was so thankful to have met some really great agents.

So essentially, the life of an author comes down to speed dating and online dating…and maybe you’ll find the one, yet.