- Feb 3, 2024
- LitCoin
- 0
New blog post by Claire G
Finding a Literary Agent
If you want to be traditionally published, the chances are that you’ll need a literary agent. Their job is to sell your book to a publishing house and manage the ‘business’ side of things for the author, including contracts and royalties, and rights in other territories, in translation, audio, film and TV. Many agents also work editorially with their clients, helping to get the manuscript into the best possible shape before sending it out on submission. Note that literary agents do not charge a fee; they operate on commission after the book is sold (usually 15-20% of author earnings) so if you’re ever asked for money up-front, run! Many (but not all) legitimate agents are members of the Association of Authors’ Agents and adhere to their Code of Practice.
Bearing in mind that I’m in the UK, and that US submission expectations can be very different, here’s what I’ve learned over my years of querying.
Experience
Over the years, the more I’ve honed my craft, the more full manuscript requests and personalised feedback I’ve received. Occasionally, you’ll hear an author say that they got an agent and publisher first time round, but that’s often not the case. This industry takes perseverance and resilience to navigate. I wrote another post titled ‘Rejection’, so do take a look at it if you’d like to read more on this. It took fourteen years and several novels to secure my literary agent, and even then, that book didn’t sell to a publisher. It happens. I’m now back in the querying trenches after deciding to part ways with my agent (for a number of reasons, and in an amicable manner).
Here’s a query letter I’ve mocked up. It’s not perfect, but feel free to use it as a guide:
Dear (agent’s first name),
What if a goddess reveals that your fate is to marry your best friend, but he rejects you? And what if the goddess is hiding a secret so powerful it could rip your world apart?
I hope you are well. Please find attached the synopsis and first five-thousand words of my YA romantasy, QUEEN OF ICE AND WRATH (75,000 words). The story was inspired by the tale of The Snow Queen combined with polytheistic mythology and a lot of imagination! I would compare the style to A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (but minus the spice).
I love that your favourite YA books often centre around belonging and becoming, as my main character, seventeen-year-old Sylvana (Sylvie), goes on a journey of self-discovery while simultaneously battling her way through the vagaries of the gods and the challenges of unrequited first love. In addition, I heard your super interview on The Write and Wrong Podcast and I’m a huge fan of your client (author’s name) (book title).
In terms of myself, I have a Psychology degree, spent several years working as a primary school teacher and now work part time for xxx. I write for a few hours every morning before my two boys wake up (it’s my happy time!) and I belong to a fantastic writers’ group. In 2022, I secured a place on a selective Curtis Brown Creative novel-writing course. I’m always striving to improve my craft.
I look forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes,
Claire Gallagher
(email address/phone number)
Final Thoughts
What is your experience of querying literary agents? Do you have any tips for those aspiring to be traditionally published?
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Finding a Literary Agent
If you want to be traditionally published, the chances are that you’ll need a literary agent. Their job is to sell your book to a publishing house and manage the ‘business’ side of things for the author, including contracts and royalties, and rights in other territories, in translation, audio, film and TV. Many agents also work editorially with their clients, helping to get the manuscript into the best possible shape before sending it out on submission. Note that literary agents do not charge a fee; they operate on commission after the book is sold (usually 15-20% of author earnings) so if you’re ever asked for money up-front, run! Many (but not all) legitimate agents are members of the Association of Authors’ Agents and adhere to their Code of Practice.
Bearing in mind that I’m in the UK, and that US submission expectations can be very different, here’s what I’ve learned over my years of querying.
- Make sure your manuscript is finished and edited. Leave it for a while then come back to it and edit it again. Ask trusted beta readers for their honest critique. Edit again. Polish, polish, polish. Then stop procrastinating, take a deep breath, and get it out into the world!
- Research! I started with The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, but this was quite a while ago and you can now find out a lot online, such as which literary agents rep your genre, which authors are on their client list, what’s on their MSWL (manuscript wish-list), their submission guidelines etc. You can also find many agents on social media, which gives you a feel for what they’re looking for, how they champion their authors and what they’re like as a person. Search for interviews that they’ve done too (written, podcasts, YouTube etc). Querytracker gives you an insight into their responsiveness.
