Frequently Asked Questions
Dealing with Literary Agencies
Query Letters and Book Proposals
Q: What is NLA's commission structure, and how does the agency handle client expenses?
A. NLA deducts the standard 15% from the proceeds of all rights sold with the following exceptions: 1) 25% for foreign rights sold, and 2) 20% for dramatic/film rights sold.
NLA receives reimbursement for client expenses only after a project has sold and the deductions are taken from the publisher payment. Currently, we only receive reimbursement for costs associated with selling secondary rights. As of January 2006, all other costs such as photocopies and postage are absorbed by the agency.
A reputable agent will never charge a reading fee, editing fee, or any similar type of fee. Authors should be aware that some agencies, even reputable ones, will bill for submission expenses before a sale. Authors should be wary of such practices for sometimes that indicates a scam or a marginal agency. Be sure to investigate an agency's recent sales record before signing an agency contract for representation and also check out the websites that help to protect writers from fraud such as Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors.
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Q. Do I need an agent?
A. Absolutely not. If you are already well connected in the publishing industry and you have experience negotiating book contracts, you can certainly sell your own work.
However, most writers don’t have those connections nor do they enjoy handling the stuffy business side of publishing. Agents love it—or should.
Good agents act as writer advocates. They will navigate the murky waters of publishing and help guide your career. They will negotiate legalese laden contracts for your best interest and offer advice and input on future projects.
Editors are also more receptive to submissions from agents. They know that agencies screen material. A novel or proposal submitted by an agent will be seriously evaluated and considered.
Finally, agents are savvy regarding subsidiary rights—audio, electronic, dramatic, and foreign rights. If these are retained, rather than sold to the publisher, there is income to be made beyond the advance.
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Q. How do I get an agent?
A. Here’s the dirty little secret about publishing. It’s just like any other career—network, network, network. The days of the isolated writer hammering out great works of art and being discovered are over. In fact, those days never really existed.
For fiction: If you have no previous publications, be sure to write a really good query letter and then follow it up with submitted sample pages that will knock the socks off of an agent. Lots of new clients are plucked from the slush pile. If you write genre fiction, be sure to join the appropriate organizations such as Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America to name a few. Network with other writers at conferences. Recommendations by previously published authors carry weight. Join a writers’ group. If writing literary fiction, get noticed by submitting your writing to literary magazines and contests. Build up those credentials. Also, graduates of prestigious MFA programs are pursued by agents because that literary fiction can be sold to editors.
For nonfiction: Credentials are everything—especially for business or self-help books. It is very difficult to sell a nonfiction proposal to a major house unless you have an established platform consisting of the following:
- Published articles in your field
- Media contacts in TV and radio
- A syndicated column
- At least 30-50 scheduled lecture dates a year
- An affiliation with a known and respected university
More Tips on Getting an Agent:
- Do your background research! We are open to folks contacting us by query via email because we enjoy new writers; however, it’s frustrating when we are sent material that doesn't fit what we represent.
- The best way to get an agent is to be referred to him or her by a client, industry person, or a friend. Finagle an introduction! We are always gracious when meeting writers. If an agent is not, then you would not want that person to represent you anyway!
- The next best way is to meet an agent at a writers’ conference or a publishing-related event.
- The last way to get an agent is to research the various resources regarding the topic and then submit a query. Be sure to check out an agent’s website, if there is one, for the most up-to-date information regarding a submission.
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Q. Should an agent live in New York?
A. Because our agency is located in Denver, we hear this question often.
The answer is that there are many terrific agents in New York, and there are many terrific agents who don’t live there.
Location makes less of a difference in the age of FedEx, email, fax, and excellent phone service.
However, does an agent outside of New York travel there often? We do. We go several times a year to meet with editors and other agents. We also attend important yearly publishing conferences and events (such as Book Expo, RWA National Conference, World Fantasy etc.)
If a project is hot, we often go to NYC simply to pitch it over a nice lunch with the editors being targeted.
