The Complete Guide to Hiring a Literary Agent: Everything You Need to Know to become Successfully Published
Author
Laura Cross
Publisher
Atlantic Publishing Group Inc.
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There are thousands of literary agents currently working in the publishing industry, and yet potential authors with manuscripts still outnumber those agents by almost twenty to one. The truth is that there are millions of people out there who feel they have the next great best seller and for every fresh new novel, there are only a handful of possible people who will read, review, and pass along the novel to a publishing house on your behalf. Finding those select few individuals and convincing them that your work is worthy of their time is the hardest part of getting your book published but if you can find and hire the right literary agent, you will be well on your way to getting your name in print and achieving literary stardom. This book will guide you through the process of contacting a literary agent and convincing them that you are in fact the next great bestseller. From formatting a query letter to ensuring your manuscript looks presentable, every step of the process from inception to execution will be laid out in vivid detail for you. You will start by learning exactly what is expected of you by the literary field. You will learn how to research literary agents and what to look for in the right agent. You will learn how to identify genre and subset and how to understand what sells and what doesn t. With this in mind, you will be able to start the process of writing query letters, a complete process that is outlined from the first step to the signature line. You will learn what you must include in every successful manuscript and how to avoid ending up in a slush pile where your manuscript will not be read. Both published writers who have successfully found and acquired an agent and literary agents who are inundated with manuscripts and requests in the thousands every year, have been interviewed for this book and have provided their personal stories, tips, and tricks as to how you can get into the publishing industry through an agent. You will be given a list of the top agencies in the nation with their genres of choice and represented clients as well as submission guidelines and will learn how to successfully stagger submissions at the right time of the year, month, and even week to be seen first and foremost. Finally, once you have found your literary agent, you will learn how to read contracts, accept offers, and understand what details will be handled exclusively by your agent. This book is for every prospective author who has sought to have their manuscript transformed into a printed book.
Reviews
The complete guide to Hiring a Literary Agent Everything you need to know to become successfully published By Laura Cross 978-1-60138-403-4 Are you new to the publishing world? Have you thought of a literary agent to represent you and your manuscript? The complete guide to Hiring a Literary Agent is just what you are looking for. It is not easy to enter the publishing world , especially the big name publishing houses.Most companies do not allow unsoliciated manuscripts from new authors. Getting someone to represent you and your work is not as easy as it sounds. This book guides you through the process of editing and sending the queries to the right agencies. Make sure to research the agencies so you know if what you have written will fit their genre they represent. You will learn to write a submission query that the agents will notice. You will learn about the legalitys and how to go about accepting offers. This is a great addition for beginners and professionals. After reading this book you will know exactly what you need to do and not to do. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Reviewed on 02/17/2012 by ReviewTheBook.com Member donna mcguire
Reviewed on 02/04/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Kathleen Albertson
Do you have a manuscript/novel written and you can’t find a publisher? Have you thought about getting a literary agent to represent your work? The Complete Guide to Hiring a Literary Agent: Everything You Need to Know to Become Successfully Published is the right book for you.
With close to 200,000 new books coming out every year, it is hard to get published by a big name publishing houses. Most don’t even allow unsolicited manuscripts from new authors. The best chance that you have in getting into the houses is to hire a literary agent. Getting an agent may sound easy, but it can be a lot harder than you think.
The book guides you into the process of editing your book and sending your queries to a qualified agency. Make sure you find the right agent that accepts the genre that you are writing in. You will learn how to write an incredible submission that any literary agent will notice. You’ll learn about contracts and how to go about accepting offers.
This is a great guide book for professional and beginning writers. The book explains all the ups and downs in hiring an agent, but there is so much more in it. There are great articles by other writers and editors, who give great tips. You’ll learn how to use blogs, and social networks to gain a clan of readers. The Complete Guide to Hiring a Literary Agent also has an index of the six large publishing houses and their imprints, glossary of terms, and samples of successful Query Letters and Synopses. After reading this novel, you’ll be ready to hire an agent. I recommend checking this book out.
Reviewed on 01/20/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Billy Burgess
Being in the publishing industry and often coaching authors I was intrigued with the subtitle of this book. Agents come a-dime-a-dozen and it is known in the industry that they aren't overly friendly or willing to consider new writers. As well, rumor has it that many aren't successful in landing a contract with large publishing companies. So, given all that I wanted to know what Laura Cross was going to tell me that I didn't know already.
She didn't but that doesn't mean the book isn't worth buying. I believe it is and encourage any writer that is considering contacting an agent to read this book first. Cross writes to the point, gives concise information, and lets you in some trade secrets which are often worth their weight in gold.
I believe the best part of the book are the samples of query letters for various genres, synopsis and proposal. Each gives an indication of what needs to be said to spark an interest within the agent. The other gem of the book is a list of literary agents looking for new writers.
In fact, this whole book is a gem. It's one of the best I've seen and highly recommend it.
Reviewed on 01/19/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Irene Watson
The Complete Guide to Hiring A Literary Agent, by Laura Cross, is a must read for any aspiring writer looking to get published. I absolutely love all the information and helpful insights this book has to offer. It is very hard and very intimidating as a young developing author to try and step foot into the publishing world. This book tremendously helps relieve any questions and doubts that may be running through your mind.
The book explains about the market and how the whole thing works. It explains why you need an agent. It is extremely hard to do the process of writing a story and getting it published without the help and guidance of an agent. It helps to understand the deals and contracts you will make with agency and publishers. Like I said before it is great for the entire process. If you have a story you want to tell the world before you attempt it on your own this book is highly recommend to read first. Enjoy and good luck to all that brave that road of publishing your own story. An agent will help you on this path and reading this book is the first step on that path.
Reviewed on 01/04/2011 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Jessica Williams
