Read the FAQs about genres and marketing available all over the Internet. Don't expect a pro to justhand over their contacts and years of knowledge. Do expect us to guide the way. When it comes to slush piles and motivation for people still waiting for that first big sale, I'll be blunt. There is no magic word, there is no secret, there is no special hit list and there is no easy answer.
Professional writing is a business.
I have sold books to foreign countries without an agent. I have acquired three agents with no special talents other than my writing ability and my willingness to work on my career. I did profitable ghostwriting before I had a single credit to my name. Some of it is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Some of it is a result of cultivating the markets that appear to me.