Literary Agents

Literary agents are an author's key to the publishing world. While they may not be a necessity for getting published, they certainly make it easier on the author to get a book in print and get paid for writing it. For literary agents, discovering new authors and getting manuscripts seen and read by the people willing to pay for them is business as usual. While writers may spend years in the slush pile by trying to get published on their own, all they need is one acceptance from their list of queried literary agents to get a sale. That's power.

But most agents prefer to work with referrals from other clients, so as a writer, it is important not to discount the network connections that you make along the way. With the advent of Facebook, it has become easier than ever before to connect with industry professionals, and all it takes is one person who knows someone who knows someone to get the referral you need to work with one of the literary agents on your list. The rest, particularly great writing, is up to you. So make sure that your work is above average before you let one of these hard working professionals see it.

In the life of most literary agents, a typical day consists of trying to get their existing clients the business they need to keep cash flowing in. While they're at it, they have to sift through potentially hundreds of hopeful author emails and letters with the hopes that just one of these queries will be professional enough to be from the next big thing: a potential client. Most literary agents do not work on salary, instead taking a small 10 to 20 percent cut of the final sale price. Therefore it is in the best interests of literary agents to maximize sale price for you the author. And the pros will not waste their time with you unless they're sure that there is a market and a specific buyer for what you have to say.

At sites like bookmouth.com, authors have the opportunity to connect with literary agents from all walks of life and all locations. Just because you may not land a well known agent, that doesn't mean that as a writer you won't land the agent that is right for you. Again, all it takes is one connection to break you in to the world of publishing. Agents are the people who can serve as that connection and open up a new life of opportunity for you. Bookmouth.com gives you the tools you need to find the one that works best for you. Drop by the site today and take the next step in your literary adventure.