Floundering Through the Slushpile
Writers’ Methods for Snagging the Right Literary Agent
Okay, so you’ve decided you’re going to pursue traditional publishing and it really IS time for you to seek out an agent appropriate to your needs. Let’s get right to the heart of it and plot a plan for the approach. First, here’s a reminder as to what a literary agent basically does.
A literary agent serves as a liaison between authors and publishers, working to represent the interests of writers in the publishing industry. Following are some of the primary functions of a literary agent:
1. Representation: Literary agents represent authors and their work to publishers, negotiating deals on behalf of the author for publishing contracts, subsidiary rights, and other opportunities.
2. Submissions: Agents submit manuscripts and book proposals to publishing houses, editors, and other industry professionals in order to secure publishing deals.
3. Contract Negotiation: Agents negotiate the terms of publishing contracts, ensuring that authors receive fair compensation, royalties, and rights for their work.
4. Career Management: Agents provide guidance and support to authors throughout their careers, helping them to develop their writing, navigate the publishing process, and make strategic decisions about their work.
5. Rights Management: Agents handle the sale of subsidiary rights, such as foreign rights, film and television rights, audio rights, and merchandising rights, maximizing the earning potential of an author’s work.
6. Advocacy: Agents advocate for their clients within the publishing industry, promoting their work to editors, reviewers, and other industry professionals to build their reputations and advance their careers.
7. Business Affairs: Agents provide expertise on industry trends, market conditions, and publishing strategies, helping authors make informed decisions about their writing and their careers.
Photo by Rafaela Biazi on Unsplash
Overall, a literary agent plays a crucial role in helping authors to navigate the complex and competitive world of traditional publishing, working to maximize their opportunities and ensure their long-term success.
There may well be more arranged between the two of you, but that’s the jist. Your agent is not your buddy, your friend, your therapist or your editor. He or she is not your travel agent, your lawyer or the go-to guy or gal for a short-term loan. Your agent is at heart your business partner.
Next, determine what agencies/agent(s) you want to approach. Gather your research materials. Not all agents represent everything (there’s an understatement). Don’t send your query for a science-fiction novel to a scholarly non-fiction representative
Check out agencies in general, then check out specific agents who work in it. Research! Decide whether you want to work with a huge agency, and your agent perhaps a newcomer looking for great new talent, or for a smaller outfit that might not have the clout but could well give you more individualized attention.
Check out the ‘whispers and warnings’ about agents that you spot in publications or hear about through the grapevine; remember, there are some sharks out there. You might want to bear this in mind as well: Various publications inform us about 40 percent of book agents (I suspect it’s more) will not read manuscripts by unrepresented, unpublished authors and another 15 percent won’t even answer query letters from them.
So, with that uplifting thought, here are a couple of things to check out -
1. Try Publishers Weekly — a generally good publication to keep abreast with the publishing world
2. Association of American Literary Agents a good place to find the names of literary agents and agencies they work with.
3. Association of Author’s Representatives A good resource, and they offer a free directory of literary agents.
4. Attend conferences, follow up recommendations from fellow writers, subscribe to online writers’ newsletters, and follow through on the info.
Here’s a quick aside. Over the long haul, you might want to think about learning something about Copywriting — that’s selling with words. A book called “The Copywriter’s Handbook” by Robert Bly is worth reading, as is “Triggers” by Joseph Sugarman. I know, I know, you don’t want to be a salesperson, you want to write. Well, you’re gonna have to sell, one way or another, sooner or later if you want to be a successful writer, so learning a little something about what grabs attention isn’t a bad idea.
Broadly, when writing your query letter to an agent, remember, don’t be cute, don’t tell them your mom liked it, and don’t talk about money. The money discussion comes later. Just be aware that an agent takes around 20% of your income. It varies when talking about foreign reprints and other extras, but that’s roughly it.
Here are a couple of things to think about and to get down on paper or into your computer folder.
1. You should have a written synopsis of your novel ready. A tight, well-written overview of your story, no longer than a few pages. The shorter the better while still getting your information across. This is a document to either include with your query, should the information you gather indicate it would be welcomed by the agent you’re querying, or to send upon request, either with your completed novel or in advance of it.
2. Think about the hook for your letter’s first paragraph, your first sentence. You don’t want to begin with “Hi, I’m a writer, and my book is great.” You might want to lead with a powerful sentence from your book, or perhaps create a punchy one-sentence intro that’ll hook an agent into wanting to read more. Think hard about this. It’s important.
Ponder those two things and dive in. I have to comment, this is truly a ‘weird world’ you’ll be diving into, and it’s great to go well-armed.
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Want to learn from me? Check out Romancing Your Novel, my UDMY romance writing course.
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Great article, thanks!
Happy you liked it - thanks for the coment.