- Compile your shortlist of agents. Prepare your submission package to send out in batches of around 6-10. The reason it’s advisory to send out only a few at a time is because it allows you to respond to any specific feedback you receive (rare), or to evaluate what’s not working in your package if all you get is rejections (or worse – silence). Agents often ask you to email a brief, professional cover letter (addressed to that specific agent – see example below) which focuses on the book, why you’re querying them in particular (show you’ve done your research and really personalise this paragraph!), and a bit of information about yourself; a one (max two) page synopsis, often with all the spoilers including the ending (though not always!); and the sample chapters (frequently the first three chapters/first 50 pages/first 10,000 words, but do check their guidelines and stick to them). You can ask for feedback on your submission package in the Lab or Huddle, or pay for services such as Agent 121s.
- Be patient! It can take up to 12-16 weeks to hear back from some agents, though many will get back to you a lot faster. As above, if you don’t receive any full manuscript requests, consider any feedback and take another look at how you can make your package more compelling. Repeat in batches.
- If you get a full manuscript request (hooray!), strike while the iron’s hot. Get it to the agent as soon as possible while their interest is fresh. Also notify the other agents who are yet to reply to you that you’ve had a full request from another agent (just a short, professional update via email including the title of your book/date of submission/your name – the subject line could say something like UPDATE – FULL MANUSCRIPT REQUESTED).
- Be patient! Again, it can take a while to hear back (and, sadly, sometimes you won’t, despite professional requests/gentle nudges for an update – which should begin no earlier than six weeks after the request for the full). When you do hear back, if it’s a rejection, there is often feedback provided as to why. If it’s an offer for a call/to meet/of representation (congratulations!), do let the other agents who’ve yet to reply know. This can bump you to the top of the ‘slush pile’ and you may get more requests for the full, or faster responses from those who already have the full. You may even find yourself in the position of having multiple offers of representation!
- When you talk to the agent/s, have a list of questions ready for them, e.g. What did you like about the novel? What editorial work do you think needs to be done? Do you have any specific editors/publishers in mind? Do you have a timeline for submission in mind? What happens if the book doesn’t sell – would you represent me for my next book? Is your commission industry standard (15% home, 20% overseas)? What is the length of contract? How much notice would be needed to terminate the contract? How many authors do you represent? What recent successes have you had/recent books you’ve sold? What is your preferred method of communication and how often would we communicate? Are you a member of the Association of Authors’ Agents (though you should perhaps already know this)? How do you handle the selling of sub-rights – foreign, translation, film/TV and audio? In house or sourced outwardly? What happens next?
- Decide if you’re going to accept the offer (or which one if there are multiple on the table). Inform other agents that you’ve accepted an offer, thanking them for their time. Celebrate!
Experience
Over the years, the more I’ve honed my craft, the more full manuscript requests and personalised feedback I’ve received. Occasionally, you’ll hear an author say that they got an agent and publisher first time round, but that’s often not the case. This industry takes perseverance and resilience to navigate. I wrote another post titled ‘Rejection’, so do take a look at it if you’d like to read more on this. It took fourteen years and several novels to secure my literary agent, and even then, that book didn’t sell to a publisher. It happens. I’m now back in the querying trenches after deciding to part ways with my agent (for a number of reasons, and in an amicable manner).
Here’s a query letter I’ve mocked up. It’s not perfect, but feel free to use it as a guide:
Dear (agent’s first name),
What if a goddess reveals that your fate is to marry your best friend, but he rejects you? And what if the goddess is hiding a secret so powerful it could rip your world apart?
I hope you are well. Please find attached the synopsis and first five-thousand words of my YA romantasy, QUEEN OF ICE AND WRATH (75,000 words). The story was inspired by the tale of The Snow Queen combined with polytheistic mythology and a lot of imagination! I would compare the style to A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (but minus the spice).
I love that your favourite YA books often centre around belonging and becoming, as my main character, seventeen-year-old Sylvana (Sylvie), goes on a journey of self-discovery while simultaneously battling her way through the vagaries of the gods and the challenges of unrequited first love. In addition, I heard your super interview on The Write and Wrong Podcast and I’m a huge fan of your client (author’s name) (book title).
In terms of myself, I have a Psychology degree, spent several years working as a primary school teacher and now work part time for xxx. I write for a few hours every morning before my two boys wake up (it’s my happy time!) and I belong to a fantastic writers’ group. In 2022, I secured a place on a selective Curtis Brown Creative novel-writing course. I’m always striving to improve my craft.
I look forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes,
Claire Gallagher
(email address/phone number)
Final Thoughts
What is your experience of querying literary agents? Do you have any tips for those aspiring to be traditionally published?
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