What Every Literary Agent is Looking For

I get the same questions a lot.

Q: What do literary agents want?

A: A book they are passionate about with a message that matters.

Pretty simple, right?

After decades in traditional publishing and being friends with lots of agents, I know their job well. What you need to know is that literary agents only get paid when their authors get a book deal. And even then, an agent only receives 15% commission. Literary agents need to make smart bets about the authors they take on, and usually have to work for months or years coaxing clients into writing a book proposal that will sell.

Agents love me because my team and I do a lot of that heavy lifting.

We take a client with potential and craft the proposal and more importantly — author platform (or audience) that person needs to get a book deal with a traditional publisher.

When the client and the proposal is ready, we introduce them to one of our agent contacts, the author gets a six-figure deal thanks to the work provided by the agent, and everyone is happy.

Because I take a lot of the guesswork out of their job — and have a proven track record — agents answer when I call or email. In fact, I have a list of more than 100 agents that represent the kind of…