Why First Time Authors Should Get a Literary Agent

Literary agents for first time authors are essential for writers who want to be commercially published. A literary agent will represent and sell your book to the commercial publishers. As a first time writer, you will be looking for a literary agent and here are some pointers when considering a literary agent of choice for you as a first time author.

As a debut author you will not yet have a reputation or connection with the publishers, so the literary agent’s status will benefit you as a first time author in finding a good publisher. When submitting to publishers, literary agents for first time authors, will focus on the author’s writing style as well as the book’s commercial potential.

If your book as a first time author is fiction, it may be helpful to compare your book with similar, best-selling titles. As you wont have previous books to demonstrate sales, comparative titles are very important to show the commercial potential of your story, especially if you as a first time author you have written a  book which is the first of a series, or is being optioned for a film.  This is also very important to mention when reaching out to a literary agent as a first time writer.

A literary agent for a non-fiction first time author, will look for a writer who can demonstrate their knowledge and experience in the  subject matter. While you,  as a first time author may not have previously published books, you may have written articles or given interviews on your topic. This will provide credibility for you as a first time author and will help sell your manuscript to a literary agent.

Many literary agents for first time authors will agree that marketing and audience outreach is just as important as the content of their book. Before your book is even published, authors must work on building a platform and outreach on online social media marketing. An author can write blogs, share their work with beta readers, and develop their image as a writer online to their targeted audience. This will increase the chances of finding a literary agent and of  the literary agent selling a book to a publisher for a first time author, as it will demonstrate that there is already a wide audience interested in the book or the subject matter of the book.

As a first time writer looking for a literary agent, it is important to do research first. The literary agent should specialize in the genre in which the first time author writes. And it is important to find out if the literary agent will represent first time authors. 

Langtons International Agency has successfully represented many first time authors and their books to commercial publishers Examples of these including the best-selling Art in the Blood by Bonnie MacBird, Power Your Profits by Susie Carder, The Spa at Lavender Lane by Phyllis Melhado, Missions by Marc McGuire, and Pivot, Disrupt, Transform by Marcia Daszko.

We are always looking to help new writers turn into published authors!  Please contact us here: https://langtonsinternational.com/contact/  or at langtonsinternational@gmail.com