Literary agents are the modern day superheroes coming to the desperate needs of writers. Gone are the days where only a handful of writers mail manuscripts to the little publishing agency scattered across cities in scanty numbers.
Modern times comes with its vast numbers of writers and publishing agencies. With the high number of writers comes high competition. With everyone vying for the recognition of the same publishing agencies, it is wise for one to do their very best to stand out in the crowd of intelligent writers (https://tinyurl.com/Book-publicity).
We live in the times where there are thousands of amazing writers of the very same niche, and the chances of you getting the desired recognition by a publishing agency gets slimmer than you’d like to admit, and with that, comes the introduction of literary agents.
Literary agents serve as a middle man between writers and publishing agencies, they bridge the ever longing gap between writers seeking to land the right book deal and publishing agencies across the world.
Literary agents get the job done with little to no stress at all, ensuring that your work not only gets published but also getting you the right book deal that ensures everyone happily smiles to the bank. If you are an author, seeking to get your book the right attention, and having your book traditionally published, then you may have to get yourself a literary agent.
The work of literary agents cannot be overemphasized, and in this article we will be looking at who they are and why as an author, you should be on the lookout to getting yourself a literary agent.
WHO IS A LITERARY AGENT?
A literary agent is someone working on behalf of an author, in order to ensure their book sells. Simply put, the work of literary agents is to make sure that as an author, your book makes massive sales. They put in all the extra work (marketing, editing, promoting, etc) aside from the actual writing of the book to ensure your book gets recognized by publishing agencies and also makes sales.
Undoubtedly, there is more to writing than just thoughts to paper, or pen to paper. We can all agree that it takes a little extra work and time to get your book the proper amount of recognition and a little effort to ensure your book finds its way to millions of readers. If you’re looking to make money as an author(https://tinyurl.com/Money-through-writing), then do continue reading as you are about to find out just how important it is to have in your corner, a literary agent.
CONTENT
- Key to publishing agencies
- They are editors
- They sell your book just right
- They are middlemen
Literary agents are worth every penny and more that you invest into them. And below are some of the very important roles they play in the lives of authors.
- Key To Publishing Agencies
In the olden times, writing and publishing was simple and easy. With the little handful of writers and publishing agencies, there was really no need for much work to be done as mails could be sent directly to publishing agencies with high hopes of acceptance and publications. The rejection rates were very minimal and no one’s feelings got hurt.
A few hundred years later, things are very different and more complicated than what they used to be. The increase in writers has made it quite a difficult task for publishing agencies to effectively sort out exactly what manuscript is accepted or rejected. There are more writers than there are publishing agencies. To equal this imbalance, there is a great need for literary agents.
Literary agents help to control and regulate the amount of authors or books that are presented to publishing agencies. In this capacity, they save publishers the pain of having to go through millions of manuscripts from numerous authors.
- They Are Editors
It is no surprise that most literary agents are also editors. They are equipped with editorial knowledge. Some book editors go on to become literary agents and with such background experience in editing, they go on to extend their duties as editors to the authors.
They not only seek to correct grammatical errors, but also seek out potentials of an author’s book in terms of its structure, concept, tone, writing style or the plot of the story.
- They Sell Your Book Just Right
They are your golden ticket to the right book deal. With their editorial background, it also helps make this easy. As an editor, it is normal for them to know other editors on a personal level, and with this networking skill, it is a huge advantage to authors.
They mingle with the right people on a daily basis and because of this they know the right people in the publishing industry and know exactly who to approach to get maximum results and the best offer.
- They Are Middlemen
This is one of the very important roles played by literary agents, acting as middlemen between writers and publishing agencies. They act as a link of communication between the writers and publishing agencies.
Literary agents do not just help you source out the best publishing agency for your book, or help you secure a mouth watering book deal, they ensure a smooth process from the contract signing down to the publication of your book. They look out for their writers in situations where the publishing agencies fall short of what was expected or agreed upon.
FINAL THOUGHTS.
It is a no-brainer that literary agents are worth every penny invested in them, most writers prefer going solo in hopes of having to themselves, the larger portion of the pie, however research has it that, writers with literary agents have more success rates when compared to those without.
However, if you are a self published writer, academic writer, or just a casual writer, there is really no need to have a literary agent as this is strictly by choice. Literary agents work best for writers looking to be traditionally published.