What Do Literary Agents Do (and Do You Need One)?

Conventional wisdom tells authors that they need a literary agent if they're to stand a chance at securing a book deal. However, haggling with editors is not all that agents do — and in some cases, authors don't even need representation to publish their book.

To help us separate fact from fiction, we've released this new course from Alysoun Owen (editor of Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook) and literary agent Lucy Juckes. Over 10 lessons, this course will help you understand the role agents play in publishing and give you everything you need to determine what you'll want from an agent and whether you'll need one at all.

What you'll learn in this course:

• Top tips on how to look for agents
• What agents do on an average day
• What they look for in new clients
• The three roles agents play in an author's life
• Whether you need an agent to publish your book

Brought to you by

Alysoun Owen is the Editor of the annually published Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook and the Children’s Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook (both published by Bloomsbury), the bestselling guides to all aspects of how to write and get published. She gives regular talks around the UK on becoming a published writer. Find them on Twitter.

Lucy Juckes is a literary agent with Edinburgh-based Jenny Brown Associates. She represents authors and illustrators for children and young adults - both fiction and non-fiction. Find her on Twitter.

What are people saying about this course?

"Loved the course. Good advice and direct."

— Gene

"I really enjoyed it. It is great to get some insight from actual industry professionals"

– Adriana L.