"An agent cannot sell a story that the author would never be
able to sell. What an agent can do is sell it faster, and get better
terms for it. ... Agents aren't magic; they can't make an editor buy
anything. No agent has so much clout that he can force an editor to
publish a bad story." ~ Lawrence Watt - Evans
"...first-rate authors add value by submitting better
proposals, teaching authors how to improve their books and working
closely with publishers throughout the process." ~ Bert Ghezzi
"As an agent you have a lot more possibilities for pushing the envelope. There are books, movies, television. You can roll out and become part of a bigger process. You're closer to the authors, know their ambitions, concerns, fears. The hardest part is being sure you put your author with an editor you know is going to stay in place, where the people you sold the book to will still be in power when it's finished." ~ Joni Evans
"A writer cannot be expected to know all sorts of arcane laws, nor can he be expected to know precisely which editor is looking for precisely which book. The agent can; it's her job. She is your eyes and ears in the publishing world." ~ Kyle Phillips
"Forty years ago agents were mere peripheral necessities, like dentists, consulted as needed, not the dominant figures in the lives of authors that many of them have since become."
"Finding a literary agent is like moving to a new town and having to find a contractor to remodel your house and a mechanic to fix your car all at one. It has a strong element of Russian roulette." ~ National Writers Union
"The truth is, even a very good agent isn't always right. Agenting isn't a science, and every situation contains surprises and elements of risk." ~ Laura Resnick
"Literary agents once functioned primarily as salespeople. Today, they're taking on the additional roles of editor and marketer. The shift reflects the consolidation of the once-clubby publishing world into an industry dominated by global media companies. With fewer editors forced to handle more books, agents must do more to promote aspiring writers."
"Since my agency represents mostly nonfiction, our greatest challenge these days is to find new writers with a platform. For instance, it used to be that all you needed to sell a health of medical book was a good idea and a doctor. Now you need a doctor who has his own TV show or appears as a regular consultant on a network program, writes a nationally syndicated column -- you get the idea. Our job has been to find authors who come with a platform or to help the author create one." ~ Nancy Love
"Because of the pressure of the chain buyers, publishers are increasingly locked into publishing only the new authors with no record and bestselling authors."
Association of Authors' Representatives, Inc. is the professional association for literary agents. Note the Canon of Ethics and the FAQ. Includes recommended links.
Guide to Literary Agents. is a standard hard copy resource, but note the free newsletter.
The National Writers Union has good links.
The Science Fiction Writers Association has useful comment and links on selecting agents.
Be Your Own Literary Agent: the ultimate insider's guide to getting published by Martin P. Levin {KF3084.L48 1995}.
Guide to Literary Agents {YR}.
How To Be Your Own Literary Agent: The Business of Getting a Book Published, Revised and Expanded [KF 3084.C87] is helpful.
Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors & Literary Agents.
Literary Agents: what they do, how they do it, and how to find and work with the right one for you by Michael Larsen {PN163.L37 1996}.
Literary Agents: a writer's introduction: featuring in-depth interviews with the people who make it happen by John F. Baker {PN 163.B35 1999}.
Literary Agents of North America.
Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents 2002 - 2003 edited by Jeff Herman. May include some agents to be avoided.
Writing Realism by Daniel Borus includes the rise of literary agents in the late 19th Century.
There are several books on literary agents plus many articles in the popular writer's periodicals. Your public library should have a good selection.
The first full-time U.S. literary agent was Paul R. Reynolds in New York in 1893. The Copyright Law of 1891 provided authors with an opportunity to bargain for their work. At the same time, the rise of mass market periodicals created more financial opportunities for writers to sell their work. Too, as publishers became larger, author - publisher relationships became more business-like and contracts became more complex. There were fewer personal relationships. Authors and publishers were more likely to disagree.
Publishers were absolutely opposed to agents and refused to
deal with them. They believed that it was natural for publishers and
authors to deal with each other without any intermediaries. They
certainly did not wish to bargain with a knowledgeable negotiator.
Henry Holt was quoted as saying: "the agent has become a very serious
detriment to literature and a leech on the author, sucking blood
entirely out of proportion to his later services..." I suspect that his
real concern was that agents would make publishers pay more for new
manuscripts. While many authors preferred the traditional system, a few
were interested in a change. When it became clear that the author with
an agent was likely to be better paid, more authors sought agent
representation.
