Train to Be A Literary Agent?

Answer 1

A literary agent represents an author in negotiations with publishers. Literary agents evaluate a manuscript for the chances of being successfully commercially published and contact editors and publishers that are likely to be interested in the book. If an editor makes an offer, the literary agent negotiates the terms of the publishing deal as the author’s representative. Literary agents are not paid until and unless they successfully negotiate a deal with a publisher, at which point the agent is paid a percentage of the author’s advance and royalties. Literary agents are not paid until the author is paid. Most literary agents work with and for a literary agency. Some literary agents are independent; they work alone (though they often have an assistant), and they are not part of an agency. Most literary agents have a four year college degree; often it’s a degree in English or another humanities field, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many agents with degrees in the sciences or Social Sciences. Some literary agents have graduate degrees, but many don’t. Generally, literary agents begin their professional training by obtaining an internship at an established agency. Sometimes an agent starts out as an administrative assistant or an established agent’s assistant at an agency. The basic idea is that agents learn on the job under the supervision and mentorship of a senior, experienced agent. It is fairly common for literary agents to have already had several years (sometimes ten or twenty years) experience working in publishing as an editor or assistant editor at a publisher publishing the sorts of book the agent would be interested in acquiring, or sometimes, working in marketing at a publisher. Many agents also have experience working in bookstores hand-selling books to customers. Some have a degree in publishing from a school with a strong reputation in placing interns with literary agencies and publishers. Assistants to literary agents are often responsible for answering phone calls and mail and directing the inquirer to the correct person or conveying messages. They may be responsible for reading through initial queries from authors and deciding whether or not they merit passing on to the senior agent. A literary agent may be involved in resolving conflict between their author clients and publishers. They need to be exceedingly fond of reading and deeply familiar with publishing. They need to be skillful negotiators and exceedingly knowledgeable about publishing contracts. They need to be patient, extremely ethical, and comfortable dealing with people under stress. Solid communication and social skills are extremely important. Agenting is not a nine-to-five job; you’ll have to do a great deal of reading and communicating outside of standard office hours. If you’re interested in a career as a literary agent, look for publishing or literary agency internships, and think about reading how other literary agents started.