What is a Literary Agent?

Literary Agent: 

1. lit·er·ar·y a·gent [ˈlidəˌrerē ˈājənt]

NOUN

literary agents (plural noun)

a professional agent who acts on behalf of an author in dealing with publishers and others involved in promoting the author’s work.

What does a literary agent do?

It is a literary agent’s job to find publishers for the writers they represent. They negotiate contracts on the writer’s behalf and can also manage and plan a writer’s career.

In return for working for a writer, the agent receives a percentage (usually around 10–15 per cent) of the writer’s income from advances, fees and royalties.

Literary agents are responsible for managing sales, contracts, publication, production (and reproduction), as well as maintaining good contacts in the writing and publishing industry, and knowledge of the current market and trends.

They act as a middle person between authors and publishers to sell the author’s work. Many publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, which are manuscripts not submitted by agents, or not specifically requested by the publisher. A recommendation from an agent will help your manuscript out of the “slush pile”.

Agents also provide their clients with a sound knowledge of legal issues in order to protect the author’s financial and legal interests.

While some agents look after a wide variety of writers, others are more specialized, focusing on a genre or area such as poetry, fiction or memoir. Make sure you do your research; you want to make sure you get the right agent for your work. Find out whether they represent writers who write the kind of book you’ve written.

What doesn't a literary agent do?

A literary agent should never charge a reading fee or a fee to represent you.

Editing and manuscript assessment are also jobs for editors, not agents.

Agents are not responsible for marketing your book. This is the role of the publisher and (increasingly) the author themselves.

Agents & Editors: A Conversation With Four Literary Agents

Here are some resources on finding a literary agent:

• How to Find a Literary Agent (8 Crucial Steps with Real Stories)

• 19 New Literary Agents Seeking Clients (in 2018)

• Tips from 5 Literary Agents Representing Latino Authors

How to Contact a Literary Agent

As in any business, people are different and have different preferences.  Some agents prefer only e-mail correspondence and others accept only regular mail.  Some agents are okay with both types of correspondence.  Doing some upfront research on agents and going into their personal websites can provide you with details as to their correspondence preferences as well as more insight as to their agent credentials.  There are several websites that provide this type of information.  Listed below are a few to help begin your research efforts.

10 Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Query Letter

• Query Tracker – This database allows you to view statistics about an agent or publisher – free.

• Agent Query –  This database allows you to view statistics about an agent – free.

• Publishers Market Place – This allows you track information about agents, editors, deals and current news.  There is a monthly fee to join but an extremely helpful database.

• Pred-Ed.com – This site provides recommendations on agents and editors.  This is an extremely useful site when doing your research.

• Latinx in Publishing– Note this is a list of agents who have expressed interest in representing/currently represent Latinx authors and illustrators.

• Another resource you can refer to is www.litagentsofcolor.com.

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