This page will answer some of the frequently asked questions we hear from authors.

What does a literary agent do?

          We represent authors in the sale of their work to publishers. 

That's a little like saying "a real estate agent sells houses".  It's accurate, but it doesn't give a good picture of what really goes on here and the value an agent can provide to you.

What value does an agent provide?

          We keep up to date on all aspects of  publishing, and the people in it so we can place an author's work with the right publisher, and then coach them through the post-publication process. We handle the business side of things so you can focus on your work.

Post publication process? I thought agents just sold manuscripts.

          It's not enough to write a good book these days, you have to be part of the marketing and promotional effort as well.  We work closely with our authors to make sure they are ready for this and are ready to hit the ground running when the book is published.

How do I get you to look at my work?

          First, look at our list of categories.  Does your work fit into one of them reasonably well? If yes, follow the submission guidelines and mail us a query letter. Please, follow the guidelines.  It really helps us evaluate a project if we have all the information. You're in a VERY competitive field.  Give yourself a fighting chance by following the guidelines!  Save your postage if we don't handle your type of work.  Consult Writer's Market , AgentQuery.com, Publishers Marketplace or other resources for lists of agents who do handle it. 
   

What are the guidelines?
          Click the button to the left that says  "How to Send Work"

What's a query letter?
          A query letter is a sales pitch.
          It usually opens with an enticing question: 
                   "Would you worry if your spouse came home with a new carving knife ...and it wasn't a holiday?"  
                   "What kind of parent murders a child?"  
                   "Remember

                         ... the first boy you kissed?
                        ...  when you stole money from your mom's purse to buy cigarettes?
                        ...   when you realized you weren't going to grow up to be president?"

          There are several good books on how to write query letters.  They all give conflicting information in terms of specifics.  Generally however, they all say the same thing: be interesting, be enticing, be well-written, and follow the guidelines.


Can I just email you my idea so you can tell me if I'm on the right track?

          No.


I wrote you a query letter, and never heard from you!
          If you don't hear back from us within three weeks, one of two things happened.

               1. You didn't include a stamped self addressed envelope, or
               2. your query didn't reach us. 

          Write again.

          Make sure you include an SASE. 

          We don't even see material that arrives without one, it is discarded in the mailroom unread.

Can't you just email me?
          No.

Can I email you asking if you got it?
          No. We don't keep track of query letters. If we have it, we'll respond.


Do you charge reading fees? 
          No.  Be careful of agents who offer to read stuff for money.  
          Make sure they actually SELL work, not just "read it".

Do you take new/unpublished writers?
          Yes

Do you consider simultaneous queries?
          Yes.  Don't write that you've sent this to "a few select agents"  much like you don't need to tell me you were breathing while you wrote it either. 

I have a friend with a great idea for a book...  
         stop here.  Generally, we only want to hear from the author directly. If you are going to write the book, you send the query.  If someone else is going to write the book, s/he needs to be the one to query.  Writing is hard work. The actual author has to be committed first.  No one can do it for them, no matter how great the idea.


What happens when you get my query letter?

     If we are going to say no right away you'll hear from us very quickly ... within a week usually.  If it's going to be longer than that, you'll get a form email saying we got your query and when to expect to hear from us.  Response time varies seasonally.


Why does it take so long for agents to get back to me? It's just a letter, why can't you write back right away?

          My main job is NOT acquiring new work. My main job is selling the work we currently represent.  Acquisition is like R&D in corporations--it should take about 10% of time/assets.  Consider that 10% of a forty hour week is four hours - that's how much time I should spend reading query letters or submissions.  If I read 50 pages an hour, that's 200 pages a week. We get one hundred query letters a week, and take about ten proposals and two novels from that pile.   You can understand how a turn around time of two to three months or longer happens now, right? It's not 'cause I'm drinking martinis with the bloggers from Beatrice.com or MaudNewtwon.com or Bookslut.com...much as I'd like to be.

Also, do understand we do more than just read the material we are interested in. We do some preliminary market research (is there a book on this already; if so, how did it do?).  Is this a book we can market beyond traditional book stores? Do we know people who can read this book and tell us if the author is onto a great new idea or just seriously unhinged.  Taking on a project is very rarely a matter of yes/no.

I know you made a mistake saying no to this.  If I write again, explaining why,  will you read it again?

