Do You Need a Literary Agent?

agent-part-i

In my nearly three decades of book publishing, one of the the most common questions I get is “Do I need a literary agent?”

The answer isn’t completely black & white, but it is pretty close:  you may not always need one, but you are always better off with one (and in some book categories, like fiction, an agent is an absolute must) .

A literary agent is important because of the myriad things he or she  can do for your writing career. This is especially true for first time authors (assuming you have the prerequisites to sign on with an agent, but we can save that for another post). 

Here, in no real order, are the things that a top notch literary agent can do for you:

* First and foremost, works with you to develop a viable book idea—one that matches up nicely with your particular expertise and passion(s). The key is to identify your strengths and match them to the strengths of a particular book market or niche. 

* Shapes those ideas into a compelling and marketable book “package” that has a high probability of attracting interest from publishers (the package refers to the title, subtitle, a book’s reading line, etc.). 

* Works  closely with you to develop a strong book proposal: The proposal is everything when it comes to getting a good book contract. Having an experienced agent (or similarly, a former veteran business book editor) makes a huge difference.  

* Develop the cover memo that will go to publishers—one compelling enough to capture the imagination and interest of book editors and publishers. Most cover letters are boring, failing to arouse interest or differentiate the book from all of the hundreds of others in a particular category or niche.

* Works with you to develop a strong book outline: A part of the proposal, but worth highlighting here. It’s a key component and can also make the difference between a good offer and no offer. This is where you show your book to be well thought out, to have depth, texture and dimension.

Once the proposal is complete—usually after several iterations between author and agent—then there is a whole new set of activities to perform:

* He then sends the proposal to various publishers:  This is the book’s “coming out” party,  as it is viewed by outsiders for the first time. “Fit” is a big issue, as the agent tries to match your book with the most appropriate publisher. Then, if all goes well, he….

* Fields initial offers from publishers. If the stars are aligned, the project will garner multiple offers from top tier publishers. However, there are no guarantees. Many books that seem like “can’t-miss-projects” often fail to bring in any offers at all. Some of the great business books in history have been rejected by countless publishing houses before one finally agreed to take it on. 

* Then the agent has to decide on how he will sell your book: He has to figure out if he will sell the book via auction: if there are more than say, two offers/bidders, then the agent will be able to sell the book via auction, helping to maximize the author’s advance  for the book. The agent and author can decide on the rules of the auction. One “rule” that should be stated up front is that the author need not accept the highest bid. There are instances in which a lower bidder will “feel” like the right offer—usually because of the chemistry that exists between the author and an editor from another house. These are the kinds of things that a veteran agent will assist in from the earliest days of the project. 

This is enough information for one post. Tune in Thursday for Part II featuring additional things that an agent can do to help you in your book writing career.

May 26, 2009 · Filed Under Book News, Business Books, Inside Publishing, Management

Comments

One Response to “Do You Need a Literary Agent?”

  1. Philip ("Phil") Francis on June 17th, 2009 12:32 pm

    My name is Phil Francis, of Georgetown, TX. In the past 35 years I’ve published some five books in managment in higher-education. They have been published by Gordon & Breach, Amacom, the Free Press (Gordon & Schuster), and others. Now, I find that my former Agent is not now available. Therefore, I’m looking for a good, results-profession literary agent whe can deliver in my last business.

    Here is a precis of this book, tentatively titled, “Entering the C-Suite”:. It is intended specifically for ambitious industrial managers and executives who are eager to ascent to the very top levels of their professional goals, and their aspirations. To my knowledge, this book is unique in its construction, its format and in its content. It offers for the first time a readable guide to help guiding those intending to get to the very top of their careers. The name +C-Suite” is now; it connotes all such titles as CEO, COO, CTO, CFO, CIO and similar others. I’ve written this book to acquaint busy executives with the newest tools and methods so they can help outperform their competitors. It is a short read (about 140 pages, single-spaced), and is specifically intended for ambitious fast-track future captains of industry, so they can lever ther their secrets and can get ahead of the crowd.

    The C-Suite is getting ever large, and more crowed than before. Therefore, it is even more important that our manufacturing and technology leders have a strong base, and is well-fit for teoday’s methods of smart information. This is not a technical book, but rather a modern guidebook which offers a plethora of tips of ways to get ahead within the chaos in today’s challenging world. This book consists of eight vital chapters. They are:
    1. Developing your Compay’s Core Competences,
    2. Finding Business Scuccess through Teamwork,
    3. Technology, R&D, Innovations & Manufacturing Strategy for Creating New Products,
    4. Priclesless Quality,
    5. The New Wireless Revolution,
    6. Consultants: When, and How to use they Effectively,
    7. Protecting your Intellectual Property: Patents & Licenses, and
    8. Lifetime Learning.

    The author, Dr. Phil Francis, has been active throughout his career as a business executive of three Forture 100 corporations, as a senior university professor & Chair, as a consultant to government and to a dozen other universities. This will be his sixth professional title; his earlier one wer in engineering, structutal materals, and R&D. He was one of the first creators of the Six Sigma methodology, at Motorola, for measuring industrial quality. Phil also has had appointment in the U.S. Army Science Board, the Air Force Science Advisory Board, the Air Force Science Advisory Board, National Science Foundaation, a technical board member of the National Institute for Stnadards and Technology (NIST), and President of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Foundaiton. Phil is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engieers, a Distinguished Engineer of the Univeristy of Iowa, and is a registered Professiona Engineer. He has a PhD in Engineering, a MBA in managment, and is listing in “Who’s Who in America”. Phil also has published some 80 major referred professional publications. He also has been active in local government as former City Councilman and Deputy Mayor in Leon Valley, TX.

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