Best and Worst About Literary Agents

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Most US writers have to go through an agent – over 80% of all publishing deals are made through a literary agency. Publishers in the USA don’t want to deal directly with authors. In Canada, only ten percent of authors / books are agent-ed. Aspiring and established authors successfully submit the majority (10,000 plus) of the titles published every year directly to editors at publishing houses.
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IMPORTANT:
Study the agents’ website and submission guidelines carefully and learn how to write a query.
Be prepared when meeting for the first time with the agent for questions like this, that can make or brake your contract:

• How are going to market your book?
• What’s your platform
• Why do you want to be published?
• What’s your next book about?
• What else are you working on?
• Where do you see this series going?

Even more in your favor will be when you are already working on your second book and have at least the outline for the third. Your manuscripts don’t have to be a part of a series but should be in the same genre as the book the agent will pitch.This will show both the agent and publisher that you have the potential of becoming a career author. Have a sense of how long it takes you to write a book, including all of its editorial stages. This way, you will know what kind of delivery commitment you can make.
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Agent’s Fees
As an author trying to find a literary agent you have heard or read from, is not an easy task. And you might find an agency describing itself as “non-fee-charging” but then nevertheless wants money up-front. Most professional agents’ associations adopted policies prohibiting members from charging fees, called “reading fees” or “evaluation fees”.
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Reputable agents will NOT charge you a fee up front to represent your book. They earn their living by selling your book to a publisher and gaining a commission. That commission is a percentage of the proceeds your book earns. For one thing, this gives the agent an incentive to actually market your book around to various publishers likely to buy it for publication. This is another reason why many agents pick submissions carefully. They know what publishers are looking for and they will not accept anything which is not ready for submission or close enough that a few days of editing will make the difference.
Most agents these days charge 15% commission on domestic sales (North America).
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A literary agent gets his commission AFTER the book contract with a publisher is signed and the first money flows. If they charge reading or evaluation fees or any of the following fees – author beware:

• marketing fees
• submission fees
• travel fees
• legal fees
• advance fees
• or “per hour” fee
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Have a look at the do’s and don’ts of both sides:
Never under any circumstances should you pay expenses or any fees up front: Agents only receive money by deducting his or her 15% commission from your eventual earnings. Should an agent tell new writers that she/he was charging 15% commission plus expenses — that’s a rip-off; don’t agree to it. The Association of Authors Representatives (professional organization of literary agents) also forbids the charging of “reading fees.” If an agent asks you to pay a fee for his or her “evaluation” of your manuscript, refuse!
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So, what could you encounter?
Some agencies pressure authors into various additional services and charge fees for websites, sample cover mock-ups or illustrations or social media listings.
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AgentQuery (Database of Literary Agents) wrote on their website: Industry Red Flags:
“Be wary of any literary agent that contacts you out of the blue, especially if you have not queried that specific agent and do not have a public platform or presence. Fiction writers should be particularly cautious unless the agent has a logical reason to contact you, like you’ve recently won a prestigious writing contest, or they’ve seen your blog or read your published stories, etc..”

“Beware of agents that offer representation for a fixed fee, offer representation only if you pay them money to edit your manuscript, or charge you up-front fees in the range of thousands of dollars to off-set the cost of submitting your manuscript to publishers. These are all warning signs—unethical behavior from an unprofessional scammer. Scammers will tempt you, especially if you are desperate and inundated with rejections. They will tell you how fabulous your manuscript is and you will want to believe them.”

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WRITER BEWARE notes: 
“Not all agents who charge marketing fees are dishonest. Some are simply inexperienced or inept. But scam or amateur, the bottom line for the writer is the same: a lighter wallet and no book contract.”

Remember, that many of these publishers operate under more than one name and as “in-house” referral services. This means they always find a reason to refer you to another company which they also own… Editors Nielsen-Hayden summed it up: “Writing may be an art or a craft (or both), but publishing is a business. It’s best to know the business before diving in.”
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Resources and More blog posts regarding Literary Agents:
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How Agents work and How to work with Agents
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/how-agents-work-how-to-work-with-agents/
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Must-Read Blog to learn more about agents and how to approach them
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents

Database of Literary Agents
http://www.agentquery.com/
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What Literary Agents Want to Know From You
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/what-literary-agents-want-to-know-from-you/
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How to Write a Query Letter
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/5-tips-for-successful-book-submissions/
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100′s of Links to Publishers and Agents
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/100s-of-links-to-publishers-and-agents/
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Which Literary Agent is Right for You?
https://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/which-literary-agent-is-right-for-you/
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Association of Author’s Representatives (lists agents)
http://aaronline.org/

Lynnette Labelle Editorial Services
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
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Visit often and get the latest alerts from WRITER BEWARE:
http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/alerts/
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5 Tips for Successful Book Submissions

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Don’t give agents or publishers a reason to reject your manuscript submission.  I could write a book and fill it with these dreadful “submissions” that came to my inbox/mailbox in the last years. On one site I feel pity for the sender, on the other hand I just can’t understand why they don’t make the effort to read submission guidelines on publishers websites, get it right and learn how to write submissions to publishers. Why do authors work many months or even years on a manuscript, and then don’t learn how to sell it? There are just a few basics to be familiar with:
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Genre / Category
Most publishers or agents are specialized in certain genres. It also gets harder for authors if they do cross-genres. However, sending a query for poetry to a publisher, who explicitly states on his website under submission guidelines, that they only accept non-fiction and how-to-guides, is a waste of your and their time and money to ask “if they take on poetry”.  Not researching what genres an agent or publisher is interested in, is not only impolite, but will for sure result in rejection.

