Literary agents are employed by literary agencies to pitch authors' written works to suitable book publishers as well as television and film producers. They determine whether manuscripts have substantial market potential, negotiate contracts on behalf of authors, and guide authors through the publishing process.
What Is A Literary Agent Job
We are looking for a driven and experienced literary agent to assist authors in securing favorable publishing contracts. The literary agent's responsibilities include acting as the main point of contact between authors and publishers, guiding authors through the publishing process, and taking the necessary steps to protect authors' interests. You should also be able to manage the careers of both new and existing authors effectively.
To be successful as a literary agent, you should be detail-oriented, persuasive, and able to keep abreast of the latest developments and trends in the publishing industry. Ultimately, an exceptional literary agent should be able to demonstrate excellent communication, analytical, and networking skills at all times.
Although literary agents may help authors polish their manuscripts and suggest changes to make the work more marketable, they focus mainly on the business side of publishing. It is also worth noting that literary agents often need to read submissions outside of working hours.
Literary agents often begin their careers as literary agent assistants , becoming an agent once they have gained the necessary skills, experience and contacts. The role of agent assistant tends to focus on providing administrative support such as maintaining databases and processing contracts, but it may also involve reading submissions and liaising with authors and publishers. The amount of responsibility you will have as an agent assistant varies between literary agencies, so check job adverts carefully.
Becoming a literary agent after doing other jobs in publishing (starting out as an editorial assistant , for example) is also a widely accepted route in. This is useful for familiarising yourself with the industry and gaining contacts.
There are no set entry requirements to become a literary agent; many have a degree but this is not normally specified as a requirement on job adverts. You should have a demonstrable interest in books and the publishing industry. A second language can be useful when pitching work to publishers in other countries.
Literary agents then work for the writer to help them make money from their stories by selling them to different types of publishers. Publishers will pay an author to turn their story into a book, ebook or audiobook, and to publish in different languages. The agent will get a share of the profit.
They work with writers and publishers acting as a middleman between the two. They split their time between reading and selling. They can work in a big office with lots of other literary agents, or they can work on their own.
Literary agents were born from this need for a middleman. Publishers used to despise these agents, but that has changed entirely, and many publishers now require an author to be represented by someone else.
Most literary agents work on multiple projects at a time, and the moment one project finishes, another soon takes its place. Later in this article, we list different spaces for finding a literary agent; in short, agents seek new works using social media like Twitter, websites like DuoTrope, and also by responding to emails and query letters.
Not at all. The publishing landscape is changing quickly: the Big 5 is probably consolidating, indie presses are resurging, and the internet has made authorship easier than ever. All of this, on top of the advancement of the self-publishing industry, has made literary agents an optional component of authorship.
Getting a literary agent a poet is much harder than other genres. For starters, many agents refuse to consider poetry manuscripts. If they do, they will probably devote more time to fiction and nonfiction projects.
Some agents source the majority of their writers from Twitter alone. In fact, the practice of finding new talent on Twitter has led to the creation of specific hashtags, as well as Pitch Parties: events where agents allow writers to pitch their work in 280 characters or less.
Finding a literary agent is just one small slice of the business of writing. From marketing your work to building a literary career, take a look at what we have to offer for writers who are ready to publish their work.
A nicely written, helpful article. I have self-published one book (Democratizing Finance), which has been well reviewed, but have now written a personal/political memoir for which I am considering seeking an agent. Your afticle helps met think about it.
Contracting with a literary agent and getting a traditional publishing contract remains the holy grail of many authors and aspiring authors, but getting the attention of agents and publishers is becoming increasingly difficult.
Most advice out there, including what I offer, is geared toward making you more appealing to agents. But there's something that isn't being talked about enough and that I cannot in good conscience ignore because I see authors waste a tremendous amount of time and money pitching to agents who are, in my opinion, bad at their jobs.
A literary agent's job is to sell their clients' manuscripts to publishing houses and negotiate the best deal possible on behalf of their client. Put another way, a literary agent's job--how they make money--is to make money for their clients by selling intellectual property rights to publishers.
Part of what I do (one of my favorite thing to do, in fact) is to develop relationships with literary agents and serve as a literary matchmaker. When I find excellent writers and projects, I like to pitch them to agents I trust and who I believe would be a good fit.
This means that the author must be prepared and proactive (i.e. strong writing skill, solid platform, strategic marketing plan--all the things), and the agent must be professional and productive (i.e. reasonably responsive and consistently making deals).
What I've run into lately when reaching out to agents is a trend for new agents to be highly involved in the editing process. (Stay with me here because this isn't in and of itself a bad thing.) Several have told me that they don't recommend that authors engage with freelance developmental editors because they consider editing part of their job.
This sounds great. No need to pay for freelance editing or writing classes. Just show up with enthusiasm and a great concept, and your agent will "free of charge" help you craft a manuscript and proposal that appeals to acquisition editors at publishing houses.
Let's set aside for a moment the fact that those same agents are rejecting querying authors--often without specific feedback--on the grounds that their work doesn't meet a certain standard of excellence (something a freelance editor could help them meet).
Successful agents are intelligent, tenacious, and highly focused individuals who know which tasks to say "yes" to and which tasks to say "no" to. If they're saying "yes" to everything but actually pitching to acquisition editors, following up on pitches, and confidently negotiating contracts, they're saying "no" to making money for their clients.
The trick is finding the overlap between your writing chops and author platform, what acquisition editors want, a literary agent's time and expertise, and everyone's financial needs and long-term goals. It also means that authors must do a cost-benefit analysis when it comes to paying a freelance developmental editor up front versus seeking a literary agent with a strong editorial focus.
I would love to tell you that all writers conference organizers have your back and that if you're going to pitch in person (and pay extra to do so) that you can trust that the agents on their lists are good at what they do.
To be clear, I love writers conferences and recommend that you pay the money to go to them. I also recommend that you pay the extra money to pitch to agents while there, but understand a few things before you do:
Now back to our regularly scheduled program: So, how do you go beyond the glossy headshots, well-crafted bios, and writers conference guest status to vet the agents you think are a good fit for your work?
Consider how long they've been an agent and how many deals they've reported. (Be aware that agents must enter the information for it to appear on their list, so agents may have more deals than are shown.)
Pretend you own a business and need to hire a salesperson. Ask yourself if you'd keep a salesperson with that agent's track record around in your company. Actually, there's no pretending necessary. That's exactly what you are and exactly what you're doing.
I can only tell you with certainty that the longer I'm in this industry and the more experiences I have with authors and agents the more selective I am and the more I see areas in my own business where I need to step up my game. I can also tell you that the more agents I talk to the more sympathetic I am regarding their workload and the more adamant I become about an author's responsibility in the publishing game.
It's unreasonable for authors (especially nonfiction authors) to expect their agent to edit their work, coach them, and get them a big-money publishing deal when they don't come to the table with documented expertise related to the topic of their book and proof that they are regularly in front of their ideal audience and actively seeking and ready for the many promotional opportunities out there.
Publishing is a group effort. The number of teammates, when and how they fit into the process, and the success of any given project varies and is based on many factors. I hope this post has provided insight into the industry and helps you choose the literary agent that's the best long-term fit for you.
If you're considering pitching your fiction or nonfiction book to a literary agent at a conference and don't have access to Publishers Marketplace, contact me to schedule a free, 20-minute appointment to discuss your project, goals and expectations, and vet up to three agents on your list.
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