How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent

How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent

by Noah Lukeman

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Overview

"Noah Lukeman, one of the top literary agents in New York, gave writers a great gift."
--James Frey (regarding The Plot Thickens)

"This will certainly help writers of any kind defeat rejection and possibly score."
--Writers.com (regarding The First Five Pages)

Many books have been written about how to get published. But few have been written by literary agents, who receive thousands of submissions each year and who grapple with them on a daily basis. Even fewer have been written by active literary agents who are willing to write from the trenches and offer their perspective on why they reject manuscripts, and why they accept them. And no books have been written from an agent's perspective on what it's like, step by step, to work with an agent on a daily basis, and on how to assure that you maintain a long, happy working relationship with your agent.

How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent is the first book written from an active literary agent's perspective that teaches authors why agents reject or accept manuscripts; why they decide to represent certain authors and not represent others; the best way to approach agents; the best way to work with an agent on a daily basis; and that offers them dozens of specific resources to make the difference in their finally finding the perfect agents for their work.

New York literary agent Noah Lukeman, President of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd, has represented multiple New York Times bestsellers, winners of the Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award, National Book Award Finalists, and has himself written three critically-acclaimed books on the craft of writing, The First Five Pages, The Plot Thickens, and A Dash of Style. During his last 13 years as a literary agent he has read thousands of manuscripts and represented hundreds of book deals, and in this book he shares his insider's perspective, offers insight and practical tips about what works and what doesn't.

How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent is a must-read for any author serious about getting published. Geared for a broad range of authors, its subject matter is relevant to authors of fiction and non-fiction, screenwriters, poets--any serious author--offering principles that will help lead to success no matter what your craft. Practical and engaging, filled with exercises, anecdotes and sidebars, this 200 plus page book takes you on a journey, and will bring you that much closer to finally landing a literary agent.

How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent includes:

* 10 Reasons Why You Need an Agent
* 9 Steps to Building Your Bio (for Fiction)
* 8 Ways to Build Your Non-Fiction Platform
* 13 Factors to Consider When Evaluating an Agent
* 24 Free Resources for Researching Agents
* 11 Fee-Based Resources for Researching Agents
* The 4 Musts of Submitting
* 4 Keys to Successful Follow Up
* 3 Resources to Protect you from Agent Scams
* 5 Ways an Agent Can Take Advantage of You
* To Use a Book Doctor?
* 7 Ways to Protect Yourself in an Agency Agreement
* To Hire an Attorney?
* What it's Like to Work With an Agent (a Step-by-Step Timeline)
* A Publication Timeline Chart
* 15 Ways to Assure a Great Relationship With Your Agent
* 6 Reasons to Drop Your Agent
* To Self Publish?

"Lukeman's advice is practical--and often entails multiple, time-consuming steps--without a hint of the flakiness that creeps into many writing guides."
--Publishers Weekly (regarding The Plot Thickens)

This 75,000 word file includes bonus material: two additional books written by Mr. Lukeman--HOW TO WRITE A GREAT QUERY LETTER and ASK A LITERARY AGENT (YEAR ONE)--for free!

Product Details

BN ID: 2940011875670
Publisher: Lukeman Literary
Publication date: 12/08/2010
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: NOOK Book
Sales rank: 271,008
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Noah Lukeman is President of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd, which he founded in 1996. His clients include winners of the Pulitzer Prize, American Book Award, Pushcart Prize and O. Henry Award, finalists for the National Book Award, Edgar Award, and Pacific Rim prize, multiple New York Times bestsellers, national journalists, major celebrities, and faculty of universities ranging from Harvard to Stanford. He has also worked in the New York office of a multi-talent management company, where he represented many New York Times Bestsellers, and, prior to founding his agency, he also worked for another New York literary agency. Prior to becoming an agent he worked in the editorial departments of several publishers, including William Morrow, Delphinium Books and Farrar, Straus, Giroux, and as editor of a literary magazine.

Noah Lukeman is also an accomplished author. His best-selling The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying out of the Rejection Pile (Simon & Schuster, 1999), is now part of the curriculum in many universities. His The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life (St. Martins Press, 2002) was a National Bestseller, a BookSense 76 Selection, a Publishers Weekly Daily pick, and a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club. His A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation (W.W. Norton, 2006 and Oxford University Press in the UK, 2007) was critically-acclaimed, a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club, a selection of the Forbes Book Club and profiled on NPR, and is now part of the curriculum in over 50 universities and writing programs. His e-book How to Write a Great Query Letter, was the #1 Bestselling title on Amazon Shorts for many months. Noah has contributed articles about the publishing industry and the craft of writing to several magazines, including Poets & Writers, Writers Digest, The Writer, the AWP Chronicle and the Writers Market, and has been anthologized in The Practical Writer (Viking, 2004).

Noah Lukeman has been a guest speaker on the subjects of writing and publishing at numerous forums, including Harvard, The Juilliard School, the Wallace Stegner writing program at Stanford University, the Writers Digest Panel at Book Expo America, the MFA at Northern Michigan University, the National Society of Newspaper Columnist’s annual Boston conference, and Riker’s Island Penitentiary. He earned his B.A. with High Honors in English and Creative Writing from Brandeis University, cum

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How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent 5 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 2 reviews.
LJHarrison More than 1 year ago
This book was packed with information which I could not find elsewhere which was incredibly helpful in teaching me what an agent looks for, how they operate on a daily basis, and what the best way is to approach them. There are so many great tips in here, that I feel that reading this book can literally make the difference between landing an agent and not landing one. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
Anonymous More than 1 year ago
The information in this book is extremely valuable. I followed the author's guidance very carefully. After doing my research and writing my query letters to his specifications, I had immediate success. I sent 8-10 queries to top literary agents and received 2 requests to read my manuscript. Needless to say, I was very excited. Thank you, Mr. Lukeman, for the valuable and accurate info.
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