Finding a literary agent is easier than you think. Forget those long Google or Ask Jeeves searches. I got tired after searching the first three pages and none of them gave me what I wanted—the names and contact information of agents. Don't get lost in a myriad of directory lists that are not very helpful in breaking down their lists by category. A personal referral from a colleague is terrific but if you can't get that, here is a unique way to find a literary agent… Go to the bookstore.

Check out your favorite bookstore and find the section that your future book will appear. Suppose it is a diet cookbook. Look for the books that are authored by individuals and not written on behalf of a company.

Then read the Acknowledgement page of every diet cookbook. Skim the Acknowledgement page to see if the author has given recognition to a literary agent. I checked out three writing books I have here in my library and two of them acknowledged their agents.

You now have the names of some agents that are representing authors who wrote on the same topic as you. Those are the agents to contact first to see if they would represent you. Your bookstore is a great way to find a literary agent for your next book.