Does it matter which literary agents one contacts first?
Novelists seeking a literary agent's representation are advised to prepare a long list of carefully chosen agents (e.g. genre matches are important), but to only contact a few at a time. The response or lack thereof of the first few could suggest, for example, that the query letter or first chapter should be improved before the next round of agents are contacted. Agents differ in many ways. (For example, some are narrower in their genre preferences; some respond in different ways; some want a synopsis and some don't; some want a long opening excerpt, some a short one and some none.) Do any of these make some agents better choices for the first batch, or might one as well choose them at random?
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I would advise attending a writer's conference in your genre and booking some pitch sessions with agents. This lets you try out your pitch verbally and does not preclude you approaching the same agent by mail later. And if the agent ask you to submit a sample, then you are a requested submission, rather than slush, and you go to the top of the pile.
Agents receive thousands of submissions and they have to say no to most of them really quickly. Anything that sets you apart from that crush of submissions is an advantage. Going to a conference in your genre automatically matches you with agents interested in that genre and gets you past the initial winnowing. It also tells you which agents are actively looking for new authors.
Plus, agents are looking for people who are serious about writing as a career. It takes a lot of investment on their part to get a writer launched, and they don't make any money on that investment unless the writer sticks with it and acts professionally. Attending a writers conference is one signal to them that you are serious. Yes, it will cost you some money -- but that is the point. It shows you are willing to invest in your chosen career, which is a good sign for them as they decide whether they want to invest in it too.
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