          No. There are more than 300 agents in the US.  Query others before you re-query those who said no. Everyone is looking for different things. None of us are perfect, and none of us have a lock on what's going to sell. However,  if you get 25 rejection letters, and none of them offer any encouragement, it's time to go to a writing conference and get some feedback on what you're sending out.  Agents are looking HARD for work to sell, if you aren't getting bites, there's a problem. We aren't saying no because we are literary troglodytes...well most of us aren't.

What's a writing conference?
         Writing conferences are events that bring writers, particularly new writers together with agents and editors. There are workshops and panel discussions and appointments for one on one time with agents and editors.  
          I can specifically recommend Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and Murder in the Grove as very well organized and well executed conferences.  There are books with lists of conferences listed geographically and of course lots of information on the web.  It costs money to go.  This is one place parting with your hard earned cash can be a good investment.



I see web sites  that tell me they will help me find the perfect agent for my work, for a fee.  Is it worthwhile?

          You can get the same information from Writers Market or by reading Publishers Weekly.  (Your local library subscribes to PW probably, but they don't put it on display, they keep it in their office...ask for it).

          There are a lot of people out there who want to separate a new author from his or her short supply of cash.  They prey on your desire to see your work published.  Don't fall for it.  Anyone who tells you they have the inside scoop has an ulterior motive. The ulterior motive usually involves money leaving your account and going into theirs.  Beware.  You can find out if we are interested in your work with a letter and two first class stamps.  Most other agencies work the exact same way.


Do I have to have an agent?
         No, you don't.  However, many major publishers will not look at unsolicited manuscripts, so not having an agent generally means you won't have access to those publishers.  Many small presses will take unsolicited work, and they do a good job.  However, when it comes to a publishing contract, you should at the very least seek advice. I've seen publishers offer a percentage of the "the net" --the money left after EVERYTHING else is paid for. And I've seen publishers buy world rights who have no idea how to handle them.  Agents aren't the answers to all your problems, but a good agent knows a lot about things you've never heard of.  Places for authors to get good advice include the Author's Guild and the National Writers Union.

I published my book with a POD press and it did well. Now I want to sell it to a major publisher.
         We do not handle second editions.  You do hear stories about POD books or self published books getting picked up by major publishers.  You hear about it cause it's NEWS.  It's not common at all. Generally it's non fiction thats sold more than two thousand copies and has potential for more. 

Whats POD? Is it the same as self published?

          POD is a technology.  It's a way to print books in small quantities.  Usually if you want to have fewer than 700 copies of a book, POD technology is a smart choice.  Generally you don't get quantity discount for POD... you pay the same rate per book whether you buy one or a hundred. (Think of how more copies at Kinkos cost less per page:  10cents for one page... a nickel if you make 300). 

          Some smaller publishers use POD technology.  There's nothing inherently bad, evil or wrong with it.  POD got a bad rap when it first started out because many publishers didn't follow usual terms of sale. Bookstores wouldn't stock POD books and it was hard to convince them to order them. 

          If you place a book with a small publisher, ask how they print.

          If they use POD, ask if they take returns, offer discounts and have distribution. 

          POD can be useful-

               if you invest in learning about it.                                                                       

          Self published means you published the book yourself whether you use POD or standard (webfeed press) technology.  It's easy to self publish. It's extraordinarily difficult to do it well. 

          Vanity presses are not the same as self published or POD. Vanity presses charge you money and give you a certain number of books. Vanity presses are not respected ways to publish a book.  

          Book packagers are something entirely different.  They are sort of like deal makers in Hollywood, bringing together a creative team, getting a project together, and placing it with a publisher and promoting it upon publication.  There's lots of information about book packagers on the web. Agents are not packagers, generally.



What have you sold?

          Here are the most recent. 

          Evan Mandery, DREAMING OF GWEN STEFANI (Ig Books-2007)

          Jeff Somers, THE ELECTRIC CHURCH (Orbit:2007)

          Dan Tomasulo CONFESSIONS OF  FORMER CHILD (Graywolf-2008

          Bill Cameron, lost dog (Midnight Ink-2007)

          Richard Gilbert, MARCHING UP MADISON AVENUE (Behler Publications: 2008)

          Eric Stone, GRAVE IMPORTS (Bleak House Books: 2007)

     Our website at Publishers Marketplace always has the latest sales and up to date client list.

What were you before you were an agent?

         Book publicist.  A set of skills thats pretty handy for agency clients.

I have more questions

          For general questions about the publishing industry pick up a copy of Writers Market.

          For questions about whether your work is right for JRLA, send a query letter.