What A Literary Agent Wants Writers to Know

The following post is the transcript of that interview, edited for smoothness and conciseness. Keep in mind that every agent works a little differently, so some details may vary from agency to agency.

Jump to:

• Tips for Querying a Literary Agent
• Working with a Literary Agent
• Navigating the Author-Agent-Publisher Relationship
• Communicating with your Literary Agent
• A Literary Agent’s Tips for Thriving in the Book Business
• What a Literary Agent Loves about Working with Authors

Tips for Querying a Literary Agent

Stick to the submission guidelines.

The key really is to pay attention to the submission guidelines. I know it’s frustrating. I know that every agent has different guidelines. But there is almost always a good reason why they need it that way, and doing it differently usually impedes their process and makes you stick out in a bad way.

An agent can receive hundreds of queries a week, and reading queries is always unpaid work, so you want to make that process as easy as possible for the agent. Don’t give them an arbitrary reason to say no.

Trust the agent when they name their genres.

If they say they don’t want something, don’t send it. When I say I don’t want memoir, it’s not because I think your memoir is bad; it’s because I don’t know how to sell memoir. Give them what they want, and know that, generally, you’re not the exception to their rule.

Don’t stress about manuscript format.

Just be normal. Honestly, whatever default font your word processor gives you is fine. I’m not going to notice your font unless it’s weird. If you write it in Papyrus, I will be confused. If you decide that you don’t want to use quotation marks, I will be confused.

Don’t invest too much money in your query.

I do think writers spend too much money preparing their query materials. My concern is when they have invested thousands of dollars in polishing their first chapter or spent hundreds of dollars in polishing their letter. My commitment to them is for their career. So, if they’ve hooked me with this beautifully polished book and then I come to find out they actually can’t edit themselves? That they don’t have more ideas? I would prefer that they spend money on substantive editing, because that teaches them the skill of revision. I would prefer they spend money on improving their craft, because that helps them write long-term.

Again, that’s not to say don’t pay for somebody to look over your materials. If you need that, it’s great. But don’t pay five people to look over your materials.

Paying for design and illustrations is unhelpful.

I sometimes see people putting illustrations in—and you [Erin] have a great video about that—or fully designing the book out, and I don’t need that. I don’t need a sample cover for a work of fiction.

If you’re not an illustrator, and if you’re not getting representation for illustration, then it does no good to send me illustrations. I won’t be able to use them. I won’t be able to use your design, because that’s the copyright of the designer. The publisher won’t be able to use it.

Now, again, that’s not to say you can’t do it. I know some writers love to get commissioned art of their characters, because it’s exciting and inspirational for them, and that’s great. But you keep that for yourself. Let it be your little guide to use as you write. It’s not for me.

Working with a Literary Agent

Yes, you’ll probably get Googled.

After I read the book, if I love it, I do some sleuthing. I won’t tell an author I’m interested in working on their manuscript if I haven’t gone digging around to see if there are any red flags.

It’s just a Google search, not a background check. I try to determine if they are who they say they are; there’s fraudsters out there. I try to get a sense of whatever they’ve put out online. They don’t have to have a major platform or anything, but I want to know what they find interesting.

What I’m really looking for is red flags. Is there anything about this person that I should know before I say I want to be affiliated with them?

Afterward, I send an email saying, “I’m really interested, and I’d love to talk more about the opportunity for us to work together.” I don’t offer representation before a call.

During the first phone call…

I’m looking for fit, because it’s a working relationship, and I’m not signing somebody up for just one book. It’s too much work for me to do it if it’s only about this one book. I’m looking to see if this is somebody I can work with long-term.

So, I ask questions: What else are they working on? What do they like to write? What’s their vision for their career? My favourite question—and it makes writers nervous, but I promise there’s no wrong answer—is this: “Blue-sky. You’re the most successful you could ever dream of. What does that look like?” I love ambitious writers. I love people who have big dreams.

You’ll need realistic expectations.

Then I want to know like what kind of work ethic they have. Do they have big dreams but think, Okay, great, you’re the agent; go make magic for me? Or do they have an understanding of the industry? Do they understand what my role is?

I will spend some time explaining my role so that they understand what I do and what I don’t do. We talk about communication style. We’re going to be working very closely together for a very long time, so I’m setting expectations of what that will look like.

Mostly the call is about making sure the client’s needs and my abilities are in line.

Every agent is unique. They don’t all take on the same roles.

You should be able to get a sense of what kind of work an agent sells from the agency’s website, from Publishers Marketplace, from deal announcements, and from submission guidelines.

But the day-to-day aspects of the working relationship? You won’t know those things until you talk to the person, so I really recommend that writers have an understanding of what they need so that they can ask the right questions. Part of that comes from understanding what the book business is. If you understand the workflow of publishing, then you can understand where you’ll need support and what that support you need looks like. For example, I’m not an editorial agent. I’m not going to edit your book a bunch of times, so if that’s what you need, I’m just not the right fit.