An interesting, recent example has been the transition of
authors of Christian fiction and non-fiction who typically were only
interested in spreading the "good news." Today, the number of Christian
authors represented by literary agents is substantial. In particular,
agents help to plan the author's writing career and develop ideas for
related products and improved marketing.
There may be about 1000 literary agents in the U.S. today. Lantz Powell, at the Literary Agency for Southern Authors in Chattanooga is the only full-time literary agent I know of in Tennessee. About 90 percent of the books issued by larger trade publishers come through agents. The percentage is much smaller for smaller publishers.
While originally somewhat of a celebrity phenomenon, today agents represent many authors whose reputation and earnings are much more modest. Agents represent a wide variety of authors and work with a variety of publishers. For example, some academics whose works are scholarly and specialized are represented by agents.
Publishers continue to complain that agents have driven prices
up unreasonably. Still, many publishers prefer to deal with agents
rather than the author. Agents know the business and are not likely to
be temperamental. Agented manuscripts are likely to be appropriate for
the house and to require only limited editorial work. Agents are also
very helpful in securing appropriate author participation in publicity
and promotion initiatives. Finally, agents are often helpful with
marketing plans.
The agent usually offers editorial guidance. This ranges from substantial intervention to more general suggestions for improvement.
The agent is the author's business partner, representing the author in all dealings with publishing houses. The primary function is to secure the best price and conditions for the manuscript, including subsidiary rights. The author most needs an agent when the publisher is willing to publish the manuscript. A good agent is an expert negotiator and knows what clauses are important to the author and which are not.
The secondary function is to place the manuscript with an appropriate house. A good agent has an extensive, current knowledge of the market and knows what editors are looking for. The agent should know who, "within a publishing house.., is responsible for what areas, who is interested in what genres and styles, how the decisions are made within a given company, what is currently selling well..." Proposal writing is a particular strength. The experienced agent knows how to write a proposal that will appeal to a particular editor or editors in general. Audience and marketing is at the heart of the winning proposal and agents are usually good in focusing on these issue.
Agents deal with rights. Ignoring subsidiary rights, there are three major rights categories for the book:
After the contract is settled, the agent may monitor the process to see that things go well and resolving any conflicts that might arise. After the book is published, the agent may assist in publicity and sales initiatives. The agent may be involved in checking royalty and marketing arrangements to insure that they are in good order.
While the agent provides editorial and emotional support for the author, literary agents are NOT normally book doctors who do line editing. Instead, they provide more general directions (broad editorial direction) for manuscript improvement.
Agents may be generalists, but quite a few specialize in a particular type of writing such as SF and horror or consumer health non-fiction. The author must ask: "which agents handle the type of content that your write"? Finding which agents represent established authors in your field can be a good step. You need to find an agent who takes new authors and has had some success with them.
The Association of Authors' Representatives notes that the minimum relationship involves three elements:
I would add a fourth element and that is:
No licensing, training, or certification is required to set up shop and advertise services. Anyone can claim to be a literary agent. With the WWW, it is easy to create a professional looking site and solicit authors. There are scams involving "agents" who lack training, experience, and contacts. Authors need to verify an agent's credentials before paying any fees. A manuscript from an inadequate agent is likely to go directly into the "slush pile."
Beware of an agent who:
Literary Market Place is a traditional source for finding literary agents. You can access this directory via the UT web portal. Beware of agents advertising in Writer's Digest or Writer's Market and similar sources. Some authors have had success in contacting established writers for recommendations. Do this cautiously and carefully. The request letter should be short and to the point.
Typically, agents are not interested in an author until the manuscript is finished. "He needs something he can see; without a manuscript, there's no knowing if you can write anything that's worth the agent's time to try to sell." Since many authors are unable to complete their work, the finished product is important. Ironically, most agents are interested in an author after the first sale has been made.
Referral from an established client and then direct contact by the writer are the two most common ways that agents find clients.
