All About Literary Agents

Many publishers nowadays won’t take unsolicited submissions. But how do you get an agent? What should a query letter say? Does the size of the agency matter? What if you need to change agents?

Know what to expect and what’s expected of you with these resources.

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ARTICLES

An Author’s Guide to Agency Agreements»

Agreements between authors and agents can be tricky things. Sometimes there’s a written contract setting out the terms of the relationship, sometimes there isn’t. To help you navigate the mysteries of the agency agreement, we’ve compiled a guide of key points for you to keep in mind.

Choosing a Literary Agent»

We’re here to guide you through the steps that every writer should consider before embarking on that most pivotal of literary relationships.

Agents’ Roundtable: Three Agents Reveal What They’re Really Looking for from Authors»

Tips for authors on how to find an agent and successfully pitch to a publisher.

EVENTS & RECORDINGS

Panel Recording: Agents and Agency: Building a Writing Career»

Part two in our series with Electric Literature and The Authors Guild is this essential event on acquiring and working with a literary agent. Joining us will be Marya Spence of Janklow & Nesbit Associates, Jacqueline Ko of Wylie Agency, and Anjali Singh of Ayesha Pande Literary, with Electric Literature’s Halimah Marcus moderating.

Revising for Agents & Editors

Whether you’re gearing up for the agent query process or submitting directly to an editor, author Courtney Maum will help you gauge when your project is ready for a gatekeeper’s eyes. Courtney will share tips on identifying “low-calorie language,” making sure your middle doesn’t drag, verifying that you have a plot (or at the very least, some heavy conflict), and also writing query letters that will win an agent’s reply. This class will address both craft and business elements of publishing to better prepare aspiring authors for the current publishing landscape.

What Editors Want: Writing for the Web (video)

A must for emerging writers: Electric Literature, The Center for Fiction, and the Authors Guild have partnered together to present a series of events aimed at giving you the 101 when it comes to your career. In this first of the series, our panelists Yuka Igarashi (Soft Skull Press, Catapult), Michelle Legro (New Republic), and James Yeh (VICE) discussed how to pitch for online, and the ways in which writing for the web differs to print. Moderated by Dwyer Murphy of Electric Literature.