I was once asked by an aspiring writer whether my literary agent was my friend or a necessary evil. The answer was neither. As it happens, I thoroughly like my agent, but I don't socialise with him. We have an excellent relationship, but it is a business relationship. That partnership may develop into one of friendship, but nothing has gone wrong if that doesn't happen.
But necessary evil? Huh? That's not the alternative. A literary agent typically takes a commission of 15% of an author's domestic earnings, 20% of their overseas and film earnings. That way of putting it may make it sound like your literary agent will make you 15-20% poorer but really that's not the case at all. Here's the simple truth: An agent is there to make money for you.
What's more, if you want the heft of a big publisher behind you, then if you are writing any type of fiction, you basically have to have an agent: the big publishers are not going to look at your fiction any other way.
If you are writing non-fiction, the deal is a little more complex.Literary agentsLiterary agentliterary agents UK
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