If you’re a new author, finding a publisher or literary agent to represent your writing is a frustrating, thankless, and even heartbreaking exercise. I know, I’ve been through it.  The dreaded “Thanks, but no thanks,” … I’m not sure if its better or worse than the classic no-response.

There is a ton of advice out there on how we, as writers, can entice that coveted representation. In case you haven’t exhausted all of your e-resources, here is a short collection of my less-obvious favourites, in no particular order

1. Be professional 100% of the time

That means emails, phone calls, and on-line interactions. For me, that last forum is particularly important, with all the talk about BBA (badly behaving authors). Too often we’ve seen authors (especially, it pains me to admit, self-published authors), who take offense at a negative review or comment, and lash out on-line. This is the biggest no-no you could…