A Literary Agent Will Make All My Dreams Come True, Right?

Most authors who want to publish traditionally (aka, through one of the publishers in the Big Five/Six, with a hardbound or paperback book that will show up at Barnes and Noble and book stores around the country and get reviews) need to find a literary agent.  The agent is the author's conduit to the publishing world -- the agent matches you up with editors he or she thinks would be good fits for your work, builds the relationship, sends the manuscript, negotiates your contracts, etc., etc. Literary agents work hard and long for us, the authors. I once spent a few months interning with an agent, which helped me understand what, exactly, an agent does and how valuable an agent can be.

It's hard to get an agent.  First you have to persuade, in about four paragraphs (called a query letter), why an agent should consider your manuscript. The agent (or, more often) the agent's assistant or intern will read through, literally, about fifty other letters just like yours EACH DAY.  The assistant or intern will pass the letters she thinks hold promise to the agent, and then the agent may ask you for a few sample pages or the first fifty pages or the entire manuscript. Then in the agent's spare time (which is, like, nothing) she will read through and decide whether she would like to represent you.

This is just the start. The agent will work with you to edit your manuscript until it's ready for submission, which could take weeks (if you're lucky) or months (usually) or a year, even (occasionally).  For many more months (or a year, even) the agent will shop your manuscript around, trying to get editors interested. This is a tricky process.

Here's the thing.  The agent does not guarantee you will get a traditional deal.  I have an agent.  Her name is Erica Silverman and she works for one of the top literary agencies in the country, Trident Media Group.  Whenever I tell anyone in the literary world who my agent is, the first thing the other person says is, "Oooohhh, Trident. You're going to get a deal."

I have not gotten a deal.  Erica has tried to sell TWO of my manuscripts, and neither was taken.  Child of Mine, my book that came out in March, was published by Trident Media's Ebook Division, because Erica believed in it so much that she wanted the world to read it.  (Thanks, Erica!)

Literary agents can be valuable partners in the publishing process.  Obviously mine has been for me.  But an agent is NO guarantee that you will make a deal.  Getting the agent is only one small step in the process.