Literary Agent Job Description

A literary agent is a person who is contracted to represent writers in acquiring literary work.

Literary agents help writers find publishers for their work, negotiate contracts, and collect royalties.

The role of a literary agent is of vital importance, because agents and publishers are often in competition with each other, and writers need a good agent to secure publishing deals.

Writers who want to be represented by the literary agent of their choice must prove that they have a solid writing track record, and that their work is publishable.

Once they’ve secured an agent, writers are able to focus on writing more books, rather than looking for publishers.

Job Brief:

We’re looking for a Literary Agent to help us get our book published. We’ve been working on it for years and we think it’s ready to be seen by the world. We think a Literary Agent will be able to help us get our book into the hands of publishers and help us find a good home for it.

Literary Agent Duties:

• Maintain and manage relationships with publishers.
• Read and review manuscripts.
• Assist authors with writing, publishing, and marketing.
• Perform clerical tasks, such as sorting mail, filing, and scheduling appointments.
• Maintain contact with authors, editors, and publishers.
• Work with authors to prepare manuscript for submission.
• Assist with responding to queries.
• Research and contact publishers at appropriate times.
• Research new publications, genres, and markets.
• Research trends and new developments in publishing.
• Identify potential new authors.
• Evaluate manuscripts, making recommendations.
• Assist with layout and design of book covers.
• Support marketing and publicity efforts for books.

Literary Agent Responsibilities:

• Submit queries to publishers and literary agents, and negotiate contracts.
• Develop and maintain a contact database of publishers and literary agents.
• Research and contact literary agents about potential projects.
• Work with publishers to secure new contracts.
• Create, send, and track manuscript proposals.
• Negotiate contracts for new and reprint sales.
• Negotiate royalty rates and terms.
• Research and attend conferences, seminars, and literary events.
• Research markets, trends, and opportunities.
• Create, edit, and revise submissions according to stated objectives.
• Research, interview, hire, train, and evaluate employees.
• Set and accomplish team goals and objectives.
• Appraisal and compensation.

Requirements And Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in English, communications, creative writing, or related field.
• 5+ years’ successful sales experience in publishing industry.
• Excellent communication skills with proven ability to establish and maintain professional relationships with clients, authors, and other industry contacts.

At [Company Name], we believe that diversity and inclusion are key to success. We are committed to building a team that reflects these values and we encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.