Contact an agent as you would an editor. Use a brief query letter that succinctly describes the manuscript. Include notable publishing history/experience. Limit letter to one page. Include SSAE. Multiple query letters are fine. If the agent is interested, you will be asked to provide an outline and probably sample chapters, usually the first three. Outlines are about 20 pages long and describe the book. In a novel, the plot and major subplots would be emphasized. A synopsis is one to five pages long and is more of an overview. Do not submit an outline unless one is requested, but a synopsis is fine. Most agents will not read more than five pages. You may query several agents at the same time.
Don't make these errors:
Questions to ask an agent:
There is no reason that an author cannot market her book and contact an agent when a publisher has responded positively.
Many literary agencies are really one or two professional shops. Others consist of a small number of professionals with reasonable clerical support. A few, especially those that are multi-media oriented and deal with a variety of entertainers, are large.
Smaller agencies are often limited in their knowledge of subsidiary rights opportunities and also taxation and legal issues. However, the smaller agency may have substantial knowledge of a particular publishing segment.
The William Morris and International Creative Management agencies are large and offer more opportunities for film and television rights. A few big name authors may also employ MANAGERS who cannot negotiate deals for clients, but can provide advice. A lawyer would then represent the client.
Until recently, there were two professional associations. The older Society of Author's Representatives had about fifty members. The newer Independent Literary Agents Association had about one hundred members. They merged into the Association of Author's Representatives. Established and reputable agents are likely to be members of the AAR. The AAR Canon of Ethics may be found here. AAR members may not charge reading fees. Membership in the AAR "is restricted to agents whose primary professional activity for the two years preceding application for membership in the AAR has been as an author's representative or a playwrights' representative" and been principally responsible for executed agreements for ten different literary properties during the 18 months before application.
The agent's first task is to identify and secure clients. Since agents are paid via commission, it is important to represent authors whose work can be sold to publishers. Many established agents take on only a few new clients each year. A new agent would be most likely to spend more time on this aspect. Ideally, the agent would only work with authors who were already successful or who come highly recommended. Only agents who make money from reading fees would be interested in new or relatively unknown authors. In general, agents who charge reading or other fees are not to be trusted.
With clients and an established relationship, the agent must review manuscripts to determine if they are ready for submission to publishers. Some editing may be necessary. This could include developmental, line and copy editing. When the manuscript is in good order, the agent will attempt to place it with appropriate publishers. Here the agent's knowledge of what different imprints issue and their preferences is important. Matching the house to the book builds upon experience and current knowledge of changes within houses and the market for that kind of work.
When the publisher is interested in acquiring the manuscript, the agent begins a negotiation process that may be simple and straight-forward or quite complicated. The agent must have a realistic value for the work. If she asks for too little, both the author and the agent lose money. If she asks for too much, the publisher may withdraw from the process. With so many subsidiary rights possibilities today, including digital rights, the negotiations can be difficult. Hopefully, the result is a pleasing contract and a large payment for the right to publish the book.
The agent may be involved with the publisher in handling the small details that arise while a manuscript is transformed into a book. When the book is being distributed, the agent may assist with advertising and publicity initiatives such as an author tour.
After the book is published, the agent may monitor royalty payments and contractual terms.
As more subsidiary rights have become more important agents need to be familiar with and able to work with a variety of media.
"The best agents can also strategically plan, by looking beyond the next book, offering advice and direction to help shape a career as well as freeing up the writer from the often mundane details of the business."
Larger agencies and some smaller firms may provide personal services to their clients. This might include assistance with tax avoidance and financial management. In a few cases, it might include wardrobe help or even walking the author's dog.
Even today, publishers strongly feel that authors should submit their work to only one publisher at a time because of the time and effort that the publisher gives to the manuscript review process. I am not certain if that is still a compelling argument, but the one publisher at a time rule is still widely followed.
Single submission may mean that it takes a long time for
several publishers to review a work. It also means that there is little
opportunity to encourage publishers to bid against each other for a
work. Scott Meredith, perhaps the most famous recent literary agent,
conducted the first auction in 1966. He combined multiple submission
with the auction to encourage competitive bidding and substantially
increase the amount paid for a new work. Although publishers were
generally negative to the idea at first, it caught on and has become
fairly common for brand name authors. While publishers complain that
auctions make them pay too much for a work, they continue to
participate.