Does an agent outside of New York go the distance? If so, location is not a concern.
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Q. What should I expect from an agent?
A. Consideration, respect, and good customer service regarding communication.
Good agents:
- return calls or emails promptly.
- treat clients as the reason why they exist in the first place.
- keep clients informed of the status of submissions.
- remit payments to clients quickly.
- keep client money in a non-interest bearing account.
- don’t charge reading fees or participate in other money-making avenues such as charging for “consultations.”
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Q. What pitfalls should be avoided when contacting agents?
A. Try following these guidelines:
- Agents are people too! Please be courteous and respectful, and we will do the same in return.
- Not all agents think alike. If someone is disrespectful to you, take that as a sign that his/her agency is not for you.
- When contacting any agent, always be extremely professional. This means using professional writing approaches for all communications—either by snail mail or email.
- Please do not call. It’s impossible for any agent to ascertain your writing ability by talking to you on the phone. It is also very annoying and won’t win you points with an agent you are trying to woo.
If you are a terrific writer with solid credentials, finding an agent will be straight-forward and fairly easy.
Good luck!
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Q. How do I write an attention-getting query letter?
A. Good query letters are one page or two pages tops. You should be able to summarize your novel or nonfiction project in a one pitch sentence or in one short paragraph—like a summary on the back cover of a book.
If you can’t, then the publisher won’t be able to either, so it won’t sell.
Query letter breakdown by paragraph:
- Introduction: explain why you are contacting our agency. Were you referred? Why are we the agency for this project?
- Manuscript pitch: what is your novel or nonfiction proposal?
- Credentials: for fiction, what is your writing background, stories sold, programs attended, mentors, awards, etc. For nonfiction, Why are you the person to write this book? What are your credentials?
- Conclusion: Thank the agent for taking the time to read your materials, etc.
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Q: What is an example of a good query letter?
A: The most important tool a writer can have to land an agent is an excellent query letter. It makes all the difference between getting an agent response that requests a partial or a full manuscript or getting that dreaded rejection letter. A strong query will get your sample pages read.
In order to help writers, I asked my client Jennifer O'Connell if I could use the original query letter she sent to me as an example . It was a strong letter, and she landed an agent because of it.
Below I've included the letter in its entirety as well as my commentary in italics.
Dear Ms. Nelson:
Good. She spelled my name correctly. She knows that I'm a woman. You wouldn't believe the number of email queries I have received addressed to "Mr. Nelson" "To whom it may concern" or incorrectly addressed to another agent. Personally, it doesn't bother me, and I always respond to the writer; however, some agents will delete the email without reading.
I read on Publishers Marketplace that you are interested in women's fiction. I thought that you may be interested in my novel Bachelorette Number One. I would like to invite you to review the manuscript for my novel and consider representing me.
Nice. This tells me she has done her research and knows what I am looking for. This shows she is professional and has a business attitude where publishing is concerned. She also gives me the title of her work right off. I often receive queries where the title of the work is not even mentioned. A good title can really create interest. Don't leave it out!
Bachelorette Number One is about Sarah Holmes, a freelance writer assigned to infiltrate and expose television's most popular show, 'The Stag.' Thanks to Femme Magazine's staff of hair stylists, make-up artists and designers, the thirty-four-year-old married mother of one is transformed into a hip, blonde, fashionable single girl ready to compete head-to-head with twenty-three other husband hungry women. But while the magazine expects Sarah to show what goes on behind the scenes - the cattiness, the desperation, and the ruthless competition between the women - she finds that life with the Stag is not what she expected.
Nice pitch and she gives her hook-that all important sentence or two that spotlights the uniqueness of this story. Chick lit is a tough market. Every story is about women and relationships—with each other or with men. Right away she lets me know how this work will uniquely handle all the traditional chick lit material—the heroine is married with a child but pretending to be single on this reality dating TV show. I'm interested. Even if your work is not Chick Lit, you as the writer still must spotlight the hook that makes your narrative different from every other story ever written. There are no new themes under the sun; only original ways to tell that story. Tell me what is your fresh and original take.
