What Do Literary Agents Want - Jeff Bailey
Disclaimer: My website host is upgrading their host interface. Please, bear with me as I upgrade my sites.
Another novice author recently asked me, 'What are literary agents looking for? What do literary agents want?' I have to admit that when I started breaking into the industry, I didn't know. To a large extent, I still don't know. However, I do know how to find out: Ask them. No, I'm not recommending that every prospective author call every prospective agent. There is easier way. For information specific to an individual agent, look up their web pages. Google either 'literary agents' or 'lists of literary agents.' The writers-free-reference.com is a good place to start. My list of literary agencies is another resource. Most of the agency home pages will have a link to something like 'how to work with us', 'what we want', 'submission requirements', or 'not accepting new clients at this time.' These pages will provide the simple, agent specific, basic answers.
For a more 'insider' answer, find literary agents who have blogs and subscribe to them. Let the agents tell you on a daily basis what is on their minds. The blog narratives contain everything from pet peeves to effective hints. Leave questions, join discussion, and express your opinion. Become involved. Let the simple acts of joining and participating help you to understand the world of literary agents and to start building your social network as a writer.
Now, not all blogs are worth the effort. Some (many) blogs are only used as an avenue to free advertising. A blog dedicated to selling alone is useless. However, take the time. You may have to review dozens of blogs before you find a couple that are compatible to your needs. Trust me, it's worth the effort.
So much for the agent specific details. I found three universal things that agents, as a collective group, want. These three ‘wants’ result in one big, rather practical, conclusion. Every new writer should keep these three things foremost in their mind when submitting solicitation for an agent. However, I didn't find these three 'wants' spelled out on any agent’s website.
The first thing that a prospective business partner (literary agent) wants to know is, 'Are you a serious writer?' ‘Is your submission complete and accurate?’ ‘Will you work on your writing every day, even when you don't want to?’ ‘Will you return edits and story rewrites in a timely manner?’ ‘Will you work on the business aspects of publishing a book that may not be the most fun?’ ‘Will you learn from, and not repeat editing notations?’ I wouldn't hazard a guess how many prospective authors write three pages of a book, and quit. Agents make their living developing serious writers, not wasting their time ‘baby-setting’ wannabe writers who quit after a few weeks. The first job of any new writer soliciting a partnership with a literary agent is to convince that agent that you are worth the investment of time. The best way that I know to prove that point is to wait to submit your current project until the project is complete (or, nearly complete.) Sending an agent one poem, one picture or one page of text will not get you a positive response. Show them that you are a serious writer worth their time.
The second thing that a prospective business partner (literary agent) wants to know, ‘Is you product marketable?' ‘Will your book sell?’ Agents aren't in the 'Agent' business for the fun of it. They are in the business to earn a living. If you are going to submit a sample of your work as an enticement to take you on as a client, it better be the best work you have ever done and then some. Anything that you submit has one goal. That one goal is to convince the agent that your product will sell and that the agent can earn a living promoting you as a client and your product. It is better that you take six extra months and perfect a two page submission that sparks a belief in the agent that you have a marketable product.
The third, and possibly most important, thing that agents look for is, ‘Are you, as an author, a marketable commodity?’ Did you research prospective agents, during your search, to find out if they had a believable multimedia presence? Of course, you did. Is it surprising that agents will Google you to determine the extent of your multimedia presence? Would you hire an agent if all you found were a ‘home’ page and a couple of other supporting pages? Agents are not going to have a warm fuzzy feeling about representing you if they can’t find you. Your multimedia presence can seal the deal.
Once an agent finds that you contributed a clean submission and that your book has the potential to sell, what are they going to find if they research ‘you?’ A new author must have an extensive multimedia presence. He/she should have dozens of web pages: a home page, a page with the first 500 words of his/her book, review pages, pages where they discuss their book, where they discuss their characters, pages where they tell why they write, pages where they review other writers, pages where they review author events. A new author should have an extensive blog, Youtube videos, FaceBook, Pinterest, and anything else you can think of. A struggling author should be on every book discussion site (like goodreads.com, smashwords.com) they can find. Get listed on author registration and profiling sites. An author can never have too much multimedia exposure. As an experiment, google a well-known author and see how many results return specifically for that author. Then, Google yourself. Half of all the results, as a minimum, on the first four pages of results should be about you.
There is a reason why agents want to see so much multimedia presence. The marketing of a book is largely the responsibility of the author. An agent wants to know that if the agent promotes you and tour book, you have a highly visible network in place. You can blog, Pinterest, and Facebook your release. You have a following. If a publisher or a prospective reader searches for you, will they find you and will they be impressed.
Earlier I said that there was one big conclusion that explains why the agents are so particular. Here it is, my conclusion. Literary agents are in the agent business to make money, to make a living. They’re not in the representation business to ‘train’ their clients. They don’t have time to hold your hand while you learn the business. The long and the short of it, literary agents are in the business to make money. All agents want to know that they will potentially make more money representing you, as an author, than they will make representing any other author. If you, as an new author, are considering soliciting for representation by a literary agent, it is up to you to convince prospective agents that they can make a better living representing you than they can representing anyone else. You must convince them that you, as a writer, and your book will make their career. Harsh, but true. Good luck finding and contracting your literary agent.
My name is Jeff Bailey. I write nuclear thrillers for a reason, I’ve worked in nuclear related industries, from nuclear weapons to nuclear research, for fifty years. Deer Hawk Publications released my first book, The Defect in June of 2016. In The Defect, I tell the story of a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant and why the government covered it up. The Defect is based on true events. Deer Hawk Publications is scheduled to release I’m a Marine in May of 2017. I’m a Marine is about a female aviation firefighter in the U.S. Marines who witnesses the murder of two M.P.s. She decides that it is her duty to stop them. Keep in mind that I write nuclear thrillers. The Chilcoat Project, to be released in spring of 2018, is about the theft of nuclear weapons secrets from a national laboratory. The Chilcoat Project is also based on true events. My current project, Wine Country, is based on the true story of the Radioactive Boy Scout, but with a more sinister twist.
