What Agents Are Looking for – And What They’re Not

The publishing industry is changing faster than most people can keep up. As quickly as you decide what to do with your manuscript, something changes, and you end up looking in a different direction. But for those who want to try publishing the old-fashioned way, through a legitimate publisher, sponsored by an agent, there are some important things you should know about what agents are looking for these days.

I hear this question all the time: “How do agents make money?” They sell your book to publishers and then get a take of the sales, anywhere from 10 to 25%, on the sale of both domestic and foreign rights.

Agents should not ask for money up front, ever. Suppose the agent says, “You’ll need to pay $100 up front for copy costs.” Go away. Quickly. Or worse, they want a $300 “reading fee.” Hit the road, Jack – legit agents are not allowed to charge reading fees. You can read more about what is allowable on the web site for the Association of Authors’ Representatives, Inc. (AAR). It’s a good idea to ensure that your potential agent is a member of this association or that they’ve been vetted by various organizations such as AgentQuery.

Some agencies are beginning to charge up-front fees to cover various submission strategies. This new fee strategy is bound to become more common, unfortunately. But as a rule, agents take their commissions AFTER the sale.

So, what should you send your potential agent? Well, first of all, agents don’t generally handle books of short stories, essays, poetry, or articles—they don’t sell well. The chances of an agent’s making money on them are slim. It does happen – if you’re famous, you can probably get your book of essays published. If Stephen King wrote a book of poetry, he could probably get it published. If John Grisham wrote a book of essays about farming, he could probably get it published. Otherwise, forget it. Submit those items to contests or directly to small, private publishers.

For a novel, however, if you want an agent, don’t submit it first to publishers. Why should an agent take you on as a client? You’ve already done the agent’s job.

Make sure your book is complete before submitting it. Some writers seem to think their ideas are worth their weight in gold. But without a completed book, the idea is just an outline. Finish it, run it by friends, relatives, your WAG critique pod. Have it professionally edited if you’d like. But don’t assume that you will finish it whenever you get a bid. Nothing makes an agent crazier than finding out a beginning author hasn’t completed the book.

So what do agents want? Obviously, they’re looking for best-sellers. Do you know what’s selling these days? If you want to sell your book, you should know. Take a look at Amazon Best Sellers, The New York Times Bestsellers list, and Publishers Weekly.

The point is not to write whatever you think will sell. The point is to see where your manuscript fits into the mix. Is it similar to a current bestseller? Mention that in your query letter. Or is it completely different from anything out there? That could be a good way to go as well. You want to show your knowledge of the markets. Show that you’ve done your homework, that you understand how your manuscript would fit into the mix.

So what’s hot right now? Bear in mind that by the time you read this, the situation may have changed again. Do you have the next best-selling vampire novel?  DON’T submit it to an agent – they’re begging for a break from vampires. They’re still interested in sensuous novels in the 50 Shades of Grey realm, but even that is getting old.

Agents are currently looking for young adult novels, specifically with a fantasy context. And new adult novels are hot right now, a whole new species of books designed for people who have graduated from high school and are looking for something more complicated than the typical YA novels.

Genre books, such as mysteries, romances, etc., are always popular. But be sure you know that the agent you submit to takes that type of book before you send it. Get on the agent’s web site and see what types of books he or she has sold. How do you find the right agent for your work? Try Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents.

One new agent, Trena White of The Transatlantic Agency, gave a list of the types of nonfiction she was interested in: “…entrepreneurs and people who are innovators in their fields and writing about current affairs, business, culture, politics, technology, religion, and the environment. I am most interested in authors who have an existing platform. No memoirs please.”

That’s the most succinct description of what most agents are looking for in nonfiction that I have seen. If you’re writing nonfiction, you should think about what makes your book different from others and how you are the expert in that area. If you’re a doctor, you can write a book about how to survive medical school. If you’re a construction worker, you might not want to write a book about how to survive law school – unless you went yourself and morphed into a happy construction worker!

Many famous books have been rejected, so don’t take it personally when an agent rejects yours. See if there’s anything you can do to fix it. Afterwards, DON’T submit it to the same agents – they don’t want to see the same material again. DO keep submitting – that’s the way you get published!

So you sent your manuscript out to every agent you can find who might be interested. What do you do now? Write the next book, of course. Onward, through the fog!