*Hand pick agents you submit to. DO NOT SEND MASS MAILINGS TO AGENTS. It won't work, and is a waste of time and money. Instead, research who to approach and pick 5, 10, 20 or so who actually sell your type of work. Agents stick to niches themselves, and one way to find that niche is in various resource guides like Writer's Market, LMP (Literary Market Place … in all big libraries), or Writer's Digest 2002 Guide to Literary Agents. (I have several other techniques I share in my Self Help Author's Crash Course, which is on sale at moment. See below.)

*Make your letter great. Your pitch will be placed in a pile with other cold submissions that arrived that day (maybe 25 -50) and an assistant will thumb through them, spending about 10 seconds on each one. This means if you have a personal contact, you mention it in first sentence. Trim your description of your book into a meaty, mouth-watering paragraph. Add a bit on why you are person to write it. And BE SURE to let them know you hand picked them, out of all agents out there, because of great work they've done for authors X, Y and Z. In fact, you predict they will have similar success with your property, as they did with Book X they just sold to Q Publisher, etc. In other words, make it personal, a little witty, and smart

*Don't use old contact info … and call to see that agent you're contacting is still at address you have before you send anything

*Don't ever pay an agent to evaluate your book. This is not how standard agents work, and is illegal.

*Give agent one month to evaluate your work. Then follow up by phone or email. Many will tell you how they like to be contacted in guides such as The Writer's Market and those listed above. Continue to follow up, until such actions are ridiculous. You'll probably get some kind of response, especially if you're letter is great

*Follow up and ask for referrals. If you're lucky, you'll get intended agent on phone. They may seem interested, but just won't commit. (A standard line is "I'm not taking on any new clients right now.") So ask if they know any agents they might recommend, or someone who is expanding their operation. Then send a thank you note if their info has been helpful. Agenting is a small world, and many people stay in it for life. They'll remember when you reappear at their door years later. And this time it may open

*Be persistent. You may have to go through several lists of hand-picked agents, before you get bite you need.

*Work your personal connections. Be exhaustive, thinking of anyone you know who might connect you with other agents, or even authors. Most authors will want to see project you're pitching, and may not feel comfortable sharing their contact with you… but many may.

For information on how to create your own publisher-ready book proposal that agents will sit up and pay attention to, drop by Suzanne's site, http://www.getknownnow and get her free listing of 25 Top Self Help Literary Agents.

6. Write your chapter opening.

The opening consists of a hook, which can be a pertinent quote, 2-3 questions on where your audience is now with this situation, and your chapter thesis that includes a benefit or so why your audience will read this chapter.

Example: In a book on business stress, author's chapter named "Why are you stressed?” she poses 1, 2 or 3 questions about where your audience is now before they read this chapter. Are you so stressed at work you hate to even go? At day's end are you too tired to even see friends? Are you so unfocused that you dart from one thing to another and wonder why?

In this chapter see how knowing where you are is just starting point. You will discover in your picture of where you want to be exact things you can finally take action on. One picture includes a smiling face at end of day, greeting family with a hug and positive talk. A feeling you want can be one of satisfaction, peaceful, loving or tranquility.

7. Write your chapter ending.

If you write non-fiction or self-help, your chapter needs a summary, action steps to ponder ideas and then a final one or two sentence finishing statement, to lead your reader from this chapter to next. Your job is always to get your reader to want to keep reading. Make sure you name a benefit or two that next chapter offers.

Here's to getting your natural words down, so you can feel you can write. Even if they are not right words, they give you something to build on. It's easier to hook new ideas onto thoughts already expressed.

Just relax and get your thoughts onto paper and your book will get finished in less time and less struggle. Now your manifested book dream will bring you what you want--to be well known for your topic, to attract new customers, and to get your unique, useful message out to world.