Many resources such as PublishersGlobal, PublishingWeekly, Writer’s Market or AgentQuery.com will help you to find the right places / agents / publishers for your genre.  Another possibility is to perform a Google search for the words literary agent and your genre. Carefully study your selected agents’ website to find more information.
A word of caution: In former blogs we wrote that – as in many other publishing fields – there are a few “rotten apples”, meaning agents that are charging authors for reading their manuscripts or demand a fee for his or her “evaluation” of their manuscript.
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Follow Submission Guidelines
Not reading and acting accordingly to an agent’s or publishers individual submission guidelines will end your query letter immediately in the recycle bin. Find answers to questions like these in the agents’ guidelines:

• Do they want a query letter only?
• Do they want a query with the first pages of your manuscript?
• Do they want a query and the first three chapters?
• Do they accept queries via e-mail or via regular mail?
• Read and follow their guidelines in detail!

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How to Write a Query Letter
First of all: find out the name of the agent or editor at the publishing house you will query. Never, ever, write “To whom it may concern”. It only shows your are not caring whoever will receive it. Maybe the intern … Don’t forget to add all of your contact information: address, e-mail address, and phone number.

The QueryShark advises:

• “The opening paragraph is meant to make a pitch regarding your protagonist and your book in a way that the agent will fall in love with them.”
• “The second paragraph provides the synopsis. Do not include every little detail, it is meant to summarize the essence of the obstacles in the story. Stick to the big picture.”
• “The third paragraph is all about you. What relevant credentials, honors, and awards have you or your books achieved? In other words, why you and not another author should be published.”
• “The closing paragraph should recognize the agent’s submission guidelines, why you felt they were a good fit for your novel, and an action to take…i.e. requesting the full manuscript.”

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Your Query
You will need a complete book proposal, three sample chapters and a cover letter (the query). A book proposal is made up of several components, such as an overview, competitive titles, marketing of your book, etc., and should be at least 10 pages long – a kind of business plan for your book. BTW: This is something that every writer should do for their work, no matter if they pitch an agent or publisher or if they intend to self-publish their book.

Most writers don’t know that they need only three chapters written, not the entire manuscript when pitching to an agent or publishing house. Once the offer is accepted, the rest of the manuscript has to follow within a certain time frame.
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Spelling and Grammar
When submitting a query letter to agents, ensure that all spelling and grammar issues are resolved. Typos or even shortcuts are a turnoff. Do hire a professional to read your letter!
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Following these tips will help you in landing an agent. Read about all the famous authors who were rejected, but, it was their persistence that paid off in the long run.  Get lots of tips from literary agents here.  Consider not only to submit your manuscript to publishing houses, but to author-publish it, in order to earn more and if successfully, agents and publishers will approach YOU!

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $159 for three months! Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars
Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

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The Smartest Thing You Can Do Today

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QueryShark

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“The smartest thing you can do today for your career (other than write)”. This is the motto of an amazing blog that I just discovered:  http://queryshark.blogspot.ca

 

You might have realized when reading my blog that I am a big fan of author-publishing and not very fond of traditional publishers.  But not every author is entrepreneurial-minded or has not yet discovered that publishing houses require authors nowadays to be active on social media and that they have to promote their books themselves.

So, if an author wants to go the traditional route, it should be done professionally to avoid too many rejections and frustration.  QueryShark seems to be a great help in writing pitches to agents or to trade publishers. Interesting tweets from their site:  @QueryShark
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How To Write Query Letters …
or, really, how to revise query letters so they actually work. Read the very detailed directions provided to authors on this site, AFTER you went through their other query critiques first!  QueryShark is entirely volunteer. And no queries are posted unless the writer specifically asks the QueryShark to do so.
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Query Shark critiques fiction queries.
You have to send a query to the shark for it to be considered. There is a checklist for how to do that on the post labeled “If You Want Your Query Posted, Read and FOLLOW These Directions”.

Don’t miss to read all the samples of queries that succeeded. Scroll down and find them on the left site of the QueryShark web page. Great samples of how to hook the interest of an agent or a traditional publisher and lots to learn from.  

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More on how to write a query letter – or not:

10 Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Query Letter

Anatomy of a Query Letter

How to Write a Query Letter

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book heavily promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only a “token” of $1 / day for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/seminar

Please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are 770 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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