10 Things Literary Agents Look for in a Book 

Manuscript Side 1. Voice (style of writing/narrator) 2. Writing quality (technically sound) 3. Plot (interesting and with nuance) 4. Characters (more understand than like) 5. Setting (does it feel full?) Business Side 6. Marketability (publishers and readers will give it a chance) 7. Market (potential readership size) 8. Hook (central element that sets it apart) 9. Potential Submissions (who can we send this to?) 10. Enthusiasm (do we want to devote adequate time to this project?)

Oh, wow! I just found you. You guys are totally legit, not trying to sell me something, but actually knowledgeable and helpful. I can tell I'm going to binge-watch your series as I write my grocery list that will make my future agent and editor laugh and cry!

I agree with the "show don't tell" discipline (it's especially true for screenwriting) but I read plenty of award-winning and bestselling books that do A LOT of telling... When I read those long "tell" passages, I'm like, hey, they are breaking the cardinal rule and they got away with it. I think the bottom line is: if "telling" is done well and hooks the reader into the story, it doesn't matter.

This was a very helpful video. As a first-time author, the publishing world is a new universe to understand.

I just watched two videos in a row, and feel I can relate to you, Jessica. Your voice and persona resonate with me. I'm writing a memoir about missionary work in Africa, full of joy, adventure, humour, and heartache. Busy with the fourth edit, cut and polish. I'm definitely going to research your agency when I'm ready to start querying! Thanks for the helpful content and enthusiasm.

As always, I leave this forum feeling more prepared for future queries and having a fuller clarity of these specifics. I certainly agree with each item you have brought up. I am so grateful for your videos. You have no idea how these videos help authors/writers to learn the industry and grow. Thank you again for your time and kindness to provide your experience and knowledge.

I laughed when you said that in cozy mysteries multiple murders don’t raise eyebrows. I remember reading Into The Water and all of the women were dying in the town. The town was just like oh well, that’s just where women go to die. I remember thinking, okay....lol

I also agree with James that immersion in the story is very important.

Oh wow. Why did I not see this before my full MS submission? Better late than never. Thanks a ton for this.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!! I feel encouraged and better prepared to query. And certainly less intimidated by the whole process. I'll bet all agents are actually real people just like you two!

Jessica and James, another very helpful video about the criteria you use to evaluate both the content and market potential of a book. I'm taking copious notes from all your videos!

I could listen to you two talk all day; currently deep in edits for something. I might just want to query BookEnds first...

I love your comment "Make the setting its own character." That comment brought to life a different meaning for the setting. Thank both of you.

Content on point as ever! Thank you BookEnds!

I love your videos. I always feel encouraged while watching and after.

I absolutely love watching you guys. So personable with detailed advice.

I'm watching your videos as I'm working on a new manuscript. Encouraging me to keep writing.

Wonderful chemistry between these two!

I've been enjoying all your videos to date and find them quite helpful! I had one of your agents on my list of those to query, and *then* found your videos by accident. Kismet!

Loved this. And the point made at ~10:00 about rewriting a book, or a show you've watched is SO true (For me that was the series, "Lost").

Talking of the "voice" of the narrator, Kurt Vonnegut"s was a great one! 😂

I love your enthusiasm for books!

Wow. This was so helpful and surprisingly motivating. I started watching while laying in bed and now I'm subscribed to this channel and at my desk (dining room table) . Thank you guys for content like this.

Such constructive advice I tried to follow...just got a nice rejection from an agent, but she thanked me for the opportunity to read my query letter and spend time escaping into my creative world . She was not the right agent for my work but it was not to say your story wasn't wonderful ...gave me some hope in that I will find an agent with the right key to let me loose ..lol

Absolutely loved this video 😍

Thank you-well delivered.

Great! Thank you!

I like what Jessica says about the pink sweater. I agree with her.

Great discussion. Really helpful.

Every agent I've listened to has recommended that new authors trying to break in should submit a manuscript that's a "standalone with series potential." I fully understand the logic behind that recommendation. Say, however, that you've already ignored that advice, and the book you're looking to query as an unpublished author is clearly the first in a series. Should you state that in the query, or should you leave it out?

You two are amazing! Thanks for taking the time to create these videos! Do you have any video on something like what we can expect from an answer to a query--pass, miss, yes I want to read more, I don´t like this novel, but do you have anything else etc..

This video is amazingly helpful❤❤

Thank You!

A couple of my beta readers have told me they got that feeling of "questioning reality" when they put my book down. I took that as an exemplary compliment.

LOVE Cozies!!!!!!!

I love practical suggestions

Great video!

Hello Guys, Thank you for the video, when will you start to accept new queries for (Picture Book)? which Agent should I address from ur Agency?

how do you get see these things from an author if like your other video you are only reading 10 pages of the book when it can change completely by the end of the book?

Can you do something on promotion; book signings, advertising, interviews, etc.? Which of these are essential and which are not?

How does word count factor in to your decision? What would make you excuse a higher word count?

Seriously great tips-thanks!

Cannot wait to send a query letter your way!

