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What Do Literary Agents Want?
They want ‘Query’ by Zilla Novikov but they can’t have it
Literary agents try to snap up unpublished manuscripts they believe can be the next bestsellers and match them with paying publishers. When they do this successfully, they get a cut of the dollars. They’re talent scouts and business agents.
Entrepreneurs might think about this process with hand-rubbing anticipation.
Authors who are more focused on the artistic end are happy to leave The Query for last. After an author spends 12 months, or, more likely, 12 years writing a book, the last thing they want to think about is how to stand on their head to impress a literary agent whose “agency website looks like it was created in 1997 Geocities.”
Still: “I dread not hearing from you.” — Zilla Novikov
The Perfect Pitch
The author pitches their novel to one agent after another after another after another after another, describing it like so:
- When [character] is in [situation], they have [conflict]. This means [stakes]. Will everything be OK?!?!
They list “comps” — recognizable titles that have sold well to the same audience—hoping the agent is impressed by the comparison.
