Freelance Literary Agents
I have seen disturbing rise in this phrase around the internet, popping up reddit and my tiktok comments and have had a hard time wrapping my head around what it means. Google yielded very confusing results, to be honest, and all I could guess was either freelance literary agents were agents who formed their a boutique agency or scammers.
The answer came shortly via an author who was scammed by a freelance literary agent.
Turns out, unqualified people have been calling themselves freelance literary agents, offering predatory contracts to authors, and these authors are paying THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS to have their books sent to editors. Except they’re not really being sent out to editors. These so-called agents are charging for flights and hotel fees to go negotiate in NYC and never speaking to a single person. These verified schmagents are taking advantage of authors who are just trying to get a break into publishing and don’t know what is real and what is not. This is an obtusely opaque industry and I am here to offer as much transparency as I can. Please, please, please if you are not sure about an agent or offer, reach out to me. I will do everything in my power to help offer transparency and information.
In the meantime, say it with me: Money always flows the author. Money always flows to the author. Money always flows to the author.
A literary agent will never charge you up front. They work for free and take a percentage of your earnings. And I will tell you, my literary agent negotiated my book deal up from the initial offer and it covered her 15% and more. A great literary agent is worth their weight in gold.
But agenting is an apprentice-based industry and that can’t just be learned on google. Unless a literary agent has served internships and assistantships and spent years learning and training to be an agent, they aren’t worth beans. And I know, because I spent two years interning and assisting before I realized agenting was not for me. Now I have a book coming out (SING THE NIGHT, 8th Note Press) and a mountain of respect for literary agents and other publishing professionals.
Freelance literary agents aren’t real. They are not agents. They are scammers, period. Run.
I hope freelance literary agents have the day they deserve.