Where can people learn more about the book business?

Your [Erin’s] website’s great! So I would start with this website. There’s also a podcast that [literary agent] Carly Waters does. She used to have a great blog and now she has moved to a podcast called The S*** No One Tells You About Writing. The FOLD (The Festival of Literary Diversity) has great free webinars every month as part of their FOLD Academy program. There are also some old blogs kicking around still. Susan Dennard used to have an amazing website. It’s still live, but she doesn’t update it anymore [Erin’s note: she now has an active Substack!].

If you’re looking at old resources, the only thing I would caution is to be wary of anything related to the market and what’s selling, and anything related to the publishing timeline. Because that has changed significantly. But principles about what an agent’s role is, about what makes a good book, about craft—any of those types of resources are still good no matter how old they are.

Navigating the Author-Agent-Publisher Relationship

Keep each party’s goals in mind.

Publishing is a business, even though it’s arts based. It’s a business operating under capitalism. With that in mind, you have to think about how money flows to understand the relationships between the parties.

There’s the writer, who created the product in question. They are essentially entering business relationships to help them monetize and get profits from that product—but it’s their product to control.

The agent’s role is to help the writer leverage their creativity to monetize their intellectual property. The agent is paid on commission, which means the agent is incentivized to maximize how much money the writer receives.

The book publisher is reliant on the writer, because the writer creates the product. The book publisher is also reliant on agents, because agents screen through a lot of products and curate a selection for the publisher to choose from. The book publisher also invests a lot of resources. They have to pay, at the very least, for the paper, the printing, the binding, the warehousing—it’s super expensive. So their goal is to, at the very least, get a return on their investment.  

Follow the money.

In that relationship, the publisher is trying to maximize the income they make. Because it’s a profit-sharing model where the publisher gets a percentage and the writer gets a percentage. It seems obvious that the more money the publisher makes, the more money the writer will make—which is true. However, the publisher is incentivized to maximize their share of the profits and minimize the writer’s share, whereas the agent has the opposite incentive and is trying to maximize the writer’s share and minimize the publisher’s.

So this is where you get into negotiations: what rights will be granted to the publisher, and what rights will the publisher be allowed to exploit? What will be the royalty rate? How much control will the author have over rights sales? Etc. This is an important piece that most writers don’t know. If they do know it, it will help them understand.

Commitment to the book vs. commitment to the career

The publisher’s investment is in the book. The agent’s investment is in the writer. Because I don’t get paid until something is sold, I’m putting a lot of effort into building up the writer to be someone who can produce work that gets sold. My return on that investment will be greater if they keep producing more books, and if I move them from a smaller publishing house that pays X dollars to a bigger publishing house that pays XX dollars, and then maybe to a movie deal that pays XXXXX dollars.

Your agent is on your side.

I recommend that writers recognize that their biggest teammate is their agent. That’s not to say that the publishing house is against them. That’s not true. The publishing house, by necessity, wants your book to be successful. Your editor should and does love your book. However, when it comes to negotiating something, don’t be hurt or surprised when they negotiate against your interest and for the interest of the publisher. That’s literally their job. They are a salaried employee.

Your agent will always take your side, because they have to. Because when you get paid, they get paid. Your agent is thinking about your career.

Avoid this common slip-up.

A common mistake that writers make, just because they don’t understand this economic dynamic, is that while they’re talking to their editor about their project and working on revisions, they’ll start talking to that editor about their next work—about a project that’s not under contract. If the editor asks for a few pages…and they send them, because they’re excited…and the editor sends back notes…well, now there’s an expectation. Now the publisher wants first dibs. Meanwhile, I, as your agent, am trying to leverage the success of your first book to bump you up to the big leagues elsewhere, and that puts us in a difficult position.

Don’t ask your editor for career advice. Ask your agent for career advice.

Your editor loves you! Loves your work! But the editor is working for the publisher, while the agent works for you. The editor wants you to stay forever, especially if you’re great. The editor wants you to say, “I could never imagine working with somebody else.”

But if you do that, then when I go to negotiate your next book, I have very little leverage. Even with that that same publisher, I can’t leverage more money because you’ve said you’ll give them an exclusive on that book.

The #1 thing to remember:

It’s a business relationship. Always, always remember it’s a business relationship, and when in doubt, talk to your agent.

Be professional about deadlines.

Meeting deadlines is important, but it’s less about MY deadlines. I actually don’t care about my own deadlines that the author has given me. I’m very much a “You cannot rush the creative process” type. I want you to create your best work, so I will not rush you…until we are under contract.

