Agents

A
LITERARY AGENT
provides a filtering service for
publishers. They select only the best writers and
attempt to sell the work of those writers to the
major publishing houses. Agents develop
working relationships with the publishers in
order to ensure they are able to supply the right
kind of book each time.
The largest publishers will only look at book
proposals submitted by agents, so if you want to
get published in a big way then you need an agent.
They’ll take a percentage of any earnings you
make, but they’ll probably be able to negotiate a
better deal for you in the first place so there’s no
doubt that they earn their money.
The trouble is that getting a deal with an agent
is just as hard as getting one with a publisher.
They won’t sign you up unless they are confident
that they can sell your writing. In order to
continue to provide a good service to all of their
existing client authors, an agent won’t sign up
too many new writers.
Realistically, then, the top agents present a
closed door to most new authors. You won’t have
so much difficulty getting signed up by a new
agency or one that is based in a small town, but
their clout with publishers won’t be much
stronger than your own.
Agents are listed in the same writing directories
as the publishers, and usually they want to see
the same kind of proposals. Bear in mind that
agents like to nurture long-term relationships
with writers, so if you can persuade them that
you will be a full-time author with a string of
exciting forthcoming books lined up then the
proposition becomes more attractive to them.