#070 - Claudia Gere on How to Find a Literary Agent

Claudia Gere, author of Name Your Book: 94 Nonfiction Title Tips, speaker, author consultant, book coach, and literary agent, helps business leaders, consultants, speakers, and other entrepreneurs develop their best writing and publishing strategies to realize their aspirations of becoming an author.

Through speaking, webinars, workshops, and individual coaching, she has launched many first-time authors on a path to writing and publishing success.

Tips:

First-time authors have a better chance of landing a publishing deal because they don’t have a track record of failure. You have a chance to convince a publisher you can build a platform.
You can find literary agents at PublishersMarketPlace.com.
Agents are paid 15 percent of the author’s net receipts. Never pay an agent for a “reading fee” or other services. That’s unethical.
Build rapport with an agent by showing them you have done your research. Open your cover letter with something personal so they’ll know you read their articles and follow them on social media.
Authors should retain the copyright to their books. Publishers are buying the rights to print and distribute your book. Publishers don’t own your content.
Never use your family attorney to review your publishing contract. Use a literary agent or a lawyer specializing in publishing.
Every author I have worked with who has sold a book to a publisher has sold far more books than they would have sold on their own. When they send a book to a reviewer, the book gets reviewed.