Literary agent
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A literary agent represents writers and their written works to publishers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers. They usually earn their living by taking a part of a writer's earnings, traditionally ten to twenty percent.
Authors often turn to agents for several reasons. First, many large publishing houses do not accept unagented submissions. As larger houses typically pay the largest advances and have the greatest promotional muscle behind a work, they're typically much sought after. As agents accept only a tiny percentage of authors who query them (typically well less than one percent), they act as a filter, removing material which is thought to be of low quality from the potential submissions pool. A minority view taken by critics such as Michael Allen holds that "blockbuster" books are judged to be "successful" only due to hindsight bias, and that the filters which determine whether a book is published are dictated to a large extent by randomness [1].
Second, an agent can help in selling the work.
In general, agents will have around a dozen clients whose works they're trying to sell at a given time. An agent with a very successful client may stop taking on new work in order to focus exclusively on that client. Expenses are incurred by the agent in the process of selling the work (photocopying, mailing, any necessary trips or fees, etc), and these are billed to the client. The expenses, however, are not charged until after the sale, and are waived if the agent cannot sell the work.[citation needed] The insistence on any payment before sales, be it a reading fee or general expenses, is often a sign of a scam.
Typically, agents specialize. One agent, for example, may represent Science Fiction authors, while another may specialize in Romance; still others handle several genres. Film rights may be subcontracted to a specialty agent.
A client typically establishes relationships with an agent through querying, although the two may meet at a writer's conference, through a contest, or in other ways. A query is an unsolicited proposal for representation, either for a finished work (fiction) or unfinished work (nonfiction). Various agents request different elements in a query packet. It typically begins with a query letter (1-2 pages) that explains the purpose of the work and any writing qualifications of the author. Sometimes a synopsis or outline are requested as part of the query. Often, the author sends five to ten pages of their work. Lastly, for written queries, a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) is a standard inclusion. E-queries are popular among authors, but many agents do not take them for a variety of reasons.
If an agent is interested in a work, he or she will request a partial, which is typically either three chapters, fifty pages, or something in between. If the agent really likes a work, he or she will request a full, which is the full manuscript (minus any dedications or other things that are not added in until publication). If the agent thinks that they can sell the full, they will accept the author. Often, and traditionally, contracts between agents and clients are simply verbal; however, an increasing percentage of agents are turning to written contracts to make the deal explicit. If a written query is rejected (which happens to the vast majority of queriers), the response is sent in the SASE. Typically the rejection is a form letter; getting a rejection that isn't a form letter or has a hand-written comments (especially a message to the effect of "query me for other projects") is typically taken as a very good, if disappointing, sign.
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[edit] Literary agents of the past
[edit] Further reading
- Curtis, Richard (2003) How To Be Your Own Literary Agent: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published. ISBN 0-618-38041-8
- Herman, Jeff (2005) Jeff Herman's Guide To Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents, 2006. ISBN 0-9772682-0-9.
[edit] See also
- Preditors and Editors
- Publishing
- Guide to Literary Agents
- Writer's Market
