Getting a Literary Agent

How-To, Why-to, and Tips!

The world of publishing is a mystifying place, and often the hardest step is the first. You’ve written a book, and now you have to navigate the minefield of getting an agent to represent you. It's quite a confusing, daunting prospect and so it may help to have all the clear information here in one place. This will just be the traditional method of getting an agent - you should keep an ear out because there are often pitch events where you can sit down with an agent for 5 minutes and give them your pitch (so make sure it's strong!) but this is for the classic querying route.

First thing's first:

What is an agent?

A literary agent is going to be your work-wife, so make sure it's someone you get on with on a personal level and can envision spending a lot of time speaking with (and taking rejection from!). They will be the person who champions all your writing. They have all the connections to publishers and will be pitching to editors who may be interested in buying your book. They will negotiate hard to get you the best possible deal, and may also look to sell rights abroad for translations or to TV and film companies.

Some agents love to work collaboratively and will want to help edit your book. Some won't. So find someone who works in a way which matches your vision.

Do I pay my agent?

You do not pay your agent. Instead, they will take a cut of commission for any deals they broker for you. I believe the UK average commission is 12-15% for UK deals and 20% for overseas or TV and film.

Do I really need one?

If you want to be traditionally published, then yes. You can self-publish without one, of course. Publishing houses generally will not look at fiction manuscripts that come direct from an author, they must come through an agent.

How to get a literary agent

1. Get on X.

This is not a must-do, but it will definitely help. You can find all the agencies and their agents on there, and so I would suggest following them all and keeping an eye on your feed. They'll regularly tweet when they are re-opening/closing their submissions list and also often tweet anything they're particularly hungry for. It's a good starting point.

2. Have a finished manuscript.

Agents usually won’t be interested in partials. You should have your finished draft, with a decent word count. (Circa 80k for commercial fiction, up to 120k for fantasy. Research averages for your genre and try to ensure you're as close to the mark as possible. If you’re way over, you may need to consider a thorough edit to get rid of excess. If you’re way under, your plot may need expanding.)

3. Have a strong pitch.

It should be very short - a couple of lines ideally - that really sell your book and position it in the market. My pitch was 'What if the person you love the most is not who they say they are? GONE GIRL meets MY LOVELY WIFE in this commercial domestic thriller with a Sarah Waters-esque midpoint twist. Claire wants her cheating husband back at any cost, but who will be the one paying the price?'

Once signed, we changed my pitch to, ‘What would you do if your fiancé suddenly ghosted you?’ but the above was what I had originally pitched with and got picked up from.

4. Script your pitch email.

Your pitch email should be short, and to the point. Mine was structured as follows:

• Introduce your novel (not yourself) with the title, genre, word count and your short pitch. One line on why you have approached them, specifically, for your book.

• What is it about? Again, very brief. 'It's a story about murder and mental health, and explores how trauma can affect you in later life'.

• Quick note on if it's your first novel, any writing experience you may have, and anything else about yourself which may be relevant. They don't want a bio or rundown of your hobbies, keep it snappy.

• Why should YOU write this book? Why are you placed or positioned to be the one to tell this story?

• A polite sign-off!

5. Find the agents.

Okay, this part is pretty grim and time consuming. You have to find your agents. This website has a UK list, but it will take a huge chunk of time to go through it all, so be prepared. You need to find agents who are interested in your specific genre. Each agent should have a page on the agency website stating what they love and what they're looking for, so base your query on that. You can only submit to ONE agent per agency, so make it a smart choice. If an agent gets a submission that isn't right for them but may be for another agent they work with, they may pass it on, but you can't bank on it, so try to pick the best fit and check out who they already represent for a guideline if you're stuck.

6. Make a spreadsheet.

Yes, I know, grim. But the thing is, every single agency has different submission processes, which sucks, but is life. Some have an online form, some want email. Some want 3 chapters, some want 10k words. Some want double spacing PDFs, some want word docs. Do not be lazy and just do a send-all to everyone, you must tailor each individual email and submission to each agent.

My spreadsheet had columns for: Name, Agency, Email, Submission format, Date Sent, Reply Received. I would use this to track any responses I got and to ensure that I was submitting to each agent in their preferred way. If an agent receives something formatted incorrectly, they probably won't bother looking at it. It would just make you seem like a difficult-to-work-with writer who can't follow clear instructions.

7. Start submitting!

I chose 20 agents to submit to, which I think is a good starting point. The odds of getting any sort of response is very low - they receive thousands of submissions all the time. If you get a rejection, don't feel bad about it or take it personally, it could be a myriad of reasons; list too full, too similar to another book they have, too similar to another author they have, etc.etc. Remember how many times J.K Rowling got rejected and try to not let it hurt your feelings. When I submitted, some responses said they loved the twist. Others said they thought it wasn't enough. Some said they loved my villain. Some said they thought she was over-written. What I'm getting at is: writing is so subjective. What one person hates, another will love, so don't give up and keep going.

If you get a custom, tailored rejection with points to work on, great! Someone has liked your talent enough to take the time to give you personalised advice, even though they know they can't take you on right now. Despite being a rejection, this is actually such a positive sign and you should be proud of yourself. I found myself actually SMILING at some of my rejections.

8. What happens next?

If an agent loves your writing, they'll request a full manuscript. If they love that, they'll invite you to meet with them. At this point, they want to see what you're about, see how open you are to editing, etc.etc. At this point, an offer of representation is likely on the cards, as long as you're well behaved! Well done!

9. Other tips

All agencies will request the opening of your manuscript in some shape or form (see point 6) but they will also ask for a one-page synopsis. A synopsis is not a blurb, and should not be looking to sell your book. It is a point by point rundown of your entire main plot, spoilers and all. Here is a good guide to writing a synopsis.

If you get a full manuscript request or a meeting request from an agent, don't be afraid to email your other queried agents just to let them know. A polite, 'just to flag I've had a full request from another agency, hope you have time to read my submission as well!' may push your manuscript up the pile to be read quicker so they can compete with other agents.

I know this is obvious, but do make sure your manuscript is in the best possible position before submitting to agents. I recommend using beta readers, early readers who can give constructive feedback on how to better your book. I recommend avoiding using bloggers for this - they tend to have less useful advice than other writers or authors. I found using Twitter to find beta readers of the same genre really successful.

Good luck with your querying, fellow writers!

Love,
C x