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How To Choose The Right Literary Agent For Your Book by Dennis Murphy
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How To Choose The Right Literary Agent For Your Book |
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Education
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A literary agent is one of the best ways to accelerate your progress as a writer. Most authors simply don't have the the publishing contacts to sell their work. Even if they did, they wouldn't know how to negotiate a book deal or a publishing contract. But how do you find a literary agent, and how do you choose the right one? Here are 5 simple tips to help you: 1. Research your agent Get hold of a copy of 'The Writers Handbook' which lists every literary agent in the USA and UK. (You can get these in most book stores and libraries). Most of the literary agents list the writers they represent - ideally these authors should be writing in a similar genre to you. Check on the agents' specialist areas. (There's no point sending a military book to someone who specializes in romance!) Draw up a shortlist of potential candidates. Another way to select agents is to flick through similar books to yours in a bookstore. Most authors credit their agents on their Acknowledgments page. So this should give you a good idea of likely candidates. 2. Target your agents Check out the agents' websites. Where possible, personalize your letters and use first names when writing to them. It's labour-intensive and likely to take more of your time. However, it will reap rewards as your letter is less likely to get intercepted by the gatekeepers (a.k.a. PAs and secretaries!) who are sometimes geared to sending out 'round robin' replies. Target agents where you will obviously fit in with their list. A scatter-gun strategy is less effective than one that's precisely targeted. 3. Big agency? Decide from the outset what you'd like from your working relationship with an agent. With a bigger agency, you're going to be a small fish in a big pond. If your agent has a conflicting engagement tying in with Madonna's book or yours, it's easy to guess which one will be cancelled! (And yes, this DID actually happen to me with a literary agent many years ago!) At times, your working relationship can seem very impersonal and businesslike. However, a larger agency is likely to have a big film rights department and foreign rights department with a team of staff all working hard to sell your book around the world. This leverages your time enormously as you have the weight of a big team behind you. 4. Small agency? There are plenty of one-man (and one-woman) bands. The lovely thing about these smaller agencies is that they often have a very warm and friendly working relationship with writers on their list. If you're a new author who would like a bit of 'hand-holding' and detailed feedback, then a smaller agency may be ideal. Smaller agencies tend to outsource foreign rights and film rights work to other agencies. The main disadvantage is that there are usually only one or two people handing all the clients. If your agent is away at the Frankfurt Book Fair or off on holiday, that can leave you high and dry. 5. Medium agency? Medium-sized agencies tend to be my favourites. These agencies offer the best of both worlds. They have foreign rights and film departments. Yet they are not so big, that you feel 'lost' in them. You can often arrive at a medium-size agency and find that pretty much everyone there has read your book right the way through to the PA and the office secretary! 6. Prepare questions Meet an agent before you sign with them to make sure your aims align with theirs. I constantly meet authors who complain about their literary agents. You'll be having a close, and hopefully long, working relationship with your agent. It's essential that you choose someone who you feel is on the same wavelength. dissertation writing service
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