Thanks for the videos. I'm finding them very insightful.

How much does a literary ageent charge? Do you get the copyright first?

Where can I find Storytin?

That book that only took 8 pages to know it was a winner, anyone got the info on the book's title?

Nice Talk!

Question on submitting x pages of a manuscript, or if I am submitting a full manuscript request. What should the spacing be? I noticed most submission pages don't specify. Single, double?

Agents always say they’re looking for something different. Yet, when writers submit to their manuscripts, agents want to know what other books the submitted novel is similar to, and what genre it can be pigeonholed into. Different … or similar? What am I missing?

Hi Agents! I was wondering what you thought about people writing the hook from the perspective of the protagonist? I'm writing a book in first-person from the POV of a strong female character. I've heard from a couple of people not to do that, but I've seen success stories from others. I'm keen to hear what you think :) Another question: I have dual POV in my novel, with one character's POV being 70% of the book, while the other character is only 30%. When I am querying, should I mainly describe the first protagonist and briefly mention the other or should I explain both equally? Thanks in advance.

Does this apply to different genres of books...Like Children’s books?

How many best seller have you taken on?

Great information! @0:36 Why shouldn't you use the word "Voice

Not sure if you were aware, and I especially wanted to hear what you had to say, but the ads, I think there were 13, and some of them doubled up right when you were in the middle of a sentence and waiting to click through the two ads, (video will resume after this ad) I lost the thread. But great info!

I have a question? I hear many agents say that a turn off for them is using a lot of description. Yet some of the best selling authors do just that. Take Steven King for example. He can use 5 pages to describe a door knob. He describes things in intricate detail. Brad Thor is another one. He describes in detail the clothes his characters are wearing, the type of vehicles they drive,. In one of his best selling books he even described the plant life in great detail that was at on of his scenes. He describes things in great detail yet he is a best selling author. Anne Rice was another one that described thing in minute details and she was also a best selling author. If best selling authors are describing things in great detail then should that not be the norm? I am confused by that. Thomas Harris is another one that used great detail in his books and he also was a best selling author. My question is if best selling authors use an abundance of description then should agents not look for that quality in a book? I don't know I am just curious. Thank you

This video is everything I needed! One question, should I mention in my query that I have a book in wattpad with 150K reads? Or is it not worth it? Thank you❤️

My book is done but my question is should I not go to Amazon.?

Odd aside: I could have sworn the title of James's client's cozy mystery was "Still Knife Parenting.". Luckily I was close enough to figure it out.

Cool how you separate voice and good writing.

"We ate breakfast half an hour ago, so it's close to lunchtime." -I believe you meant "second breakfast" and now I am convinced you are hobbits.

silly question - Is a memoir regarded as fiction or nonfiction?

They should really only look for one thing: great writing.

Hi, is it okay to use first person plus third person?

Why use an agent at all ? Just saying are they basically a phone answering service ? Does Robert Deniro need an agent to get a role in a movie ?

Is it still possible to land an offer of representation without a first draft if the plot and characters and setting is detailed and compelling? Is it common?

Just wanted to say as a mystery reader especially cozy’s two things I hate is when the main character is stupid or clumsy. These are two traits that I see a lot of probably because the writer can’t figure out how to keep the main character blind to the obvious but it’s really annoying.

I've been doing all that for weeks, still no luck yet.

“I have a first draft. I know the editors, I know the houses.”

Jessica do you live in an Attic? and James did someone tell you to get to your corner?

So, my 'cozy mystery', which I assumed was a cozy since it has an amateur sleuth, (a small-town, male defense lawyer), but with 13 murders, two suicides, 4 attempted murders, a little non-consensual sex, no cats, no bakeries, no woman sleuths, no women who run bakeries while solving murders on the side, is NOT a cozy?

'Telling, not showing?'. I thought it was the other way around. 'Show, don't tell.'

In the beginning of this video, there's a bit of discussion about moving away from the term "voice." It kind of sounds as if the term has become problematic -- if I'm interpreting that correctly can anyone explain to me why that is? Google isn't turning up anything helpful. The only thing I can think of is that it could be a bit of a racist dog-whistle, with "I didn't connect to the voice" perhaps translating to "this sounds too black." But even then, it doesn't seem like the word "voice" is really the issue here. I realize this is a bit of an older video, I'm just curious.

Filed under Writing

Please more Picture Books videos Thank you Cherine Tawfik From Egypt 🇪🇬

The sound balancing absolutely killed me. Jessica's mic would just spike like at times. It most often seems to happen when she goes to laugh, which can be absolutely deafening.

When an agent say he or she only accepts queries from people she met at conferences or referrals, what about Covid lockdown? What about disabled writers? What if you are unlucky enough not to know anyone who can refer you? Seems like writers may need an agent to obtain an agent.

10 things agents today are looking for in books today. Dwarves, elves, gnomes, werewolves, vampires, handsome prince who is a disappointment to his father the king, a medieval kingdom on an imaginary world, unicorns, witches and a teenage girl in assassin school. It also needs an amorphous demon who disappears in a cloud of black smoke. No fairies! They are so last year. It also helps if the captain of the king's guard is gay.

