Where to Look for a Literary Agent

Why spend time and money looking for a literary agent if your agent isn’t going to be able to help you get your book published for a good advance and with a good publisher? This article will explain the biggest mistake beginning writers make when it comes to literary agents: not knowing where to look for an agent.

WHERE SHOULD YOUR LITERARY AGENT HAVE AN OFFICE?

A literary agent in New York City has the best chance of landing you a good publishing deal with a good publisher who will pay a decent advance. Sure, there are agents in other cities, and many of them are wonderful. But New York City is the publishing capital of the world. There are more bookstores and publishers here than anywhere. When I was in high school I used to travel from the Bronx into Manhattan by subway just to visit the great bookstores: Brentano’s, Scribner’s, the Strand, and Barnes and Noble.

Now that I’m a published writer, I still travel to New York for its bookstores, but these days I also visit my literary agents.
The reason that there are so many literary agents in New York City is simple. They want to be close to the action. They need to be able to have lunch with editors. It’s at lunch that many deals are made and many friendships and business associations are forged.


WHAT DOES A LITERARY AGENT DO AT LUNCH BESIDES EAT?

The primary purpose of a publisher’s lunch is not to eat. That is incidental to business. The primary purpose is to discuss books, writers, editors, agents, and book proposals. The first thing an editor and a literary agent will do is exchange business cards. Then they’ll order drinks (non-alcoholic usually) and they’ll talk about the latest projects they’re working on. The editor will ask about the various new writers the agent is representing.

After ordering the meal, they’ll have another opportunity to talk business. This time they may focus on a specific project the literary agent is trying to sell. Editors are eager to hear new ideas from agents they trust.

Once the food arrives, the literary agent is likely to become a little more relaxed and casual, but business is not far from her mind. She’ll probably ask the editor what she’s working on and try to get a sense of what the editor wants to see in terms of new manuscripts. A literary agent can then communicate these interests to the writers she represents during the course of the next few weeks or months.

Looking for a literary agent in New York City should be at the top of the list of priorities of any beginning writer. The simple fact of the matter is that New York literary agents have the contacts that could turn a publisher’s lunch into a book contract for you.