First off, it was great to meet those of you who came to the Southwest Florida Reading Festival!

On November 22, 2012, Ilsa Eruaistaniel wrote, Gail: could you please do a post on literary agents? I have been submitting queries, but I’m not sure how to find an agent with enough influence to submit my book to the publishers that I’d like, such as HarperCollins or Aladdin Book Publishers. Agents are skipped over and kind of sketchy in all descriptions of them and I’d like to learn just how I can find an agent who can help me get the best out of my book.

And carpelibris contributed this: Could I add a suggestion? Always check prospective agents at the Preditors and Editors website. There are an awful lot of scam agents/editors/agencies out there. I’ve found P&E to be really helpful in finding the reputable ones.

Please, if you are an agent, weigh in on what I’m saying. Your thoughts – and corrections – will be most welcome.

Here’s the Preditors (this is how they spell it) and Editors website: http://pred-ed.com/pubagent.htm. And here’s the website of the Association of Authors Representatives (AAR), which you may find useful, too: http://aaronline.org/Find.

I’d suggest noodling around both sites to see what they offer. Then, I’d use the AAR site to identify agents or agencies that interest you. Next I’d cross reference them on the P&E site to make sure there are no alerts against them.

Next stop would be the agent’s or agency’s website, which may list the agency’s clients or may list the awards their clients have won. If you see names you recognize or prestigious awards, you can feel reasonably confident that these agents can command the attention of an editor. If you feel that this is the right place for your book, follow the submission guidelines and submit.

You can submit a query letter and synopsis and/or sample chapters to more than one agent at a time, but if an agent asks to see the whole book, she’ll probably want to be the only one looking at it.

Let’s back up. Do you need an agent?

The P&E site says you don’t. I say, it depends. In the world of children’s books and big publishers, you probably do. I assume the same is true of adult books. If you’re sending to smaller presses, if you’re a free-lancer, maybe not. If you’re writing poetry, definitely not.

Even in the children’s book world, if you meet an editor at a conference, and he wants to see your manuscript, you can send it to him unagented. If he wants to buy it, there you are. But these opportunities usually arise only with face-to-face contact. The big houses don’t accept unagented unsolicited submissions.

Suppose you meet an editor at a conference and he wants to see your manuscript. You send it to him, and you wait, and after three months you follow up. Alas, your manuscript has been lost. Please send it again. You do, and after six months, he rejects it.

If this had been an agented submission from an agent known to the editor, the wait would be less. The agent would be able to follow up more effectively than you can. The manuscript probably wouldn’t have been lost in the first place.

On the other hand, I don’t know how long agents take to get back to writers or if they frequently lose submissions. One website I looked at said six to eight weeks, which isn’t bad.

Remember, in the case of both editors and agents, the manuscripts flow in. Tidal waves sometimes.

Remember also that writers do break in. Newbies do get published.

Suppose you do get an offer of publication without an agent. You will probably want help negotiating the contract. You can find an agent at that point, generally pretty easily, because you’ve already made the sale. Or you can use a literary lawyer. P&E lists them, too. The literary lawyer will get a one-time payment rather than an ongoing share of your earnings. You can decide which you want, but don’t expect any other kind of lawyer to be able to negotiate the contract. This is a specialized field.

When you’re hunting for an agent, one of the things to watch out for, which the P&E site discusses, is a reading fee. You should not pay an agent to read your work. An agent’s income comes from a percentage of your advance and your royalties. She succeeds only if you succeed. Because of this, your interests are aligned, for the most part.

What does an agent do for you?

She should know a lot of editors and who likes what kind of work and who is eager for submissions. My agent sent Ella Enchanted to my first editor because she knew she was “hungry.” Your agent should know the market, what’s selling and what isn’t and what’s a hard sell.

She should be up on changes in the industry, like the latest on ebooks. She should be an insider.

She’ll negotiate the contract and will probably get better terms for you than if you were negotiating on your own. (So should a literary lawyer.) The agency may have a boiler-plate contract with different publishers that includes the best language possible.

She’ll follow up on submissions, so you won’t be waiting a year for a response, although editors may still be slow.

If there’s a rejection it will go to her. This is no small advantage. Your agent will soften the blow and give it context. Also, the editor may be more frank with an agent than with the author, and you may learn something helpful or encouraging. For example, you may learn that the editor loved your book but the marketers weren’t sure it could be profitable.

Your agent may work with you to revise before submitting. Some agents do this; others don’t. There should never be a charge for this! You may want the help, or you may not, so this is another thing to find out about a potential agent – although the opportunity may not arise until she wants to take you on.

When that time comes, if you can, meet with the agent in person. If that’s not possible, talk on the phone. You should feel comfortable with her. You certainly want to be sure she sees your work the same way you do. You may want to know how she works with clients. Does she mind questions? Will she get back to you quickly? I would not do well with someone who didn’t, but some people are better at waiting than I am.

This may be a long-term relationship. As I said before, your agent will get a percentage of your advance and royalties on any books that are signed up while she’s your agent. If things aren’t working out and you end the relationship, she’ll continue to be involved with those books. In the life of a book more may happen than the initial sale. You may have to continue to be in touch, which may be awkward. Try to choose well the first time.

But if you haven’t, of course you should move on.

There’s much more to say, like about rights that you sell the publisher and rights that you retain because your agent may be able to market them more profitably. And then there’s the royalty statement. The publisher will pay her; she’ll take her percentage and pass the rest on to you. She’ll also check for errors, and so should you. But I’m really getting into the weeds, and there are books about all of this. Let me add just one more thing, if you’re having problems with your editor, your agent can step in. Or in the case that you’re being the slightest bit unreasonable – your agent can be the voice of reason. She’ll have experience in the publishing world to give her perspective.

Long post. No prompts today. But I suggest you visit the websites carpelibris and I suggested and explore. Have fun!