literary agents
Authors' business intermediaries
Literary agents represent writers in dealings with publishers.
They submit manuscripts, negotiate contracts, handle rights, and advocate for their clients' interests in exchange for a percentage of earnings—typically fifteen percent.
Most major publishers accept submissions only through agents, making them gatekeepers to traditional publishing: She spent two years querying literary agents before finding representation.
- royaltiesOngoing payments to creators
- queryRequest for information
- query letterManuscript pitch to agents
- slush pileUnreviewed manuscript accumulation
- manuscriptsHandwritten or typed originals
gatekeepers · negotiation · contract · signing on · book deal · exclusive rights · pitch · advances · representation · editorial process · rights · synopsis · inbox · submissions · bestseller · commissions · handshake · fiction
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- literary worldauthors, writers, poets, novelists, manuscripts
- publishingpublishers, editors, editor, publishing house, books
- book fairsbook fair, publishers, exhibitors, book stalls, exhibition halls
- book tradebook dealers, bookselling, bookseller, publisher, bookshops
- publishing termsbook rights, self-publishing, print-on-demand, backlists, foreign editions
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