When I explained to a non-writer friend what my agent did, he said, “So he takes your book, shows it to the people who are actually going to publish it, and takes a cut of the money you make. Sounds parasitic.”
When you’ve just started looking for an agent (and received many rejections), it can feel like they’re all against you, but literary agents do a lot more than just siphon that pound of flesh off your work. They actually perform a lot of work, and they take a big risk when working with an author with an unproven track record. As an author who used to work at a literary agency, I can say that the agent-author relationship is completely symbiotic.
The Finances
Most literary agents are not rolling in money. Some make a comfortable living, but, unless an agent has managed to grow a list of best-selling authors, they don’t make much. In fact, other than the partners, an agent needs to bring in double their salary (usually around $30,000-$42,000 a year) before they start to make any of the royalties their books make, before that, all royalties go back to the agency. Remember, most agents still live in or around New York City, and the rent is not cheap there. Agents are only paid about 15 percent of an author’s royalties (20 percent Foreign and Digital), and they are only paid when an author is paid.
What Do They Do?
My agent has been by far the best reader I have ever had. Friends, workshop-mates, and my mother, have read and loved my book, but it was my agent who really understood my book. That is why I signed with him. When he explained my theme and my characters’ motivations back to me like he had picked my own brain, I knew he would not only work hard for my book, but he understood what he had. Literary agents go into this business because they love books and want to see good books succeed.
Editors
Agents have taken over the editorial role publishing houses used to play. While a larger publisher will employ minimal editing on a newer book, they won’t contribute (and pay for) the kind of deep feedback authors used to get from publishers twenty years ago. Instead, that kind of feedback has started to come from agents. When I interned at the Frances Goldin Literary Agency years ago we very rarely did more than offer a couple of suggestions to an incoming author before sending their book out. After I signed with my last agent, we spent six months editing my book for content. The entire agency was invested in making my book as good as possible before it was placed into an acquiring editor’s hands.
Protect Your Rights
Agents make sure that they keep as many rights as possible to sell later. After selling First North American rights, they will try to sell the Digital or Foreign Rights elsewhere. This means more money for the author (and the agent). They are also watchdogs, making sure that a publisher abides by the contract they signed, from the royalties an author is due, to things like providing publicity and editing services.
Landing an agent can be difficult, and when you’re a new author, rejection letters can feel like all agents are against you. But any good agent is going to be on your side. That is why my agent is the best professional relationship I have. Our relationship is symbiotic. I get as much from him, if not more, than that 15 percent he makes off of me.
Bio: Jessica Stilling is the author of three literary novels The Beekeeper’s Daughter, Betwixt and Between and The Weary God of Ancient Travelers. Her third literary novel Just So Many Places, will be published by NineStar Press later this year. Jessica has published three YA Fantasy novels: Nod, and books two and three of The Pan Chronicles Series (which was nominated for a Hugo Award) under the Pen name JM Stephen. She currently lives in Southern Vermont with her family. Her website is Jessicastilling.com
Leave a Reply