Literary Agents: The Why and How
Overview
The following is a PowerPoint on literary agents for creative writers. The goal is to give writers an overview of an agent and some advice for working with an agent. The PowerPoint covers the basics,
An Overview of Literary Agents
A literary agent can be very beneficial for a writer who is pursing traditional publishing for two main reasons.
1. Agents can add prestige to a writer, giving the writer's manuscript a better chance of being reviewed by publishing houses.
- Some large publishing houses will ONLY look at a manuscript if the writer has an agent.
2. Agents help with negotiating a contract.
- Generally, an agent does not get paid unless the writer gets paid, and agents typically get about 15% of what the writer makes from a deal. Therefore, the agent has the writer's best financial interest at heart. Agents are also very familiar with book contracts and can spot tricky language.
For more information about agents, click the file below to download the PowerPoint guide.