If you want your book to be published by a big publishing house like Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette, or Macmillian, you need a literary agent. Regardless of where you are pitching your manuscript or your proposal, it is helpful to have one, meaning you need to know how to find a literary agent. (If you are writing fiction, you usually need to write an entire manuscript before pitching to a publishing house. If you are writing nonfiction, you need a proposal.)
Agents have relationships with editors at the publishing houses, they can help you edit your manuscript or proposal, and they advocate for you throughout the process of making the deal. Your book may go to auction or you could immediately get a book deal with one publishing house. Either way, it’s beneficial to have an agent who can negotiate your offer and your book contract.
You do need to pay an agent — they often get 15% of your advance and royalties. But in my experience, it is well worth it!
How I found a literary agent:
I found my literary agent Leigh Eisenman from MacKenzie Wolf because my friend Ashley Feinstein Gerstley worked with Leigh for her book “The 30-Day Money Cleanse.” Ashley sent Leigh a proposal I worked on for a few months before my book!
Leigh and I worked together on the proposal for a few months and started to pitch it at one publishing house, but then I got into Columbia Journalism School and decided to press pause. I started working right after graduation and was settling into the job when an acquisitions editor from Adams Media at Simon & Schuster reached out about “What Next?: Your Five-Year Guide to Life after College.”
How to find a literary agent:
I looked for agents on my own before Ashley kindly sent my proposal to Leigh. I recommend looking for agents on resources like Publisher’s Marketplace, Agent Query, and Query Tracker. Another big tip is to look at books like yours. Head to the bookstore and check the acknowledgments page because almost all authors will thank their agent.
How to query a literary agent:
What you send to an agent depends on the type of book you are pitching. If you write fiction, the agent will want to see the full manuscript. If you write nonfiction, you’ll send a book proposal. Your agent will help you polish both, but you need to have a great first draft to get signed with a literary agent.
Some agents will have you send something shorter to query them, so check their website to learn how they want you to pitch them. Some of the most common types are a query letter (a one-page pitch), a novel synopsis (a one to two-page summary of your entire story, including the ending), a nonfiction book proposal (a long document that is essentially a business plan for your book), a novel proposal (usually your query letter, a synopsis, and a chapter), or sample chapters. Most agencies will also say how soon you can follow up, so check that too so you don’t follow up too soon!
