Where does a literary agent sleep? ….
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Give up?
Between the covers.
I know bad right! It gets worse.
Why did the amateur vampire go to the library after being rejected by the literary agent?
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Give up?
To find some books to sink its teeth in.
Now it gets even worse.
Why was the literary agent scared to sign up the sequels?
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Give up?
Because they always come after him.
Okay, I promise I will stop and move on to how do I get a literary agent for my books?
What is a literary agent?
A literary agent is an agent that represents writers for their written works to publishers and assists in standing up for their client’s rights and best interests. Literary agents also negotiate the best interest of their clients such as book royalties, and publishing contracts, and are meant to be up to date on anything that pertains to their client’s writing projects and their relationship with publishers. Literary agents can be found in the book industry, screenplay writing, and theatrical writing. Literary agents submit manuscripts to the publisher on their client’s behalf.
How do I get a literary agent for my books?
1) Research and find your agent
There is someone for everyone, and if you are with the wrong one, that still stands, there is someone for everyone just don’t stay with the wrong ones once that gets clear.
I am not certain how the above sentence happened to come into my head or expanded on, however, the answer to how do I get a literary agent for my books is that the research and time that it takes to look for one is worth it even if the wait is long. By this, I mean when one does the work the reward will pay off, after all, you want a literary agent for longer than the average hang around time of a literary agent especially if you will be writing quite a lot of books in your lifetime/lifespan. Imagine investing all that time in the wrong literary agent? A lot of heartache and promises can be prevented when one finally finds the right fit i.e., the right agent for their work. Research and even the internet can help to begin the start of finding your literary agent. Identify that which you are writing (your project) to the literary agents out there who have helped other authors get published in similar topics and genres such as yours. It’s going to be a long-term relationship, it’s better if it starts on the right alignment and footing otherwise it might end up wasting everyone’s time, or a lesson well learnt by everyone.
In the beginning, when one is ready to contact a literary agent be prudent, and that doesn’t mean one has to necessarily go for the first literary agent that said yes unless it feels totally right. This choice should be very intentional, it ultimately will define where your book fits and sits in this world.
When approaching a literary agent this is what you need to know.
https://tdenchpatel.com/how-to-write-a-literary-query-letter/
https://tdenchpatel.com/writing-a-winning-book-proposal/
Should I get a literary agent? Do I really need one?
The self-publishing route has become popular over time, however, finding a good publisher is like getting accepted by Harvard. There are that few but if you want to call them lucky then let’s call it that, make it your luck in getting in by being patient, not only having a great story but one that has been written very well along with the background work in getting the publishing contract, even if it means facing the rejections, continuously doing the research, then getting a literary agent, because this is what the literary agent can and will do:
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Negotiate the publishing contract
The literary agent should know (especially if your research has been done properly) the ins and out of the publishing world and the remuneration that you deserve for your work. Ultimately the literary agent will also get paid, if the book is as good as they think, the literary agent will negotiate well for everyone’s interest.
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Your literary agent will stand in your corner after all he/she is your representative
Just as a lawyer would, in this case, a literary agent (who is not a lawyer), understands the publishing world i.e., deals, benefits and are aware of copyright laws are good to have, if you do have one and need one, especially if your goals and dreams in the publishing world are pretty ambitious. One wants to ensure that their creative work doesn’t get misused or used by anyone freely especially when the author’s or writer’s name/reputation increases over time. Not everyone should be able to use this content, not without remuneration to the person who is deserving of those rights. Your literary agent is here for these sorts of times. The literary agent also helps motivate and encourage their client in their writing, career, speaking arrangements, do simultaneous submissions and tracking of payments.
This article helps get into what a literary agent does What does a literary agent do?
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Literary agents have connections
Literary agents (especially if they have a great track record) have a lot of connections in the world of books and publishing. Having a good literary agent will add to this benefit of getting the book further out there to reach more of an audience through their network, after all the more books their client sells, the more reasons they will have to keep representing their client, and it will also be worth their time.
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What does a literary agent look for?
An agent will take a longer look at the query when they see the great potential and long-term potential. From experience, the agent would know what commercial viability is i.e., something that can be, is a potential hit, or what needs working on for the market. The literary agent should know their market or the market if they are going to represent you.
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What are the fees for literary agents?
It depends, but literary agents generally work on commission for every book sold. They may get a commission for the total number of books sold by an advance that the publisher may offer, and they may also incorporate in their terms and conditions the commission for foreign sales. By industry standards with a domestic publisher, a literary agent can take up to 15% of commission on the total income on the first sale of the books before taxes.
2) Ensure the manuscript is complete
How do I get a literary agent for my books? This is a crucial point, whether it’s a fiction or non-fiction book, I suggest, as one writes their book dedicate time once a week to the marketing aspect of the book that you are writing. At least by the point the book or novel is complete you know the next steps. This way as you write the novel it’s fresh, day in and day out and by researching along with writing the book and novel the literary agents dedicated to that sort of genre can be done thoroughly but slowly and when the book or novel is complete the next steps will be clear. That is when the literary agent can be approached. Remember the book or novel is the first thing that has to be completed but when contacting the literary agent, here, at this point extra diligence is required, a bit more dedication given to the book at this part, as it’s the literary agent who ultimately decides the fate and as an author who has dedicated so much time in writing a book or a novel, I am certain you want the fate and destiny of your book or novel to be in great hands.
3) Get used to rejection
How do I get a literary agent for my books? This point is so important that I would put it down for questions such as how do I get a job, how do I land my dream job, interview tips, dating tips, and asking for a salary increase (this one, I’d be careful with, take the necessary precautions), how do I get published by a traditional publisher, how do I sell more books? How do I get married? (a joke by the way), how do I find the man of my dreams (I won’t be able to tell you), how do I get into playing for my country? … just whatever it is, get used to rejection, even Clark Kent got used to it.
Rejection is a writer’s best friend, ask me! Rejection can also teach a person who is after whatever they are after, a lot of great things, including renewed strength. The thing with rejection is, that it will want to make a person give up. There are some things that a person is tested with (I know there comes an age or time where one is like, oh! God, do I really need this test at this age or after all that I have been through?), and there are some signs that say this is not the door that you should be knocking on maybe you should be looking for the key to some other door. Only you would know, one knows this from intuition. What is also meant to be will be. Sometimes it’s not giving up, but it’s going for who you should have been all along (that was a long two cents on rejection there).
4) Follow-up
How do I get a literary agent for my books? When it comes to this point, I really was reluctant to put it in because I never did follow up on my query letters, but after reading The 6-step strategy, point 6 changed my viewpoint here on why following up is important. For the most part, we think it’s pushy but there is that 1% chance that something happened, like life happens, even with an agent.
Now, I have one nice addition here that you will love. Here is a link to literary agents in 6 countries https://blog.reedsy.com/literary-agents/
Do you know why ghosts can’t live in libraries?
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Give up?
Because they go through books so quickly.
I had to throw in that last one.
You can also have a look at How do I get a literary agent for my books short video.
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In the next article, I will be going into what is your target audience.
Yours sincerely
T. Dench Patel
