Find a Literary Agent

Literary agents support writers with the sale and promotion of their work, managing their business interests with book publishers, film producers and studios, theatrical producers. Literary agents are also known as “book agents,” “author agents,” “publishing agents,” and “author representatives.” Literary agents often provide editorial, emotional, legal, and marketing support as well. Some agents even help authors publish articles or short stories in magazines and journals, and arrange speaking engagements.

A literary agent will give you the best chance of reaching the most readers with your writing, having the biggest impact, and making the most money. Major publishers such as Random House and Thomas Nelson don’t accept unsolicited submissions from authors. They rely on literary agents to send them the most well-written and marketable manuscripts. If you don’t get a literary agency, the only publishers who will publish your book are small- to medium-size publishers, vanity publishers, or self-publishing companies.

The odds of getting a literary agent are 1 in 6,000, if you try to get representation independently (without help). Most book agents reject 95-98% of all submissions, but you can increase your chances of getting an agent significantly if you get educated. Consulting with one or more people who understand the nuances of the publishing industry will help you make sure you have the best expectations, mindset, manuscript, pitch material (query, synopsis, and/or book proposal), and platform.

You can get a literary agent in minutes or days, but it usually takes weeks or months. Sometimes it takes a year or more. You can speed up the process by querying a large number of agents quickly, but you can only query one person per agency at a time. In most cases, if an agent sends you a rejection letter or doesn’t reply to your pitch, you can query the next agent at the agency. You can’t do that, however, if the agent says your book is not right for “us” or “our agency.” Most book agents don’t say that.

Legitimate literary agents don’t charge any up-front fees, “reading fees,” or “processing fees.” They require a 15% commission payable only if they sell your book to a publisher who wants to publish, distribute, and sell your book in your country. Literary agents usually require 20-30% commission for the sale of “subsidiary rights” such as audio, feature film, TV, streaming, stage, international editions, translations, etc. That’s because they need to share or split their commission with a “co-agent” or “sub-agent” who specializes in that area(s) to sell such rights.

Use a reliable database with up-to-date information like The Directory of Literary Agents to find all book agents accepting submissions from new authors. You don’t need to query literary agents near you, because you don’t need to meet agents in person, though you might want to meet your agent in person one day. What matters most is querying the most successful agents interested in your genre. Begin by querying literary agents with the most experience and connections in their bios.

Each literary agent has different submission methods and requirements. These requirements also often vary by genre. Fiction authors usually need a query letter and synopsis, and a completed manuscript. Nonfiction authors usually need a query, book proposal, and sample chapters of their manuscript. Some literary agents require additional information. Every book agent indicates whether they accept email, online form, or postal mail submissions. Some literary agents offer more than one option.