by Blythe Daniel @BlytheDaniel

I was recently asked, “What do you love about your job?” and I shared what I always share: “I love helping people look at their idea or ideas and help them continue to shape it and find the right publisher as we think about who the readers are and who can best reach them.” Many wonder what a literary agent does, what an agent looks for, and how you know which agent is best for you. I gave my perspective on these topics in an earlier post but if you missed that post, you can go here to read it.

I wanted to come back and answer these questions that also come up when writers are either considering or actively looking for an agent.

• How can an agent help me if I’ve already met with a publisher?
• What does an author/agent relationship typically look like?
• What does an agent receive in exchange for his or her work with an author? How long does the author/agent relationship last?
• If an agent says “not now” does that mean “not ever?”

First

An agent can help you if you’ve already met with a publisher to represent you in conversations with the publisher, help you decipher if that publisher would be the best publisher for your book, work with you to sharpen your book proposal and sample writing before sending, look at pitching your book to other publishers if suitable, talk you through the contract stage and more. Often, an invitation to send to a publisher you meet is like meeting someone on the street. You may shake hands or exchange niceties with each other. But an agent actually walks you into to their house because she knows them and introduces you to who they are, how they think, and what you can expect when you walk into their house. Without it, you may not get the full picture you need or have the opportunity to walk into the house because they have a full house and the agent gets you in there faster. 

Second

A typical author/agent relationship looks like the agent regularly corresponding with the author in the beginning as they set up a working relationship to fulfill getting a book proposal and sample writing in top shape before the agent submits it. Then you have regular interactions while the proposal is being pitched with who has it and what the responses are. Once the agent receives an offer on the book and discusses the opportunity or opportunities or anything the potential publisher wants to discuss or change as they consider the work your agent is in touch with you all the way through to the book’s publication. Typically you will not stop speaking with your agent once your contract is signed. We are here to advocate for you all the way through the process.

Third

An agent receives typically a 15% commission for any advance and royalties for their work with the author. There is a considerable amount of time investment on the front end by the agent with the author. Therefore we take on the projects that we believe we will likely be successful in placing with a publisher because of the time we put into the work involved before a book is ever contracted. An author/agent relationship can last as long as the two parties have agreed in their contract, but typically it is by the project or series of projects the two have signed on for the agent to represent. You and your agent will want to discuss what you want the agent to represent and what you would like to publish on your own, if any book(s). Once you are in a relationship with an agent, you won’t be looking for another agent to represent you on another genre or a subsequent book unless you have nothing in your contract keeping you from doing so. For instance, if your agent signed you to a fiction book, and you want to write non-fiction, you’d want to talk with your agent about whether he or she wants to represent you on your non-fiction book. If he or she declines this, then you would do well to get this documented with both your signatures before you pursue another agent to handle your non-fiction book. But you want to use wisdom in having two agents pitch your books. It can be frustrating for both agents if we were to pitch your books at the same time – I don’t recommend this.

Finally

If an agent says “not now” does that mean “not ever”? No, not necessarily. Sometimes an agent doesn’t see what he or she needs to see in terms of your writing maturity, your platform, or the development of the idea in order to sign you. So if you work on these areas and re-submit to the agent, he or she may end up deciding to sign you on that particular book or another one. The key here is not to lose hope or momentum but to keep working even when you receive a “no.”

The best writers are the ones who reverse the “no” to “on” – on to the next area they need to work on. I will generally tell a writer what it is that keeps me from being able to sign him/her and his/her book. Not always, but most of the time we do try to give some feedback as time allows.

I really recommend that writers learn to face feedback with an open mind. An agent is not out to discourage you but to give you practical areas you can work on. Sometimes a writer just isn’t ready for an agent because they really are still in developing mode of their idea, their writing, and their platform. Generally when a writer has been working on all of these areas for some period of time (longer than a year, typically) and has momentum and interest in his or her work, then it’s time to seek an agent.

An agent can give you the professional advice that writers need to have prior to going into a publishing relationship. It’s the difference between having no experience and walking in with someone whose experience has just become yours as you walk through the doors of a publisher together.

May you be encouraged to keep learning, growing, and praying for wisdom as you seek the guidance of an agent. 

Blythe Daniel is a literary agent and marketer and has been in publishing for over 20 years. She has written for Proverbs 31 Ministries, Focus on the Family, Ann Voskamp, and Christian Retailing. She and her mother Dr. Helen McIntosh are the authors of Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters (Harvest House Publishers).

www.theblythedanielagency.com; www.ourmendedhearts.com