I Have a Literary Agent!
Recently, I accepted an offer of representation by a literary agent. I am now an agented author, ready to continue my path in traditional publishing!
My Agent and Her Agency
My literary agent is Laura Bennett, and she is with Liverpool Literary Agency in the U.K. You can read more about her and her work on their website.
I am already on their site, and you can visit my page HERE.
What Is a Literary Agent?
If you are unfamiliar with what a literary agent does, I will summarize that briefly here. A literary agent represents authors. Literary agents read an author’s work and choose those they think are most likely to be enjoyed by readers and therefore accepted by a publisher. Literary agents manage the rights of your stories, also, helping them potentially get any audio, film, or TV deals. Some people refer to agents as gatekeepers, but that is overly simplistic and does not adequately describe what agents do.
Literary agents are the ultimate advocators for the writers they represent. They help make publishing deals happen, they help guide an author’s career, they manage contracts, and they try to get the most money for an author they can. Yes, agents do take a small percentage of earnings…but without their aid, it’s incredibly hard to get book deals at all. Especially with the larger publishers, who pay more…such as the “big 5” publishers. And getting good book deals gets authors more money in the long run.
Agents negotiate fair terms for authors and serve as liaisons to publishing and help protect authors and ensure that earnings are the best they can be. These dealmakers can also navigate work-for-hire projects as needed. They also contact editors directly to find good matches between editor and author.
Having a literary agent also helps raise my profile as an author, potentially leading to more opportunities down the line.
What Happens Next?
My agent and I sifted through all my existing and upcoming IP (intellectual property), which is extensive, to decide which stories might succeed right now. We agreed that my first high fantasy novel should be the first partnership between us, and that is called THE VALE OF SEVEN DRAGONS. I will talk more about this fantasy adventure soon.
Once I have the novel completed, my agent will read it and make sure it is in the best shape possible. Then she will then submit the novel to publishers. At that point, it is considered “on submission.” After that, we wait to see who wants to publish the book and go from there.
And while that’s happening, I’ll write my next book! And so on.
I am a cross-genre author writing science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and my agent will help me succeed in getting the best-quality books possible to as many readers as possible. I’m finally able to pursue my lifelong dream of being a published author on a much greater scale, and I am grateful to have Laura Bennett alongside me every step of the way.
Contacts for My Rights
If you have questions about available rights for my properties, head to my Contact page.