{"id":875,"date":"2023-05-02T12:35:26","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T12:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/?p=875"},"modified":"2023-05-12T05:35:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T05:35:11","slug":"things-newbie-writers-dont-know-about-literary-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/things-newbie-writers-dont-know-about-literary-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"Things Newbie Writers Don\u2019t Know About Literary Agents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you want to opt for the traditional route of book publication, you will need a literary agent. On the other hand, if you are self-publishing, you don\u2019t need a literary agent. Also, if you have confined yourself to pursuing only the smaller publishers, you don\u2019t need a literary agent, as the smaller publishing houses accept submissions directly from the writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might think of your literary agent as a lawyer who is good to have \u2013 even \u2013 if you are thinking about approaching small publishers for the moment. You will have to write a professional&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.reedsy.com\/guide\/how-to-write-a-query-letter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">query letter<\/a>&nbsp;and send it out to the literary agent who you believe could be representing your manuscript the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_72 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/things-newbie-writers-dont-know-about-literary-agents\/#Who_is_a_literary_agent\" title=\"Who is a literary agent?\">Who is a literary agent?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/things-newbie-writers-dont-know-about-literary-agents\/#You_Dont_Have_to_Pay_Them_Upfront\" title=\"You Don\u2019t Have to Pay Them Upfront\">You Don\u2019t Have to Pay Them Upfront<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/things-newbie-writers-dont-know-about-literary-agents\/#An_Experienced_Agent_isnt_necessarily_the_Better_Option\" title=\"An Experienced Agent isn\u2019t necessarily the Better Option\">An Experienced Agent isn\u2019t necessarily the Better Option<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/things-newbie-writers-dont-know-about-literary-agents\/#Literary_Agents_will_Have_Your_Back\" title=\"Literary Agents will Have Your Back\">Literary Agents will Have Your Back<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_is_a_literary_agent\"><\/span>Who is a literary agent?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A literary agent represents you and is a professional and potentially increases your chances of getting a better deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will want to think of the literary agent as a matchmaker for your book, as their job is to get you to the right publisher and help you throughout your professional writing career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nonetheless, as a novice writer, you should know that getting a literary agent could be the hardest part of your entire writing career. Getting a literary agent is the uphill part \u2013 it requires patience and determination as it might take months, even years, to land a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also expect loads of rejections. Many writers tend to give up pursuing a writing career because of the many rejections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, once you get the literary agent, it gets so much easier, and you can kick-start your writing career as a traditionally-published author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To get a suitable literary agent, you will want to start by doing your research and find literary agents who represent books of the same genre and send out emails \u2013 or \u2013 query letters to pitch your book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that we have covered the basics about why you need a literary agent and how to approach them, let us talk about a few things that most people don\u2019t know about literary agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"You_Dont_Have_to_Pay_Them_Upfront\"><\/span>You Don\u2019t Have to Pay Them Upfront<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The thing about literary agents is that you don\u2019t have to pay them upfront. With that said, you will want to beware of literary agents who ask you to pay them upfront. If they do \u2013 you know \u2013 it is a shady business, and you shouldn\u2019t be spending your hard-earned money on scams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An upfront payment isn\u2019t the standard for working with literary agents. According to the standard agreement, a literary agent would take 15% of your revenue generated from the book deals that the literary agent negotiates for you at one of the big publication houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The payment doesn\u2019t include your advance and the royalties that you get as a writer. With traditional publishing, the writer gets an advance before their book comes out, and then if they make more than their advance in their royalties \u2013 they start getting royalty checks afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nonetheless, according to the typical standards, the literary agent will take 15% of all of those revenues. If you look at it, you see that the literary agent doesn\u2019t make money until you \u2013 the writer \u2013 starts to generate revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the literary agent, it is a commission-based structure. It is important to mention here that the standard commission for the literary agent varies from one region to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.journalword.com\/top-5-benefits-of-upsc-epfo-exam-coaching\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Top 5 Benefits of UPSC EPFO Exam Coaching<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"An_Experienced_Agent_isnt_necessarily_the_Better_Option\"><\/span>An Experienced Agent isn\u2019t necessarily the Better Option<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Another thing that newbie writers tend to misunderstand is considering a more senior agent as a better resource. In other words, for a professional agent who has been representing writers for a long time and is therefore well-known in the publishing industry \u2013 they aren\u2019t necessarily a better option for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, it feels amazing to be <a href=\"https:\/\/literaryagencies.com\/list-of-literary-agents\/best-literary-agents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">represented by one of the OGs<\/a> \u2013 but \u2013 often, literary agents who represent grand names have been in the industry for quite a while, which means that they might not be interested in taking on new clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it would be pretty rare if they were to take on new clients. As a newbie writer, it might be easy to understand and reach the general conclusion that those senior agents might not be as hungry and eager as newer agents to get clients on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, it is a misconception to think that only because an agent is newer and younger \u2013 they are not well-connected or they don\u2019t have sufficient exposure to have enough industry relationships. The thing about the new literary agents is that they are often working at well-established agencies, and that they have solid relationships with publishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, the literary agents might be recent, but they might have come from another part of the industry; they could have been editors at grand publishing houses \u2013 for instance. This way, the literary agents will know their previous colleague editors at their old publishing house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This way, the new literary agents already have built a network and have those contacts in place. You get the point \u2013 you shouldn\u2019t assume that a younger or newer agent isn\u2019t the way to go. You can pitch the newer agents and move forward in the writing career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes \u2013 the best option is actually to pitch those newer agents because they are actively building their client base. So, they are actively looking for talented writers to represent, which is great for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Literary_Agents_will_Have_Your_Back\"><\/span>Literary Agents will Have Your Back<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, most people don\u2019t realize that agents are so much more than salespeople. A literary agent goes beyond just selling your book. Of course, the primary focus of a literary agent is to help you land a great book deal \u2013 and \u2013 sell your book by negotiating on your behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But \u2013 a good agent is creatively minded too. They will be your helping hands throughout your <a href=\"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/how-can-the-study-process-be-made-easier\/\">writing career<\/a> \u2013 once you land a deal with them. They will give you honest reviews and brilliant ideas to incorporate into your book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you look at it \u2013 a literary agent is there for you \u2013 you will have a long-term relationship with them as they will constantly help you get better. A literary agent is someone who would like to be involved with you in the writing process. They will have your back and be one of your biggest supporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to opt for the traditional route of book publication, you will need a literary agent. On the other hand, if you are self-publishing, you don\u2019t need a literary agent. Also, if you have confined yourself to pursuing only the smaller publishers, you don\u2019t need a literary agent, as the smaller publishing houses &#8230; <a title=\"Things Newbie Writers Don\u2019t Know About Literary Agents\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/things-newbie-writers-dont-know-about-literary-agents\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Things Newbie Writers Don\u2019t Know About Literary Agents\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":876,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":897,"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions\/897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postsjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}