3:25....James yawned again! :D

How marketable is a book with a Christian character it is not the main character. I believe my story Getting What You Want meets your requirements. For the hook I can picture an abandon haunted looking farm house and a creature shaped like a chubby inch worm rainbow colored with a confusing smile is it the cat expression in Alice in Wonderland, the Mona Lisa well either way it is one strange looking child's toy. That could be the cover. The back cover could ask What would you wish for if you could wish for anything? Only catch is you have to give up one day of your life and the wish granter has to deem it worthy. Hope I sparked your enthusiasm and would like to represent my story.

Who does SciFi Fiction?

Seems to me and in my experience, it is less about the quality of the writing and more about celebrity and social media following. Writing quality is secondary to reputation and following.

1. Plot, character, dialogue, setting, mystery, suspense, horror, etc.-these are things that pertain to fiction only. As a non-fiction writer, your video compels me to point out how much you got the title wrong. Though partial, “book” is not synonymous with “fiction.” Had you entitled it, “10 Things Lit Agents look for in a *Novel,* perhaps I would not have invested twenty-five precious minutes in the vain hope that non-fiction writers would not be yet again regarded as was Cinderella before the pumpkin showed up: completely ignored. (Alas….) The closest you came to discussing non-fiction was in the word, “hook.” I repeat. “Book” does not necessarily mean “novel.” 2. (Words to the wise at Bookends): Do you know the agents images on your website are all mixed up? Also, there’s this: One of your agent’s (Emily Forney’s) page reports, “She … is focused primarily on non-fiction….” And a few lines later, she says she is, “not a good fit for … non-fiction.” Now… if a prospective client had made those kinds of mistakes….

I feel sorry for new writers taking advice from armature writers. Newbies need to visit this page.

I find the whole book agents is poor process I have tried them all all to no avail? Even one of the Big Five publisher wrote a good review which is actually put on the back page still unable to get an agent? My publisher not one of the Big Five has recently given the book a gold seal!-The Gold Seal of Literary Excellence is a proof of support for your book with superior literary work. Gold Seal of Literary Excellence gives you the chance to have your work stand out from other titles. It acts as an immediate reference for traditional publishers, movie producers, book investors, library directors or readers in choosing their next literary experience. Your book cover will have a Gold Seal stamp, distinguishing it from other published books.

Can someone explain why nearly every story I see these days is written in first-person, present tense? My own theory has to do with young writers finding third-person too impersonal and/or unbelievable because they are part of the "voyeur generation" that grew up with on demand television, internet narratives, and video games; third-person defines every bit of their entertainment consumption. They need writing/books to offer something different, in a profound way.

There is some good advice here, but I find it hard to listen to you two. What exactly does "the emotional arcs of things" mean? I do know that characters have arcs. You talk about plot twists as if the term refers to anything other than the direction of the main plot of the book. A developing relationship between characters, or a character plot growth arc, are not twists. "That felt real profound"...? If you read a lot, as you say, it doesn't show much. Sorry if it offends, but it really burns me that anybody can become an agent and stand at the gates, holding back individuals who are more talented and intelligent than themselves from a meaningful career. Just look at the long list of great authors who have been repeatedly turned away, the most well known case being that of J.K. Rowling. Why do agents get to have this power over creative people? "You have a standard... of how you want to be rewarded by the end of the book." First, you're not explaining this standard well at all, which throws doubt on your abilities in my eyes. Second, how can you possibly tell anything about the promises the author makes regarding the story, and the fulfillment of those promises, from the first 5 pages of a book? Yet this seems to be the typical sample size, based upon which thousands of agents reject thousands of books. All of that being said, self-publishing is not for the faint of heart, either. Trying to market enough to get noticed is so difficult it's nearly impossible (unless you have plenty of money), and Amazon keeps drawing the noose tighter, making it harder and harder to get anywhere. In both types of publishing, it seems to come down to a popularity contest, as someone else here mentioned. Oh, for the good old days before the 90s... it's not a great time to be an author these days.

Jessica why do you interject before James finishes his comments. Let him speak.

This is total Bull Crap. Agents don't read queries, they have people to do this. And the only things they read are established writers or the author knows someone high up in the literary business. Eliminate the agent because there are a few self-publishing company's that are really good. It's a gamble but you never know!

They shouldn't be looking for anything! They are supposed to be seeing what is being offered.

You realise how much of a trick you're missing by not engaging with your commenters? Makes you seem remote, uninterested, incurious.

Wow.. fastest rejection ever from Jessica, holy shit. I am sitting on a novel that is more riveting than anything Clancy has written, with a more interesting story. Sorry the writing wasn't PhD-level, but I deliberately wrote it in a way that the words wouldn't become a hindrance to the story, if that makes any sense. Page-turners don't work when you get hung up on gratuitous phrase-turning and unrealistic dialogue. I wrote it to be a money-maker. Working on the screenplay now. Then comes the sequel. Should be even better.