EA Blevins - Agents

Q: What does an agent do and why do I want one?
A: Agents market your book to publishers for you. They handle querying, contract negotiations, and the general leg-work. Having an agent makes your getting-published chances better (not certain) because agents pick and choose their clients (you make a deal with your agent, but you do not "hire" them -- they are in the position of power). Getting past an agent's screening process tells publishers that your work isn't complete trash. It is not, however, always necessary to have an agent to get published. It's just helpful.

Q: Is it impossible to get an agent if you're a new writer?
A: No. It's not even impossible to get a big-name agent, if you have something they want. Be bold, be brave.

Q: Is it impossible to get an agent if you do stupid things, like send all your light teenage romance queries to agents who only represent serious adult art of a literary persuasion, and whose favorite writers ever are Kafka and Henry James?
A: Yes. The absolute and unequivocal answer is yes.

For the inside track from an actual agent, try the snarky blog of Miss Snark, the literary agent. Links to individual and illuminating Miss Snark posts abound throughout this page because she has good perspective on subjects broached here.

Things I learned from Miss Snark:

How many agents should I query? "100"
How fancy should I get in a query letter? "Stay plain and straightforward."
How creative should I get in my query? (Colored paper, pictures, handmade trinkets, specialized coffee mugs, etc.) "Don't."

Get your hands, either through a store or library, on one of the following books:

Guide to Literary Agents (USA)
Writer's Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents (USA)
Literary Marketplace (USA)
Writers' and Artists' Yearbook (UK)
Writer's Handbook (UK)
The Canadian Writer's Guide (Canada)
The Canadian Writer's Market (Canada)
The Australian Writer's Marketplace (Australia)

I use Guide to Literary Agents. I like to make forms for myself to fill out. It helps me stay organized. So here's one for you.

On a fresh sheet of paper, or copy-pasted into a word editor, have the following form. Print it, and fill out all areas.

Agent: _____________________________________________
(You want the agent who handles your type of material, and, yes, you MUST know their name. MUST.)

Agent's Specialization: _____________________________
(Don't send your fantasy/sci-fi to an agent that only handles nonfiction. You will be rejected so fast, your head will spin.)

Agency: ____________________________________________

Website: ___________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Phone: ____________________________________________
(Never call to ask if your query/manuscript has been recieved or read. This will just annoy people. The only reason you need this line is in case you're accepted, you'll need to have your agent's info close at hand.)

Recent Book Sales: _________________________________

Titles of Recent Book Sales:

__________________________________________________________
Able to track down title? - Yes No

(An agent should have a verifiable track record of commercial book sales, and be willing to disclose it, according to the Writers Beware website.)

Is this agent a member of one of the following? - Yes No
Association of Authors' Representatives (USA)
Association of Authors' Agents (UK)
Australian Literary Agents' Association (Australia)

You can go to the association websites and run a simple search for the agent name. These associations have strict ethics guidelines and certain performance requirements for their members. "Non-membership is by no means indication that an agent is questionable," says Victoria Strauss of Writers Beware. "Nor is any particular AAR, AAA, or ALAA member necessarily the right agent for you (a very different, but equally important, issue from whether or not the agent is reputable). But you're certainly safest if you give AAR, AAA, or ALAA member agents priority on your query list."

Agent profile on website:

__________________________________________________________

Make note of the types of work this agent prefers, any tips they drop on how to impress them, and anything that could help in forming your query.

Has this agent been flagged on one of the following sites?
Writers Beware - Yes No
Predators & Editors - Yes No
If yes, why? _______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
(Any agent listed on these sites should be avoided.)

If the alarm bells are humming but not exactly ringing, check up on this agent with the following resources:
Agent Research & Evaluation (USA)
Researching an Agent's Track Record by Victoria Strauss
20 Worst Agencies List

Also, the kind people at Writers Beware will usually go out of their way to help you find if an agent, agency, or publisher is slimy or not. They will answer your email about any particular agent, combing through the Writers Beware site to see if they have a bad record. [email: beware@sfwa.org]

The sad fact is that there are agents out there who will scam you, fool you, or even do a half-hearted (or just downright bad) job representing you.

Your job as a savvy writer is to know the warning signs when you see them.

Never send your work to an agent who has contacted you. Real agents are too busy beating writers off with sticks to dig up you and your manifesto on bean sprouts.
Never stay with an agent who asks you for money or fees or refers you to someone else who charges for services. REPUTABLE AGENTS NEVER ASK FOR MONEY FOR ANY REASON! THEY ARE PAID WHEN YOU ARE!
Never stay with an agent who tries to sell you services, like web design or book covers or publicity. If they're making money off of these things, why would they need to market your book to publishers? They wouldn't, and they won't.
Never stay with an agent who gets you pay-to-publish (vanity press) deals. They may very well own the publishing company and are trying to get your money. The publisher should always pay YOU. Not the other way around.
Never stay with an agent who you suspect of doing an inept or mediocre job. Having an amateur agent is worse than having no agent.
Always follow up with your agent to see how their progress is going. The agent should be trying to find a decent publisher for your work. If they aren't doing this, find a new agent, or do it yourself.
Never stay with an agent who doesn't reply to you when you try to contact them.

List of Warning Signs from Writers Beware

An agent should have a verifiable track record of commercial book sales, and be willing to disclose it.
If an agent is new, he should have a prior professional background in agenting or publishing.
It's advantageous for an agent to maintain membership in the Association of Authors' Representatives (USA), the Association of Authors' Agents (UK), or the Australian Literary Agents' Association.
An agent should not charge an upfront fee.
For book agents, commissions should not be more than 15% for domestic sales and 20-25% for co-agented or foreign sales, nor should an agent propose a remuneration agreement other than a straight commission on earnings.
For script agents, commissions should not be more than 10%.
An agent shouldn't refer you to an outside service for which you have to pay.
An agent shouldn't double as a paid editor, or as a publisher.
An agent should not solicit you.
An agent's correspondence and/or website should be free of grammatical errors and typos.
Be alert for unprofessional practice.
Be wary of an agent who claims to specialize in new writers.
Be wary of an agent who provides extravagant praise or inflated promises, and of her opposite, an agent who paints a dismal picture of your chances of success.
Be wary of an agent who says he wants to sell your book idea to Hollywood.

Once you've practically stalked your agent, you can start formating your query letter. If you haven't already written a query letter, go do so. You can use my query letter guide, but I suggest you also do a little research on your own to get a good feel for queries. It will make you more confident if you feel like you have a good grasp on the process.

In general, you send them a query letter, SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope), and cross your fingers. They should have details in their listing/website on what to send. Also, always follow their directions, even if the directions seem confusing or contradictory or even dumb.

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