Agents have three main roles: they are creatives, negotiators and sales people, combining good communication skills with a creative flair and a nose for what sells. A ‘good’ agent – i.e. one you might want to represent you – will combine these attributes. A sizeable part of an agent’s working day is devoted to managing the career of their established list of authors/clients. How does an unknown writer who has sent in their unsolicited manuscript get a look in?
Agents get a lot of submissions – 100 or so a week – and that’s on top of any scripts or treatments for new books they have actively asked to see. Together, these unsolicited submissions form the ‘slush pile’ and it will take agents a not inconsiderable time to look at these. Why do they bother? Because authors are agents’ bread and butter and they really are on the lookout for the next bestselling talent. Agents tend to love what they do. That’s why most of their reading of scripts takes place out-of-hours and the nitty gritty of negotiation, pitching and communication with existing clients and homegrown and overseas publishers eats up the hours of any standard working day.
Top Ten Myth Busters about Agents
Here are my top ten agent myth busters. They aim to dispel some of the incorrect assumptions that authors sometimes make about agents and the whole submission process.
- Agents don’t read all the submissions they receive.They do — or at least someone in their agency (a reader or a junior agent) will usually do an initial sifting for them. From the slush pile, the assistant extracts submissions that look promising. The agent will look them over to decide if they want to read the full submission.
- Take representation as soon as you are offered it. Don’t be panicked into accepting the first deal you are offered. If one agent wants to represent you, might others too? Go back to all those you submitted to and let them know that you have an offer and see what that might trigger in your favour.
- Agents don’t talk to their competitor agents. Publishing is a small world. Agents within an agency will know what has been submitted to their colleagues (so don’t submit to more than one agent at any one agency(see below): it will waste their time and yours) and they also talk to agents at other agencies via their professional networks and at rights fairs. They may well discuss maverick submissions doing the rounds and will certainly follow the publishing news on who is signing up which new authors.
- ‘I don’t understand why agents don’t give more detailed feedback.’The agent’s job is not to critique submissions in any detail. They receive up to 100 unsolicited scripts a week; it’s inevitable that a good proportion of these will receive a standard rejection letter.
- ‘I’ve been told I shouldn’t submit to more than one agent at a time.’That’s not true. You’d take forever trying to get a deal if you waited for each agent to reply to you before submitting to the next. Agents assume you are applying to several (relevant) agents simultaneously.
- You need to have connections to get an agent to notice you. It does probably help and gives you a potential head start, but only if you have produced a manuscript they can’t ignore. The quality of your writing is what matters, not who you went to school with.
- Once you have agent you will get a publishing deal. Not necessarily. An agent takes you on believing that you should be published, but it’s the first step on your publishing journey and they then pitch to publishers who may not see a market for your work.
- Agents only want to represent blockbuster bestselling titles. Different agents represent different genres and a range of authors. Agents and publishers are hoping to make money from publishing your book: lists are composed of bestsellers, slow-burn and mid-list titles.
- You need to submit the whole package for a picture book – illustration and text.No, you don’t. In fact, if you are an amazingly talented storyteller it’s unlikely that you are an equally brilliant illustrator too. Check out the agent guidelines and don’t waste money on getting pictures created. Publishers will match an illustrator of their choice with an author.
- You must have an agent to get a decent publishing deal.Agents might want you to believe so and it’s true they will probably get you a better deal, but there are some smaller publishers who encourage direct submissions.
Looking for an agent
Most debut writers tend to see the agent–author relationship as one where the agent holds all the cards. It can seem like that, but it should be a joint venture, a business relationship based on mutual respect.
An agent is just as keen to find you as you are to hook them. They are on the lookout for the best new writing from writers that can work effectively with, and you are on the lookout for the agent who can bring out the best in you and give you the support that you need.
So how should you go about looking for the right agent for you and your work? The three main maxims are:
- Research thoroughly
- Take your time
- Be professional
Research
Use resources such as the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook to narrow down the agents who might represent your genre and the age range you are writing for. Look them up online, follow them on Twitter, attend events where they are speaking. Do they seem like a good fit for your work? Draw up a shortlist and have a clear sense of why you will approach each one: this will become very useful when you are drafting your cover emails.
Don’t rush
You’ve sweated blood and tears over your manuscript: put the same effort into perfecting your submission. It’s your chance to promote your work, so take a deep breath and follow guidelines. Draft and redraft your submission email. It all sounds like common sense, doesn’t it? But you’d be amazed how poor so many submissions are. Take time to get it right.
Be business-like
Let’s assume that your manuscript is ready to submit – that it has gone through various drafts and rewrites and really is the best it can possibly be. This is your one shot at impressing an agent with your pitch, so don’t blow it with an ill-researched and rushed ‘application’. Treat it like a resumé for a job and make a good impression.
Good luck.
(c) Alysoun Owen
The Writers’ & Artists’ Guide to Getting Published
This is an extract from the chapter ‘Submitting your work to a literary agent’ in the Writers’ & Artists’ Guide to Getting Published (Bloomsbury) © Alysoun Owen.
Alysoun has been the Editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook and the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook for 14 years. She runs a publishing consultancy business and speaks about the publishing process at festivals and writing events.
The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2027, the 120th edition, is out on 16 July. Read some taster articles here.
Read more from Alysoun on the latest edition of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook on Writing.ie here.