Originally disgusted by the women's mission to land a husband, and their desire to let the entire country watch the events unfold on prime time TV, Sarah finds herself befriending some of the hens (the show's horrific nickname for the women). Even more unexpected, she finds herself becoming a formidable competitor as the women work their feminine wiles to make it through the weekly candle ceremonies. When her time with the Stag starts to become more intimate, the line between work and real life becomes blurred, and Femme Magazine might get more than it bargained for.
She has hooked me with the above paragraph. Now she is simply giving me more details to flesh out the story line. Notice how she still keeps it brief-only highlighting what is important. It's not a long plot summary of the work. I do think she could have combined this paragraph with the one below and made the query stronger, but it is still quite good.
Bachelorette Number One shows us a woman who, by all accounts, has exactly what the women on 'The Stag' are seeking - a good looking successful husband, a happy suburban marriage, and a beautiful little girl. But as she's swept up in the race to romance the Stag, Sarah learns that she has more in common with the women than she'd like to admit. The novel shows with both intelligence and wit, the differences that make all women unique and the similarities that make all women human.
Here Jennifer details the general themes she will explore in the story. This is also nice to have. It shows me that the writer has a bigger picture in mind of what she wants to achieve with her novel.
Although Bachelorette Number One is my first novel, my writing experience ranges from corporate communications to the publication I founded while at Smith College. My exposure to publishing includes attending the Radcliffe Publishing Procedures program after graduation from Smith.
Always include a little bio about yourself. As you notice here, Jennifer has no previous fiction publications, so she kept that part short and sweet (but didn't denigrate or bemoan the fact). The letter is still very professional. She also included some details about her that she thought would be relevant-such as the fact she had attended Radcliffe's Publishing program. She didn't include anything very personal about herself. As a writer, you can. Keep it brief — i.e. currently I am a married and the mother of two. I live in Chicago (or something similar).
I'd be happy to send you a complete copy of the manuscript for your review. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Solid wrap-up. Always thank agents for their time. We have so very little of it; we appreciate knowing that authors respect that.
Regards,
Jennifer L. O'Connell
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Q: I sent an email query to the agency but have not received a response or I sent a requested partial and have not received a response. Why?
A: For email queries, if you have not received a response after
three (3) weeks, then something might have gone astray in the cyber world. Is your email account still active? Are emails to you being spam-filtered? Our reply to you might have bounced or been deleted. You might want to resend your email query.
For requested partials uploaded to the submissions database, please remember that it can take up to two months for a response. We will also send our response electronically so check your spam folder.
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Q: What are some email query DOs and DON'Ts?
A:
DOs:
- Do email queries and save on stamp costs.
- Do be professional and brief in your query.
- Do highlight your relevant background or publishing credentials.
- Do take the time to hone and then highlight your one or two sentence pitch or hook.
- Do take only one paragraph to summarize the rest of your work-following the grab-your-attention style found on the back cover of books.
- Do thank the agent for reviewing your query.
DON'Ts:
- Don't address your letter "To Whom it May Concern."
- Don't use an unusually small font.
- Don't immediately send another email query if an agent has just rejected your first.
- Don't use cutesy fonts or backgrounds.
- Don't query more than one work at a time.
- Don't forget to include the title of your work in the query.
- Don't be unclear as to whether your project is fiction or nonfiction.
- Don't CC a bunch of other agents on your email query. Send the email to one agent at a time.
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Q. How do I write a good book proposal?
A. Good book proposals are not lengthy. After all, editors (and agents!) are always short on time.
Excluding the outline and the sample chapter, try to limit the actual proposal to 12 pages. Include the following sections:
- Introduction
- Overview
- The Market
- Competition
- Publicity and Promotion
- About the Author
If you are unsure of how to write a good book proposal, then be proactive and learn what you need to know. Here is a resources to help:
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