How can I find a literary agent and how much do they cost?

Question:

How can I find a literary agent and how much do they cost?

I want to publish a book but I'm not sure where I can find one and how much they cost. I live in a small surburban area in southern California so if anyone has any answers, thanks.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Literary agents cost nothing. You send them a query and a book proposal and if they are interested, they take you on and represent you as a client for about 15% of your royalties including any advance you get. They are entitled to charge you for copying fees, postage and long distance calls in their efforts to secure you a publisher.

What does cost money is the editor you must hire to edit your book before you send it to an agent. That could cost anywhere from 4 - 5 dollars per page based on 250 words per page for a moderate editor, to over 5 thousand dollars for a good editor to over 20 thousand dollars plus points of your royalties for a top A list editor.

Many people forego this step, sending their work in unedited. That is a huge mistake. An editor can take a pretty good book that has a minor shot at being published and turn it into a great book with a great shot at being published. You have to spend money to make money - as in all businesses. Publishing is a business. You are selling a product - your book - and you have to pay to make it presentable to sell.

You can buy a copy of Writers Market 2007 for about 30 dollars and read it to learn about agents. Several are listed in there with information about them, the genre the read and their submission guidelines. You can also go to the library reference section and use Literary Marketplace which costs several hundred dollars. It has much more information.

You can also access a lot of information regarding agents by going to Resolved Answers and searching keywords agent and literary agent. Pax - C