Literary Agent Blog – By a Former Literary Agency President
This literary agent blog by former NY Times bestselling book agent Mark Malatesta reveals everything you want and need to know about literary agents, and everything you wouldn’t know to ask.
The categories on this literary agent blog are named and organized in a way that makes it easy for you to find exactly what you’re looking for. Scroll below to browse the latest posts on our publishing agent blog, or use the category links in the sidebar on the right!
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Literary Agent Blog – Welcome
This literary agent blog has information about literary agents, literary agencies, writing, getting published, and book marketing. You’ll even find a section on our book agent blog where you can submit your questions to a former book agent.
It’s called Ask a Literary Agent.
Many authors find this part of our literary agent blog as valuable as the articles. They appreciate the thoughtful answers to their questions, posted by former NY Times bestselling book agent–and AAR member–Mark Malatesta. But they also find themselves learning a great deal by reading other authors’ questions (and answers) on our literary agent blog.
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Recent Posts on Our Literary Agent Blog
How to Copyright a Book – Book Copyright FAQ for Authors
How to Copyright a Book – As a former literary agent turned author consultant, I get a lot of questions about book copyright. What is copyright? Do I need to copyright my book before I try to get a literary agent? What are the copyright laws for books that I need to...
Interactive Q&A Chat Session – How to Become a Bestselling Author
Listen Here or Download the File This recording is for authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books), at all stages of development. Authors who participated in the live event asked Mark and Ingrid questions about how to write, publish and/or market...
Happy Holiday Weekend!!!
Hi Everyone, It's Mark Malatesta here with The Bestselling Author and Literary Agent Undercover. If you're new to my community, you might not be familiar with my sense of humor... yet. I like providing lots of valuable information (and inspiration) on my websites, but...
Literary Agent Biographies – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
Literary Agent Biographies - Are you making a common mistake when reading the bios of literary agents online or in books? This article shows that there are probably a lot more publishing agents than you realize, that might be interested in you and your book. But you...
Literary Agents Q&A Chat Sessions
Listen Now to the Literary Agents Q&A Chat Replays Host: Former NY Times Bestselling Literary Agent Mark Malatesta These two calls on our book agent blog were an opportunity for authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books), at all stages of...
Literary Agent Blogs By Popular Book Agents
Literary Agent Blogs - Which ones are best? Take a look at our short list below to find out which book agent blogs are getting the most attention... based on the quality of their content, the frequency of their posts, and the personalities of their authors. Just make...
The Best Publishing Companies for Smart Authors
Best Publishing Companies - What are your options when it comes to publishing your book, and what is the best option? This article by a former literary agent and publishing house marketing executive explains. * * * Finding the Best Publishing Companies The Challenge...
Publishing Industry Statistics – Literary Agent Blog
The Latest Publishing Industry Statistics - What are the latest publishing numbers according to our book agent blog? That depends. There are a lot of different figures I could share with you. For example, I could tell you how many books are published per year in the...
Entitlement in Writer Culture – Literary Agents
Guest Blog Post by Kait Nolan Literary Agent Blog Guest Post One of the first things I saw when I logged into Twitter this morning was a conversation between a writer friend of mine (who, incidentally, is also a professional editor and teaches workshops) and another...
Peter Darley – Author Interview with Literary Agent Undercover
Peter Darley - Author of Hold On! – During this insider interview on our publishing agent blog (scroll below to listen), author Peter Darley explains how he wrote his book, got the attention of literary agents, and got a book deal. Peter recently signed a publishing...
The Nemesis You Never Knew About
Guest Blog Post by Peter Darley Literary Agent Blog Guest Post When submitting a novel to publishers and agents, it is a virtual certainty that writers will experience rejections. Submission and rejection go together like death and taxes. I certainly had my fair share...
Scott LeRette Interview – Author of The Unbreakable Boy
Scott LeRette - Author of The Unbreakable Boy – During this insider interview on our literary agent blog, author Scott LeRette explains how he wrote his book and got a top literary agent to represent him, resulting in a bidding war between major publishers. Scott...
Author Website Design to Get Literary Agents
Author Website Design – This article on our literary agent blog (for aspiring and established authors) is the third installment of a 3-part series, revealing the seven essential ingredients of effective author website design. This segment highlights many author...
Best Author Websites to Get Literary Agents
Best Author Websites – This article (for aspiring and established authors) is the second part of a 3-part series on how to create an effective author website. If you haven't already done so, click here now to read Part 1: Author Website. This article series reveals...
Author Website to Get Literary Agents
Author Website – As you probably know already, creating an effective website is one of the easiest ways to: establish your credibility, impress literary agents and publishers, get more exposure, promote your book, make more money, and make a greater difference in the...
Literary Agents – What’s Your Number?
Imagine this… Your best friend (that you’d trust with your life) calls you on your cell phone. He invites you to meet him at a coffee shop to share some big news. You agree to meet. When you arrive, your friend gives you a huge hug and pulls out a chair for you at...
Selling Your Book to Literary Agents
Be honest. On a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (completely) how comfortable are you “selling” your book and yourself? And... On a scale of 0 (pathetic) to 10 (grand master) how EFFECTIVE are you at it? Whatever your numbers are, this article is going to show you how to...
How Important Are Typos and Grammar to Literary Agents?
How “clean” should your writing be when submitting it to literary agents and publishers? What if you have some typos? What if your grammar isn’t perfect? How good… is good enough? Although I won 1st place in my school’s spelling bee in the first grade (I got a ribbon...
Biography
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"Berkley Books recently published my book in hardcover after Mark helped me get multiple agents interested in my work. I was able to speak with literary agents from top agencies such as Janklow & Nesbit, Trident Media, Anderson Lit, and Folio. I signed with Don Fehr at Trident Media and a short time later I had a publishing contract! Having Mark on your side is incredibly valuable." [Click here to see all Mark Malatesta reviews]
About Mark Malatesta
MARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company Literary Agent Undercover and The Bestselling Author. Mark's authors have gotten six-figure book deals, been on the NYT bestseller list, and published with houses such as Random House, Scholastic, and Thomas Nelson. Click here to learn more about Mark Malatesta and click here for Reviews of Mark Malatesta.About Mark Malatesta
MARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company Literary Agent Undercover and The Bestselling Author. Mark's authors have gotten six-figure book deals, been on the NYT bestseller list, and published with houses such as Random House, Scholastic, and Thomas Nelson. Click here to learn more about Mark Malatesta and click here for Reviews of Mark Malatesta.* * *
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