Querying International Agents

Literary agents are located all over the world. Where they’re located doesn’t matter (and neither does where you’re located) - what matters is whether they represent books in the market you want to publish in. 

Before you query an agent, make sure that they’re in the right market. For example, I wanted to publish in the country I’m located in, so I made sure to only query agents who worked in that market. For example, I didn’t query agents who worked in the United Kingdom market.

How do you tell which market an agent works in? First, look at where their agency is located - this is usually a good indication of which market they’re familiar with. Second, look at their client list and see who has published their client’s books. Where these publishers are located will generally tell you in what market the agent has connections with editors. 

How do you decide if you want to publish in a different country than where you live? It’s up to you! You might want to access a bigger market, like the US, UK, or Canada. You might want to write in a certain language that doesn’t match the predominant language of the market you live in. What matters is that you’ve considered the pros and cons of a given market before deciding to query agents in that market--because if they make you an offer, that’s the market they’ll be best suited to help you publish in.