Most people don’t have the money to spend on advertising to create awareness among readers, nor do they have the contacts at newspapers or magazines to get their books reviewed.
In 1986 we were trying to help women get in print, stay in print, and come to the attention of booksellers and libraries. At that time, books by men mystery writers were reviewed seven times as often as books by women.
My parents were liberal intellectuals but even they expected me to stay at home and look after my younger siblings and do the housework.
Capo, my first golden retriever, so loved to swim she once jumped off a cliff to get into Lake Superior.
The best source for finding an agent is called Literary Agents of North America. It’s a complete list of agents, not only by name and address, but by type of book they represent and by what their submission criteria are.