Do you need a literary agent?
If you have written a manuscript, now what?
The most obvious step is to approach a publisher. But which publisher? Bloomsbury, Scholastic, Penguin? Those are a few of the big names and there are so many more. Unfortunately, in order to make it big globally, you need to go for the big publishers. However, there is another problem. Many of these publishing houses do not accept unsolicited works with the exception of some of their imprints. Other publishers which do accept unsolicited works operate at a smaller scale. But what does unsolicited mean? Well it simply means that you need to approach the publisher via a literary agent. Most of the time your success will be guaranteed by the agent. Hence finding the right agent matters and having an agent is almost compulsory. But how do you do so?
The first step in finding a literary agent who is right for you and your manuscript is to put together a list of genres of the books that you read and think are similar to yours or any other books that you think are similar to yours. It is important to note the success of each of these books with their respective agents. Then, find out which agent represents the authors of those books. Many authors list their agents on the acknowledgments page in the front or back of their books. If you can’t find the agents this way, contact the publishing companies of the books on your list and ask their publicity departments who represented the books you are interested in.
Once you have a list of agents you are familiar with, send a query letter to each one. A good practice is to send out five letters at a time, with each letter tailored to the specific agent you are querying.
An interested agent will ask to see a few chapters or your full manuscript. Before you send it, find the agency’s submission guidelines, and follow them closely. This is of the utmost importance.
Also, once you have narrowed down your choices to at least five agents, visit their websites. Most reputable agents state which books they have helped publish and with which authors they have worked. Also, if an agent charges you to review your manuscript then they are probably fake. Most reputable agents do not charge for the reading fee. They are paid a percentage of your income made from the book. This is usually 15 %. As a result, the agents success depends on your own so they really do care about fighting to get your book published.
Chapter 17 of Writing Fiction for Dummies by Randy Ingermanson and Peter Economy provides more in depth advice as to how you should go about finding the right agent, because as they say it is better to have no agent than the wrong one. Remember to approach agents with a polished query letter that fits their guidelines otherwise they might not even consider your work. Good luck!