The agent selects those editors/publishers most likely to be
interested in the book and sends them the appropriate materials [which
might be the mss, sample chapters, or even a proposal]. A deadline is
set for the bidding to close. The highest bid may not get the book
since there may be other conditions such as marketing concerns.
An agent works with many different publishers and editors. Trust and respect is crucial in this relationship. An agent who is no longer trusted would find it difficult to place books. What an agent says about a new book is partially a sales presentation, but the fundamentals must be accurate or the next visit may be a short one.
An agent is only as good as her authors. When an author leaves, the agent may be vulnerable. The agent needs to find authors with long-term promise and keep them. The agent cannot alienate authors. Established authors may dispense with agents and do their own negotiation using their lawyer. Established authors may leave the smaller agency to go to one of the big entertainment agencies. Thus, client retention may be a problem.
Authors change as do agents so the author - agent relationship may only last a few years. Established authors often change agents over the years for a variety of reasons. One survey found that an average established author had three different agents during his or her creative life. The relationship is based on trust and solid communication. Both can change over time.
Agents are paid by publishers. Payment for the manuscript, including royalties later, are paid directly to the agent who takes 15 percent and then sends the rest to the author. If the agent sells foreign rights to a non-American publisher, the fee is usually 20 percent since a foreign agent is normally involved.
Fees are not a problem until a work is placed by the publisher. When that happens, many authors begin to feel that they could have placed their own work and saved 15 percent. While agents complain that the 15 percent fee may not allow them to be profitable, there is considerable resistance to raising fees.
Reading fees have been a controversial topic for some time. Scott Meredith was a pioneer in the notion that a literary agency could make money by charging a fee to read author's manuscripts and then suggest improvements. The problem is the implied promise that the better manuscripts will then be selected by the agency and that the author will become a client. This rarely happens. Another problem is that the quality of the reading and the suggestions may not be as good as promised. Some agents argue that no reputable agent would be involved in the reading fee business. Others argue that this is a needed service and one that provides an alternative to raising the commission on clients.
This is an area where there are many scams so any author should be most careful before sending a manuscript off for evaluation and paying the reading fee.
As large trade publishers become larger and more bottom-line oriented, it is difficult for the agent to place the mid-list book. These books account for a large number of titles and authors.
Agents are increasingly interested in representing authors whose work is likely to sell well. The author must have completed some marketing research and completed at least a tentative marketing plan. The agent should show interest and experience in marketing planning.
The many changes in editorial departments in larger publishing houses have disrupted established relationships between agent and editor. This makes it more difficult for the editor to place the book and to negotiate since the environment is in flux.
At the same time, flux in the editorial ranks may make the agent the steady and relatively unchanging person for the author to work with. Thus, the agent becomes more important.
Authors may be difficult to deal with. They can be temperamental, arrogant, depressed or in many other conditions that make them problematic. Besides the professional skills involved with editing and knowledge of the current book publishing environment, the agent must be patient and tactful. Unwarranted optimism might also be helpful.
Rapid technological change has created considerable controversy in how "in print" will be handled in contracts. With publication on demand increasingly popular, a book could be kept in print forever even though the publisher no longer actively promotes the work. Publishers may want to keep books in print if they sell a relatively few copies. Authors and their agents want the rights to a work to revert to the author if the publisher sells only a few copies and the work is not being actively marketed.
Publishers see the rights to publish an ebook edition or publishing on demand as just another edition, like the trade paper one. Authors and their agents see this as a subsidiary right that should be negotiated separately with the 50 - 50 split usually associated with subsidiary rights or licensing. So far, publishers have been unyielding in their resistance to more author friendly contracts.
The WWW has provided many agents, including some that are not "real" agents, with increased visibility. Many of the "agents" visible on the WWW make money from various fees (reading fees in particular) and rarely place books with publishers. Other agents have arrangements with book doctors so that they receive "kick backs" when they refer authors to the book doctor for manuscript improving and fixing.
Discuss the assets and liabilities of literary agents from the publisher's perspective.
Discuss the assets and liabilities of literary agents from the author's perspective.
Can an author be successful without an agent? Why? Which authors are most likely to benefit from an agent?
How would you identify and contact an agent?
If you were an author, what would your stand be on digital rights and rights reversion? Why?
