What does a literary agent do?

From The Little Black Book of Publishing:

The role of the agent is to represent you and your work to publishers. I recommend having a think about whether you want to be represented by an agent before you start pitching and submitting your book. The first thing an agent will ask you is ‘Who have you pitched to?’ If you start reeling off every publisher in the country and they have already rejected your submission, they may not be open to receiving it again.

This defeats the purpose of an agent and what they do on your behalf and makes their job so much harder… and so they’re unlikely to take you on.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours and it 100% depends on whether you want the added support of an agent or whether you’re willing to self-represent.

If you’re lucky enough to be offered a book deal from going directly to publishers, this doesn’t mean you can’t approach an agent later on, after your first book is published. Or you might choose to write a new story and try an agent with that work instead.

Literary agenting is an official industry in Australia and the Australian Literary Agents’ Association (ALAA) provides a Code of Practice, and a full Member’s List if you wish to seek an agent or agency out.

I want to stress how important it is to legitimise any agent or agency and the quickest way to be assured of this is by checking the ALAA website or reaching out to the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) if you’re still unsure for any reason.

It can take a while for new agents and agencies to make it onto the ALAA list. If you’re interested in any of these, reach out to the people they already represent and ask about their experiences!

What does a literary agent do?

A literary agent is a writer’s representative in the commercial world and an advocate for their career. An agent represents an author in all commercial dealings with publishers, film producers, translations rights. Other subsidiary rights such as audio, film and television, dramatic, enhanced e-book, and interactive digital adaptations of works are also actively pursued by an agent.

You can think of an agent as your business partner, your partner in crime. It’s their job to make sure you’re getting the best deal and being treated the best way possible by the industry. An agent is your cheerleader, your champion, and a sounding board. They’re there to help you build your brand and business. Agents are generally looking for writers they can develop long-term relationships with, across multiple books. Agents represent you, not your book.

For some writers, an agent may be the first person to look over a writer’s work, or the first to offer editorial advice, and to help a writer polish their manuscript before it gets sent out to publishers for consideration. (Not all agents do this for their authors, so it’s something to think about when you’re finding the right agent for you!)

Publishers use their connections with agents to scope their portfolios when they’re canvassing for a particular project, like a children’s series that may have multiple authors across topics or themes. They work to nurture relationships with publishers, and publishers come to know the kind of creatives they represent. Agents also know the best publishers to send particular genres of work to. They know what publishers are looking for, beyond what’s listed on the websites.

The breadth of books published is remarkably wide and it would be impossible for an agent to be able to represent books across the industry. Therefore, they tend to have areas of interest.

How to approach an agent?

Look up a suitable agent and check their submission guidelines before making contact. If these guidelines are not available on their website, phone or email them according to their stated preference. Some agents prefer you to make a phone call first; others prefer email.

If an agent wants to look at your writing, they will generally ask you to send in an initial submission according to their guidelines. They usually do not want to see the whole work at first.

Also, keep an eye out for writers’ festivals and other similar events, where agents often have a range of sessions, often in the form of speed dating.

And finally, going hand-in-hand with the reminder that there’s plenty of official information out there about literary agents, and their organisations, remember that you don’t ever pay an agent to represent you (we only make money if we successfully sell your work). If any agent asks for money upfront in order to represent you, they are not adhering to the ALAA code of practice.

How to know if an agent is right for you.

When you work with an agent, it is a relationship and you want to feel comfortable and supported by them.

Just like with friendships and romantic relationships, some agents may not be a good fit for you and it is important to be working with someone you trust. You want to feel as though they have your back.

I recommend making a list of what you might be looking for in an agent. For example, publishing is not always a principled space for minority identities and communities (read more about principled spaces here) and therefore it is important for you to work with an agent who is interested and invested in broader issues of diversity and inclusivity, and that their author list represents this.

Regardless of whether you are writing about social issues, or you experience them in your everyday life, you want to know that your agent prioritises and champions you – all of you. It is important that whomever you decide to work with respects your all of your humanity, both when you are alone and together, and in every room you walk into, alone and together.

Is this person going to champion you in the same way to your face, and when they promote you in the industry too.

Some aspiring author may want to work with someone who represents their favourite authors, or you may want someone who you can work more closely with. It completely comes down to your working style, your expectations, and your personal needs too.

It is okay to take your time getting to know an agent. Take your time, speak to them on the phone, ask them questions, meet them face to face if you can. In the end it does come down to your gut instinct - trust yourself and your judgement. Remember, they are selling themselves as much as you are selling yourself to them. It must be a partnership, and so make sure that you take your time with this decision.