LitAgent_Fullcover 5/17/06 3:48 PM Page 1 How to Get HH Do You Need oo A Literary Agent? ww a Literary tt oo In today’s highly competitive publishing industry, you need a GG Agent literary agent to get your book published. Here’s everything you need to know to find an agent who’ll be as excited about your ee book as you are: tt ✓ aa Finding the right agent for your book ✓ LL Writing a cover letter that grabs attention ✓ ii Working with an agent once you’ve got one tt ✓ ✓ How to find an agent Everything you need to know about the book business ee ✓How to avoid the 7 worst pitfalls for aspiring writers rr ✓ How to make your submission stand out aa ✓ How to be the dream client …And much,much more. rr yy ✓ The recipe for publishing success Michael Larsenis the cofounder of the Larsen/Pomada Agency, one of California’s oldest AA literary agencies. He lectures and presents seminars around the country on writing, agenting and the publishing industry. Larsen is the author or coauthor of 11 books and gg has represented dozens of successful authors. He lives and works in San Francisco. ee nn tt Reference/Book Publishing $14.95 U.S./$20.95 CAN Larsen ISBN-10: 1-4022-0560-0 ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-0560-6 C N P A U E Michael Larsen, AAR INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page i How to Get a Literary Agent Michael Larsen, AAR INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page ii Copyright © 2006 by Michael Larsen Cover and internal design © 2006 by Sourcebooks, Inc. Cover photo © Getty Images Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in criti- cal articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc. All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, reg- istered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders. Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book. Published by Sourcebooks, Inc. P.O.Box4410, Naperville,Illinois 60567–4410 (630) 961–3900 Fax: (630) 961–2168 www.sourcebooks.com Larsen, Michael How to get a literary agent / by Michael Larsen [Literary agents] p.cm. Originally published: Literary agents. Rev. and updated. New York : J. Wiley, c1996. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-0560-6 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-4022-0560-0 (pbk.) 1. Literary agents. I. Title. PN163.L37 2006 070.5’2—dc22 2005033519 Printed and bound in the United States of America DR 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page iii Dedication This book is dedicated to the writers it inspires to do their best work and show an affirming flame and to Elizabeth, my divine commission. INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page iv INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page v Contents Prologue.Making Bigger Better for You: An Instant Portrait of Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Introduction.Read This Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 PART 1:HIRING THE AGENT YOU NEED Chapter 1.Making the Connection: Using the Write Stuff to Attract an Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Chapter 2.Can You Name That Tuna? Eleven Ways to Find the Right Agent for You and Your Book . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Chapter 3.Getting Your Agent beforeYou Know Who It Is: Why Writing a Must-Read Query Letter Is Simple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Chapter 4.Joining the “2 Percent” Club: ACrash Course on Rising from Rejection to Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Chapter 5.AStudy in Read and Green: Six Criteria for Choosing the Right Agent for You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page vi Chapter 6.Taking the Vows for Your Working Marriage: The Author-Agency Contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Chapter 7.Life after Yes: Eleven Steps to Matrimonial Bliss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 PART 2:UNDERSTANDING YOUR AGENT Chapter 8.Transforming a Writer into an Author: What Your Agent Does before the Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103 Interlude 1.Paper Cuts: A Terrible Day in the Life of an Agent . . . . .113 Chapter 9.The Publishing Contract: Tiptoeing through a Diamond-Studded Minefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Chapter 10.Following the Money: What an Agent Does after the Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137 Interlude 2.Hooked on Books: ATerrific Day in the Life of an Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151 Chapter 11.Terminal Transgressions: What to Do if Your Working Marriage Fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 Chapter 12.Why Hirean Agent? Why You May Not Need an Agent and Why You May Need One More Than Ever . . . . . .167 PART3:THE PREQUEL:WHATTO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO Chapter 13.Understand How Publishers Work: The Book Business in a Nutshell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185 INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page vii Chapter 14.Whining and Dining on the Spaghetti Factor: How Publishing Went from Class to Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195 Chapter 15.The Spirit of Enterprise: What Publishers Are Buying and Why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205 Chapter 16.The Editor as Hero: An Homage to Your Other Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223 Chapter 17.Leaving Out the Parts That People Skip: How to Make Your Craft Seaworthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233 Chapter 18.The Difference between a Pig and a Chicken: Why Your Goals Will Determine Your Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245 Chapter 19.English Lit—How About You? Reinventing Yourself as an Authorpreneur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257 Chapter 20.You Deserve All the Help You Need: Mobilizing Your Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261 Chapter 21.From Slo-Mo to Promo: Kicking Your Book’sPromotion Campaign into High Gear . . . . . . . . .269 Chapter 22.Building Your Platform and Converting It into Your Promotion Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287 Chapter 23.Writing High: The End of the Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . .297 Appendix 1.The AAR Checklist of Questions for Authors (and a Few Moreto Fill in the Blanks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309 Appendix 2.Two Agents’ Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311 INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page viii Appendix 3.The Code of Ethics for the Association of Authors’ Representatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312 Appendix 4.ABill of Rights for Writers and a Bill of Rights for Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315 Appendix 5.Three Author-Agent Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .317 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .322 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .324 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .328 INT_HT Get Lit Agent NU 5/17/06 3:35 PM Page 1 Prologue Making Bigger Better for You: An Instant Portrait of Publishing “Publishing today is show biz. It’s the same as the world of entertainment.” —Agent Irving “Swifty” Lazar inSwifty: My Life & Good Times Nowisthe best time ever to be a writer! There are more: •subjects for you to write about •waystowrite your books, get help with them, or have them written for you •options for getting your books published •ways to use technology to make it easier and faster than ever to research, write, get feedback, build your networks, find an agent or publisher, and promote your books But to help you understand howan agent can help you take advantage of the opportunities waiting for you, you need a shortalbum of snapshots of an industry in transition that will give you a quick overview of the business. Placing writers and agents in the context of America’s literary landscape will help you understand what they want to see, how to present it, and how they can help you. We live in the age of what author and editor Ted Solotarff called “the literary- industrial complex.” Here’s a miniature portrait of the state of the industry as it lurches into an uncertain future:
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