Once we’re under contract, now it’s your job. You have a contractual obligation. You signed, and there are liabilities associated with missing those deadlines. Now, every good contract will have ways to amend and provisions to adjust, obviously, but that means you must communicate with me. 

Communicating With Your Literary Agent

Keep your agent in the loop.

If you need an extension, just tell me. If something came up, tell me. If you’re stuck, tell me. If you literally just forgot, I will smooth it over: “Due to personal circumstances, Erin has not been able to complete and will need another week. Does that work with the production schedule?”

What gets us into trouble is when we have not communicated, and the publisher is chasing us. Then it’s unprofessional. We have become unreliable. Then, because I don’t know your situation, I don’t have a quick answer to cover for you. So it’s really important that I know what’s going on.

Your agent can help you avoid crises and burnout.

I don’t need to know your personal business, but do I need to know your general schedule so I can help pre-empt scheduling conflicts.  

For example, when a writer’s working on multiple books, if I’m aware of the due dates in each of those contracts, I know that, no, they cannot take on another project right now. That’s an especially big thing for illustrators.

Most writers have day jobs. Maybe you have children. What are your childcare responsibilities? It’s really important to take that into account. When I’m negotiating a contract, the first thing I ask the author is, “This is the delivery date the publisher is asking for. Is that realistic?”

Usually, again because of that excitement, a lot of people say, “Yes! Yes, of course.” Then I say, “No, no. Open your calendar. Take a look. Are your kids going to be off school? And you can’t afford day camp? You are going to be caring for them, so that is not realistic.”

Be honest about what you need.

Then be honest about when there are issues so that I can cover. Because usually it’s a simple email saying, “Hey, we need a little more time,” or, “Here’s what’s going on.” As long as it’s in writing, that counts as an amendment to the contract, and they give you a new deadline, and you’re all good.

At the same time, be mindful of the production schedule.

Yes, this is a dream for you, but for everybody else involved, it is their day job. This is how they’re feeding their families. If you act like it’s still a fun hobby, you end up throwing off the production schedule. Because things take time. The extra week you didn’t warn them you needed means that now the copy editor who was going to work on it is no longer available, or the sensitivity reader is no longer available, and now the print window is no longer available, so now your book’s publication date is moving.

Again, that doesn’t mean don’t ask for the week. It just means to let people know ahead of time and understand how it might affect the rest of the schedule.

A Literary Agent’s Tips for Thriving in the Book Business

Have realistic expectations.

Getting an agent is not going to make all your dreams come true. It’s work. It’s hard. Right now, in particular, it’s really, really difficult in the business. We always say it’s hard—and it’s always been hard—but when publishers are contracting, when editors are leaving and their position is not being replaced, when entire imprints are shuttering, when wholesalers are closing, when Costco is no longer carrying books…Things like that have a massive impact. Covid had a massive impact. A lot of people have not been able to recover.

We used to nudge editors every two weeks; now we nudge every six weeks. People think editors just sit around and read books all day. Absolutely not! They’re doing all sorts of administrative labour during their workday, and then they go home and edit.

We’re in a really hard space, and so it’s important that writers know that the business is hard, but it has nothing to do with their self or with their writing.

Don’t pin your self-worth to your publishing success.

One of the hardest things to do is to play therapist for a writer, because all their fears and anxieties about publishing are valid, and I can’t make it better. All I can do is say, “Please detach your sense of worth as a person and as an artist from this business. Remember that it is a business. This is a professional relationship.”

It’s hard in our North American context, where our work is our selves, and now you’re also an artist, so that rejection of your art feels the rejection of your highest, most creative, most artistic self—so I get it. But you give the industry a lot of power to hurt you if you put too much of your self-worth into the results.

Be growth-minded.

At best you should be journey-oriented, along for the ride: “I’m here for a long time, no matter what.”

My favorite clients are the ones who hear a no and say, “Okay, what’s next? You don’t want this one; fine, let’s go with another one. What else can we try?” They just keep at it, and they make friends with other writers…and they make friends with people who aren’t writers.

Keep your day job.

Keep your day job. Keep your day job. You got a hundred-thousand-dollar advance? Keep your day job still. We don’t quit our day jobs for six-figure advances. We quit our day jobs for six-figure royalty cheques.

What a Literary Agent Loves about Working with Authors

I love the first day of book sales. No, I just like everything. I love writers! I love creatives! I always look at them and go, “Wow! That thing came out of your brain! You’re a magician!” But I especially love when an author starts getting reader reviews and they just glow. They say, “They like my book!” and I say, “Of course they do! I told you!” and they tell me, “This person said my book changed their life!” and I say, “Yeah, it did!”

It feels so good, because story is about human connection, and it is really something powerful to see someone feel seen. That’s why I do this work.

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A thousand thanks to our anonymous agent for giving us this glimpse into the business. If you’d like to see more anonymous interviews with publishing professionals, drop me a message to let me know.