Being a published writer might seem a long way down the road at the moment, but when you want to get started, you will most likely need an agent. This sounds very showbiz, but if you can get an agent to take you on, they will do most of the difficult legwork with publishers.

There are loads of agents in Britain, based mostly in London, who are interested in different kinds of work – some like crime writing, some deal exclusively with poetry or scripts, etc. It’s a good idea to think about which published authors’ books are a bit like yours (or whose work you admire); you can then look them up on the web and find out which agent represents them. Or else you can check out the very useful Writers Handbook edited by Barry Turner (most libraries will keep the most recent edition), which lists all the writers’ agencies in the country and the kind of work they like.

An agent will read a sample of your work and decide whether they like it and – importantly for them – whether they think the public will like it enough to buy it! If they decide to take you on, it’s their job to try and sell your work to a publisher. Unfortunately, just because you have an agent it doesn’t mean you will automatically be published – sometimes they just can’t find a publisher who wants your work. But it can be a lot easier than writing directly to the publishers. Speaking of which….