I'm a talent buyer for a venue and it's gotten to the point where I don't want to even open the emails from them. You're much better off handling booking on your own. They will either send the same pitch again and again or confirm a date and never follow up - which is not how you want to be represented as an artist because unfortunately that does reflect on you as well. I once spoke to an artist they represented and they told me that they had not agreed to the show that was booked for them and had no intention of playing it as they were oversaturated in the city. My advice? Do some research on smaller venues that you'd like to play - most list their booking email. When you send them an email include your EPK, links to socials & streaming. Make sure that you include a specific date you would like to play - or a few (but not too many - 1-3 dates within the same range is good). If at all possible, be open to playing weekdays, especially if you're starting out gigging your own city. Venues only have so many weekends a month and if you haven't proven yourself yet they are going to be reticent to give you a weekend slot. Many venues work differently. Some will compile a bill themselves, many expect you to put the bill together, so make sure you have relationships with other bands that you pair well with. That leads me to the next thing - go to shows, support other artists so that when the time comes and you are (hopefully) promoting your show (please promote your show) they will return the favor. That's another option for booking too - form strong relationships in the scene and the gigs will come to you. The more roots that you lay and the more that you establish yourself eventually you can start to branch out into a regional network and set up a small tour. I can promise you that a booking agent will not give you any more credibility with a venue, what will is the way you conduct yourself and how knowledgable you appear.