The first place to go find a literary agent is the Association which represents the reputable ones; the Association of Author's Representatives is a self-policing organization for Literary Agents. Their database of Literary Agents is a great place to start. The other place they recommend finding information about service providers in 'all things publishing' is the LiteraryMarketPlace.
The role of the Literary Agent is to negotiate a contract for a book between an author and a publisher that the author normally wouldn’t have direct access to. If any author wants to publish with a large New York publishing house or one of its "imprints", they will need an agent.
Authors need to be sure that agents are willing to sign non-disclosure agreements before they send their manuscripts in for review.
Authors need to understand that an agent can sit on a property indefinitely, so patience is the rule of the game. It takes several weeks to get responses from publishers, so set up a reasonable accountability call schedule with the agent - no more than once every two weeks. Agents will call the author if something big happens. Authors do need to have access to the agent. If an agent is unwilling to accept accountability (or status) calls, the author must decide if that is acceptable for them.
The agent is not an editor, so suggesting changes to a manuscript to the author is not really their job. If an agent suggests changes, the author should get a second opinion or at a minimum a great rationalization for the change request. Possibly, the agent has insight into a publisher's future agenda and knows that the change they suggest has merit for that reason. The author needs to keep the lines of communication open.
Typically the contract the agent negotiates for the author is between the publishing company and the agent. The author and the agent have a separate contract. Authors need to check references, ask for referrals and do their due diligence when hiring a literary agent. They need to understand that publishing is patient business and an agent does not necessarily accelerate the process.
Does the literary agent need to be an attorney? Not necessarily, but the agent does need to be a good negotiator and know contract law very well.
A literary agent is not necessary for an author to publish their book. Adding a literary agent to the publishing process should be preceded by the author doing a cost-benefit analysis and determining if their project really does need representation. First-time authors are a hard sell for anyone in this economy. So, just having an agent does not guarantee publication, in fact, it can stall it for many years.
As with all aspects of publishing, an informed consumer is a better consumer. The author needs to find out all they can about literary agents, interview those that show up to writing conferences they attend and in all cases, do their due diligence before they enter into any contract that ties up their intellectual property for any period of time.
Other good questions to ask:
Do they represent first-time authors - if so, what is their 'close rate' for first time authors (i.e. how many do they engage, and how many do they actually see published)?
What is the average time between signing with that agency and the time they see their client's works published?
What is the size of the average first print run for their clients? Hint: this answer will give the author insight as to the amount of an advance the agency will be negotiating on their behalf.
Below is a comment that the Denver Senior Relationships Examiner wrote about the above article. I included it in the mainstream of this article because it adds a great perspective.
Comment from Othniel Seiden, MD
In my 30 years of writing and being published I've had three different agents. Of the 40 books i've had published or now have with a publisher, I've sold most of them myself and used the agents for negotiation. When it comes to negotiating a contract agents are worth every cent of their fee, usually 10% of what the author gets. I still think it is easier to get a publisher than an agent, but easy to get an agent after you have a publisher. In spite of what lots of publishers print, many will speak to a writer. The trick is to speak to the publisher that publishes your type of book to your target market!
Comments
In my 30 years of writing and being published I've had three different agents. Of the 40 books i've had published or now have with a publisher, I've sold most of them myself and used the agents for negotiation. When it comes to negotiating a contract agents are worth every cent of their fee, usually 10% of what the author gets. I still think it is easier to get a publisher than an agent, but easy to get an agent after you have a publisher. In spite of what lots of publishers print, many will speak to a writer. The trick is to speak to the publisher that publishes your type of book to your target market!
Go to meetup.com ... click on Writers ... put in your zip code .... go to "Want To Be A Published Author Within a Year" and join us. Over 12 of our authors were published last year, most without an agent. Also consider joining the meetup, "FEEDBACK for your book...." or an of the other meetup groups in the Greater Denver area.
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