A lot of people ask me what a literary agent does. There is a huge amount involved in the day-to-day running of a literary agency, and indeed being an agent, but I believe the three main aspects of an agent’s job are talent spotting, author care and deal making. I will explain each of these over the upcoming week.
Talent spotting – an agent has to find new talent to sell. This is their bread and butter and will keep an Agency growing and expanding. I do everything I can each day to grow my slush pile (which I call my ‘potential’ pot). To ensure that the quality remains high, I attend writing events and give talks to writing groups around the UK and Ireland. I’m also involved in panel discussions organised for writers wanting to get published. I go to creative writing courses at universities and I keep this blog to promote my authors and ensure that writers know what my personal taste is and what I am looking for. I want writers to ‘know’ me before they submit their work. I think it is extremely important that writers know how to present their work to agents and that they look for an agent who is interested in reading their manuscript. A writer wants to have a sort of affinity with their agent. A lot of writers feel very despondent when they get rejected, but most of the time it is because they haven’t targeted the right agent for their book.
Day in day out, my passion is finding outstanding voices in both adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction, and negotiating top deals. I have a very strong women’s fiction list and I am now looking to expand into crime, thrillers and mystery. I am always on the lookout for fantastic Young Adult novels too and the kind of books people like to discuss in bookclubs, the so called ‘Richard & Judy’ reads – these are novels that are accessible yet have really interesting themes. My main criteria is this though: no matter what genre, if I simply cannot book your book down, I will want to be your agent.
In my next posts I will address author care and deal making, particularly appropriate given that the London Book Fair runs next week from 16th – 18th April.
The post Part 1: What does a literary agent do? appeared first on Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.
