The contract will probably say something like “I will do my best to sell your book in return for receive 15% of the deal.” Contracts are generally about two pages long and don’t need to be reviewed by an attorney, although my attorney would argue vehemently that all contracts should be reviewed by legal council before being signed. If you choose to review it yourself watch for these worrisome points.

• If the agent wants to be your exclusive representative for more than one year be leery as to why.
• If the agent wants to charge you for the cost of office overhead if the book isn’t sold then flee. I always feel better if I yell SCAM while fleeing.

After you sign a contract listen closely to your agents advice. If they think your proposal needs to be changed then change it. Your agent has a lot more experience selling books to publishers than you do so pay attention when they speak.

When your agent lands a publisher he should be able to negotiate an advance for your book. Advances range from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand. Cash the check and finish writing your book.

Jacob

Why do books with contrived plots and tired characters fly off of the shelves of book stores while a publisher won’t even open your masterpiece? Because a crappy book backed by a literary agent will go a thousand times farther than a masterpiece without an agent. .

The first step in the publication process is to not write your book. STOP the presses! What? The goal is to get a book published not to write a book. Start with the end in mind not the beginning.

The second step is to find an agent. I am sure it happens, but I don’t know anyone who has been published without landing a literary agent. If you have already created your work of genius, don’t fret all is not lost.

You need an agent because the publishing world is a closed community. Publishers only accept books through specified channels, namely agents. Publishers let agents dig the diamonds out of the dregs people write every day. Getting an agent to support your work is your best avenue to publication. Sending a manuscript to a publisher is the quickest road to rejection.

Publishers consider manuscripts only after agents with solid track records recommend them. This makes agents picky about who they work with. It is not easy to land an agent, but once you do they will work tirelessly to get your book published. In return agents generally get 15% of the deal. Before you go ballistic at the thought of parting with a small fortune, remember 85% of something is a whole lot more than 100% of nothing.

I will talk about what to send an agent in more detail in part two of this series. For now remember agents don’t want to read your 500 page manuscript, they want to read a one page query letter that summarizes your idea, tells them who you are, and explains why you are qualified to write this book. The query letter is important because if you can’t write a good one page letter how can an agent trust you to write an entire novel?

Read the 2009 Guide To Literary Agents by Chuck Sambuchino to learn more about how to find a literary agent and stay tuned for part two of this series.

Jacob