How does the agent handle some of the important fundamentals of the author/agent relationship, e.g., does he or she offer a contract, are there any fees, how soon will your book be offered for sale and to how many houses? As I said previously, our business has had a problem with fraudulent agents. These are agents who have no real intention of selling any books, but live on "reading" or "marketing" or "editing" fees. I charge none of these fees, I never have. I don't believe they are legitimate. If you have to pay an agent, I take this as a bad sign, period. I would avoid agents that request payment. They'll get paid, when they sell your book.

I also offer a contract to all clients, a simple agreement that spells out our mutual rights and obligations. I think it's wise to enter into an agency agreement, so you know more where you stand legally. Written documents are often very revealing of a person's sense of fair play. For instance, I offer contracts as short as 6 months. If I can't sell your book by then, you have the option of terminating the agreement and finding another agent. My contract obligates me to pay all monies received promptly, no later than 10 days after receipt. These are just examples of what I consider important indicators of fair play. All the good agencies follow these practices and I've seen similar provisions in their agreements.

Another final, very compelling factor is speed. Does the agent feel your book is ready to go? Are they ready to put it on sale? Are they willing to multiple submit the book or do they insist on sending it to one house at a time? We often hear from people who claim their current agent has made 3 submissions in two years. This would not be acceptable behavior to me.

Additional Strengths

Though the basics may well decide things, let me mention a few other things to consider. Most agents and agencies have certain strengths. You may want to ascertain what a particular agent's strengths are, because they may be what you specifically need. For instance, some agents consider themselves "editorial" oriented agents, they like to work with authors to improve their work and direct their careers. Others see themselves as sales people, people who will find the deal. Still others see themselves as primarily deal makers, people who will maximize an opportunity for a writer, but aren't particularly interested in starting someone out. I put a great deal of emphasis on my editorial skills, I like coaching storytellers; I believe this has been a key to my success.

If you are fairly along in your career or you believe you have a "big book" you may want to find an agency with a strong subsidiary rights department. By subsidiary rights, I mean the rights that are sold off the book--movie rights, audio rights, translations in foreign countries, etc. If you feel you need a lot of attention, you may want to target agents with small lists or agents who advertise their desire to concentrate on only a few people. Perhaps you believe your book especially needs promotion and publicity and you may want to try and locate an agent whose background is in these areas.

All of these small, important facts can help determine your search.

If you follow this basic course of action you will soon have a number of names of agents that fit these criteria in one way or another. Prior to the submissions process, how should you proceed?

I recommend you organize your list and start at the top -- the agents that you would most want to have regardless of the odds. It's very hard for a writer to know the value of their work, so there's no reason to undersell yourself. Let's say you have 30 names. Choose the top ten -- the agents you think have the skills, reputation and track record to successfully market your book. Don't assume they are too busy for you or that your book isn't good enough. Approach these top 10 following the protocols they ask for and see what happens. If one or more of them is interested in you and you're impressed with their willingness to work with you, you've found the opportunity you were looking for. If your book is rejected by this first ten, analyze what might have gone wrong. Did you get any personal responses or were the only responses form letters? If you did get a personal response is there any way you can learn from it and incorporate what you learned in your next batch of submissions? After you consider that, re-read your work, your introductory letter and consider the whole package of material you are sending. If you are happy with it, it's simply time to try again.

Re-consider your list of targets. If you think that you were rejected because you simply approached too many agents who were too busy, construct your next list from people who have smaller client loads and fewer years in the business. Let's say your first list included only agents with 50 or more clients, who've been in business 10 years or more. Now maybe it's time to try agents who have 20-40 clients and have been in business 3-7 years. You may also want to try an agent with a strong professional background, for example, someone who was a successful book editor, who has just begun their business. You should get the idea by now, continue this process until you've landed an agent or until you realize it may be pre-mature to look for one.

At the beginning of this article, I sounded an optimistic note. Agents need good writers. Many agents are still growing their businesses and many agents treasure the joy of discovering a new talent, as I do. With the right targeting and the right property, even though it's a long, arduous process, you can find the agent who will help you. That said, I also want to add a cautionary note.

A bad agent is worse than no agent at all. These are my thoughts on what makes a bad agent. First, you should never pay a reading fee or marketing fee or any other kind of fee to a literary agent. You should only pay the direct cost of the expenses to market your book when you are signed with an agent who is actively marketing it. You should never work with an agent who directs you to a vanity press or an editor who you must pay to "fix" your book. It's true some professional editors can make a huge difference and these people do charge, so there are situations where this is legitimate. Unfortunately, the large amount of abuses in this situation have forced me to warn against this practice unless you are certain you know exactly what you're getting into. Finally, make certain you and the agent agree on exactly how many submissions and to whom they are going, and in what length of time. An agent who makes no submissions and performs no work is much worse than no agent at all.

Good luck in your search.

This article originally appeared in The Guide to Literary Agents 2001, published by Writer's Digest Books.

The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency

548 Broadway, #5E
New York, NY 10012
(212) 431-4554 Fax: (212) 941-4652
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information please visit The Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency website.