Sloan Harris Literary Agent (2024)

FAQs

What are the odds of finding a literary agent? ›

From these 1,500 queries, agents usually accept one author at most. Usually, it's one author per 2 months. This means that there are between 1 in 3,000 and 1 in 6,000 chances to get picked up by the literary agent. Most literary agents reject 95% of all submissions due to the book not meeting the required standards.

Getting Your Numbers

As you're writing your book make the list of agents who represent books in your genre and who you want to query. Honestly, 100 should be the absolute cap, but in most cases, I think you're going to be somewhere around 50. And then you're done.

Your agent should be your biggest cheerleader. They should believe in you and your writing and you should really FEEL as though they do. If they put you down, gaslight, criticise or ignore you then it's time to put your big pants on and find someone who treats you with the respect you deserve.

Have a nuanced 200 words that really crystallises what the book is about. A smart, to the point submission letter, that gives a clear overview of the material that is being submitted, is vital to capture an agent's interest. A sense of where your book would sit on the shelves if it were to be published today.

There are dozens of reasons why a literary agent might reject your query letter, or even your partial, or full manuscript after requesting it. These include, but are not limited to: Your book is too similar to another one on their list. Your book is in a genre they don't represent.

Mercedes Lackey has stated repeatedly that self-published authors can expect between 1 and 500 copies sold, tending more to the zero.

Generally speaking, a literary agent will take around a 15% commission on your published work, which includes everything from audiobooks to film rights. This percentage is usually higher for things like translations and foreign rights sales.

It sounds like a cynical platitude, but there are actual statistics behind this disheartening statement. According to The Synergy Whisperer, ninety-seven percent of people who start to write a book NEVER finish it. In simpler terms, out of every 1,000 people who start a book, only thirty actually complete it.

Why do literary agents keep rejecting me? ›

Poor quality of writing, structure, and pacing

If your book is full of grammar errors, typos, or inconsistencies, it's unlikely to capture the attention of an agent, editor, or publisher. Another reason why agents, editors, or publishers might reject your book is poor pacing.

For literary fiction, it can go the other way; anything from 55,000 to 100,000 words is acceptable. For young adult fiction, the word count is once again lower, with the ideal being 55,000 – 80,000 words.

This is why an author can only spend twenty percent of her time looking for an agent. Getting a literary agent is like searching for a job. You've got to do it seriously and methodically, but the rest of your life needs to be spent writing the next book, and well, living your life.

The Chances of Getting a Literary Agent

That does NOT mean 1 out of every 6,000 authors who try to get an agent will make it, and the other 5,999 will fail. It means the best book agents can get as many as 1,500 queries per month, and they sometimes only offer to represent approximately 6 new clients per year.

From the agent's end, it's probably true that a good agent at a top class agency will sell approximately 2 books for every 3 they auction. That is, the odds of a sale are about 67% – which is why most writers, correctly, think that getting an agent is the most significant hurdle between them and publication.

You Do Need A Literary Agent If:

You are writing a novel. You are writing commercial non-fiction (the sort of thing that might be sold at the front of a shop, or feature on a bestseller list). You are writing fiction for children. You are writing a 'how to' type book in a major category (such as health and well-being).