One of the things we've learned as we try to help authors get the data they need to make wise choices about agents is that very often whether a writer is looking for a new agent or a first agent, they simply don't know where to begin. A list of top agents such as those on our Dead Reckoning Pages can simply seem daunting. Which one?

We've developed the CUSTOMIZED FINGERPRINT as a way to do the research for you, as well as give you the benefit of our long years of writing and publishing expertise.

When you order the CUSTOMIZED FINGERPRINT, we send you an e-mail questionnaire asking for bio data, info about the book, special requirements, etc. We may come back to you with further questions. Once we understand what you're doing, we'll send six to eight full reports of agents who have a track record of selling similar material, are absolutely legitimate, and are open to accepting new clients.

Of course those are the only guarantees we can make. Whether or not the agent takes you on will depend on the quality of the work.

We will, however, also give you advice on how to structure your query letter in the most professional way possible. This will at least make it likely the submission will be read.

The CUSTOMIZED FINGERPRINT is our single most popular service. And now it comes to you as an electronic attachment to an e-mail. This is the latest improvement to the heart of our business. It means we can get the material to you without the delays involved in postal mail, we can include relevant hot links to such things as a picture of the agent, and we not only haven't raised the price because of this enhanced service, we can offer our popular queue jump facility (a supplementary service that allows you to get your report in two business days rather than sixteen) for a greatly reduced supplementary rate.

The CUSTOMIZED FINGERPRINT gets results, sometimes spectacular results, but if you have queried every agent in New York or London or Toronto and gotten nowhere, a CFP is probably not going to help you. You need to go back to the drawing board and figure out what it is that isn't working in the book or the proposal.

But writers with a really strong piece of work or a truly terrific idea will find getting a CFP to be the best move they ever made. If you believe that's what you've got - work that's ready for prime time - but some agents have already refused representation, don't despair. It may be that you went to the wrong people for what you have to offer, or your query letter was so weak the agent never actually looked at the rest of the material. With a CFP you won't make that mistake. And you'll be pitching your project at the top agents, the people who make the deals and sell the books. That can be, and often is, the nudge that turns good into great.

We also offer two supplemental services with a customized fingerprint.

After you get your report, you can call us and talk with Beverly about the ways and hows of your Agent Search. Appointments for the telephone service should be arranged by E-mail. The cost is $100.00 for up to thirty minutes.

If you want us to critique the query letter you write after you get your customized fingerprint report we're happy to do so via E-mail. The cost for this is $100.00

This Service costs $360.00
The supplement for adding two-business-day-delivery is $50.00

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