{"id":1136,"date":"2010-02-03T11:45:51","date_gmt":"2010-02-03T16:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisatener.local\/blog\/?p=1136"},"modified":"2024-09-30T09:00:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T13:00:50","slug":"literary-agents-a-bad-rap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/2010\/02\/literary-agents-a-bad-rap\/","title":{"rendered":"Literary Agents: A Bad Rap?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"You
You Book Writing Coach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I found a response to one of my youtube videos this morning that got me on a roll. After writing a short dissertation in reply, Youtube informed me I only had 500 words to respond. Blog time.<\/em><\/p>\n

The controversial video is a tongue in cheek joke (and a tad silly).\u00a0 The comment was this:<\/p>\n

“Remember, many agents are people with BA’s who don’t have the talent or creativity to write a book themselves, so they spend their careers rejecting the work of others.”<\/p>\n

Whoa. Now, many people might think this is so sour grapes, it doesn’t warrant a response, but I think it does. Why? Many authors don’t really understand literary agents–their jobs, their mind frames or their hearts. You need to understand all three if you are going to capture an agent’s heart and land a contract.<\/p>\n

So, first, what do literary agents do all day? Why don’t you always get a prompt response? Literary agents have lots of jobs:
\n– Sifting through query letters<\/strong> and responding
\n– Sifting through book proposals <\/strong>and responding
\n– Meeting with acquisitions editors<\/strong> and finding out what they’re looking for, where the market is going, and talking up their authors
\n– Finding the right editor and publishing house<\/strong> for a particular author
\n– Helping authors revise <\/strong>and perfect their book proposals<\/strong>, or fine tuning a proposal for a particular editor or publishing house
\n– Negotiating contracts <\/strong>so their authors get the best deal they can
\n– Making sure their authors get paid <\/strong>what they should
\n– Supporting their authors in career planning, maybe even proposing ideas for next books<\/p>\n

This takes many skills, not just good writing and editing, though that is usually one skill they have in spades. They are tough negotiators<\/strong>, supportive mentors<\/strong>, good relationship builders<\/strong>, excellent strategists<\/strong> and often visionaries<\/strong>. Whether they “just have a B.A.” seems irrelevant to me. And, by the way, many great authors over the decades did not have MFAs not that there is anything wrong with an MFA. But it’s not required.<\/p>\n

So, all importantly, if you don’t hear back from a literary agent, why and what can you do about it? And how can you avoid rejection and prompt a quick response\u00a0 in the future? For all future proposals to literary agents:
\n– Ask if they want your proposal or manuscript before sending. Send a query first.
\n– Find out if the particular literary agent prefers e-mail submission or snail mail.
\n– Pitch in person:<\/p>\n