Literary Agents Looking for You – Book Agents

Literary agents looking for you are out there. You simply need to know where to find them. This article explains how to find prospective literary agents looking for your type of book. It also reveals the only three reasons that talented authors don’t get published. This article is part of a 15-part series about Finding a Literary Agent for Your Book.

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Literary Agents Looking for New Authors

Many years ago, when I was just getting started as a book agent, I gave some aspiring authors some bad information.

Well, it wasn’t bad.

Just incomplete.

Here’s what happened…

I was giving a lecture at the Miami Writers’ Conference.

I looked out into the sea of expectant faces and told everyone that there really are lots of literary agents looking for them. And that there are only two reasons talented authors don’t get published:

1. They don’t  have the insider knowledge that they need to be successful
2. Those that do have the knowledge, aren’t willing to do the work

“Getting published isn’t luck,” I said, “it’s a decision.”

I spoke with the conviction of a former prison inmate, promoting a new religion (of traditional publishing). The prison I’d been released from was one inside my mind… where I kept telling myself it might be better (or necessary) for me to self-publish my own books.

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Literary Agents Looking – My “Dirty Little Secret”

You see, although I was technically a book agent at the time, I was really just an aspiring author who’d gone “undercover” as a publishing agent to learn everything I could to get my own books picked up by a traditional publisher.

In fact, I’d only been a book agent for six months. And the only successes I could brag about at the time were the sales of a music book to Simon & Schuster, and some children’s books to a medium-sized publisher called Peachtree.

But that didn’t matter…

My heart was in the right place.

I knew exactly what those authors needed to hear.

And I couldn’t wait to share my story of
how I’d become a publishing insider
and how it had changed me.

Transformed me.

And, more important,
how it could transform them.

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There Are Literary Agents Looking for You

If only I could make everyone see what I saw… the fact that getting a book deal with a major publisher really isn’t that hard, once you know how the system works (and you decide you’re willing to do the work).

So I shared my “confession.”

I told everyone at the conference that I was a “Literary Agent Undercover.” I wanted them to know that I was intimate with their secret desire (lust?) for recognition, raving fans, and a major book deal.

I also wanted them to know that I had experienced, first-hand, the frustration that so many of them had felt (and were still feeling)… a frustration deeply rooted in the knowledge that they had great (genius?) talent, but were simply lacking the direction needed to get them to the “promised land” of published authors.

After the Miami Writers’ Conference, I went on to share my “testimony” with thousands (tens of thousands?) of other authors. I was the proverbial shepherd leading writers through the wild wilderness of publishing.

Today I see that my “sermon” was incomplete.

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Literary Agents Looking – The Rest of the Story

I still believe that getting published isn’t luck, it’s a decision. I still believe that the #1 reason talented authors don’t get published is a lack of insider knowledge. And I still believe that the #2 reason talented authors don’t get published is unwillingness to do the work.

But there’s a third reason talented authors don’t get published.

And it’s profound.

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The third reason that talented authors don’t get published… is a lack of belief.

Yes, talent is important.

Insider information about how the publishing industry works is important.

And hard work is important.

But so is your mind.

That’s why I thought you might appreciate these Twelve Reasons to Believe that There are Literary Agents Looking for You…

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There are Literary Agents Looking for You: 12 Reasons to Believe

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#1 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

Getting published isn’t luck, it’s a decision

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#2 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

The voice inside your head, telling you to write

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#3 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

The feeling in your heart, telling you it’s your destiny to be published

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#4 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

You’ve paid your dues

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#5 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

Most authors will quit long before you do

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#6 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

New authors get published every day, why not you?

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#7 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

Some of the authors getting published aren’t as good as you

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#8 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

All of your future raving fans

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#9 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

Getting a book deal will change your life

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#10 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

You can finally say “I told you so” to your friends and family

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#11 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

It only takes one “Yes” to make the journey worthwhile

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#12 Reason to Believe: There are Literary Agents Looking for You

I’m going to help you

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Conclusion – Literary Agents Looking for You

I hate to say it, but…

Talent, hard work, and insider information aren’t enough to get you a book deal. Without the right mindset, you won’t achieve the success that you desire. So pay attention to your thoughts, and the external action that you’re taking (or failing to take) as a result.

Your mind can lead you to author salvation,
or damnation.

Keep believing.

Click here to read the next article in this 15-part series, and learn
why you need to Stop Looking for a Literary Agent.

P.S. Click here for free access to our Directory of Literary Agents to find literary agents looking for you.