Preparing for WriteAngles Agent Meetings
Preparing for Agent Meetings
WriteAngles Conference 2025
Meeting with an agent can feel like an insurmountable hurdle. As part of the WriteAngles Conference we offer agent meetings on Zoom and in person at the conference for an additional fee of $55. The 15-minute Zoom meetings with agents will take place in the week leading up to the October 18, 2025 conference. Alternatively, if you choose to meet with an agent in person, you can choose a time to meet during the conference when you register. Please note that you must register for the WriteAngles Conference to be eligible to sign up for an agent meeting.
Agent meetings provide a rare opportunity to receive meaningful feedback from an experienced industry professional. They are familiar with the industry as well as the craft and can guide you responsibly in both areas, and give you feedback on how to make your query letter stand out. They also serve as gateways to editors and publishing companies. While some participating agents do go on to represent clients they meet at WriteAngles, an equally valuable purpose of these sessions is to provide you with feedback to strengthen your agent submissions.
When to Meet with an Agent
Embark on agent queries and meetings only when your project is almost or entirely complete. Otherwise you risk wasting both the agent’s time and your own. If you are seeking an agent for your fiction, your manuscript should be complete before scheduling this fifteen-minute meeting. If you want feedback on a non-fiction project, be sure that you’ve completed several chapters and have a complete book proposal ready to share should the agent ask to see one.
What to Expect
We expect the meetings to be warm, friendly, and professional. The agent will lead the meeting and likely launch immediately into giving feedback on your work. Alternatively, they may begin by asking you questions. You should expect to hear critical feedback that may or may not be difficult to process or accept. If the agent does not give you a glowing review or offer to represent you, this does NOT mean that your work is poor or that you are untalented. It may not be right for the agent you’re meeting with, but their feedback will be useful to you nonetheless.
The conversation can be overwhelming, we recommend that you plan to take notes during your meeting. Do not expect a request for your full manuscript. If they would like to see more of your work, the agent or editor will ask you to submit it at a later date.
How to Register & Prepare
for an Agent Meeting
Register for the WriteAngles Conference
Making sure to choose the registration option that includes an Agent Meeting.
Only conference attendees may register for Agent Meetings.
Choose an Agent to Meet With
The agent bios, which you can read here, indicate the kinds of books they are looking for and what they have represented recently. However, we also urge you to conduct your own online
Choose a Date and Time for your Meeting
On the Registration page, select the option that includes an agent meeting. Then expand the list of dates and times below the name of the agent you want to meet with and make your choice from the available sessions.
Agents on Zoom:
Cole Hildebrand, Tuesday October 14, 10:30- 1:30
Carrie Howland, Tuesday October 14, 5-8 pm
Cherise Fisher, Wednesday October 15, 10-1
Agents in person at the Conference
Sorche Fairbank
Jeff Herman
Mariah Stovall
Prepare a query letter and the first five pages of your manuscript, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font.
Your agent will read five pages, so polish your sample and make it as strong as you possibly can.
Include your query letter. A query letter helps agents understand your entire work and give you better feedback. They can also give you feedback on these pitch documents themselves, and tell you what would make your query letter stand out to them and their colleagues. You can find suggestions for writing a query letter here.
Use our Manuscript Checklist to ensure you have formatted your sample according to these guidelines:
● No more than FIVE (5) double-spaced pages of a fiction or nonfiction manuscript. Pages should be numbered, titled, in black 12-point Times New Roman font, on white 8.5 x 11–inch electronic pages, with one-inch margins on all sides.
● Include your one-page query. The query may be single-spaced.
● Submit your query letter and manuscript pages in a single ".doc" or ".docx" document, which you can create in programs like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. The title of the file MUST be your full name, e.g., ToniMorrison.doc. Files must end in a .doc or .docx extension.
Submit your Query Letter and Five Manuscript Pages
Once you have registered for your agent meeting and are ready to submit your sample (having followed the formatting instructions above), use the SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT SAMPLE button below to submit your work.
Prepare for and Attend Your Meeting
You will receive an email confirming your agent meeting time(s) and/or ZOOM link(s) by Sunday, October 5, 2025. For Zoom meetings, log in to Zoom using the link you received in that email.
Contact the WriteAngles team at info@writeanglesconference.com ASAP if you do you not receive your link(s). For in person meetings, you will receive your designated time for the conference session.
The agent will conclude the discussion promptly after 15 minutes so that subsequent meetings may start on time.