LITERARY AGENTS
Most of the larger publishers, because they're flooded with manuscripts, usually do not entertain direct manuscript submissions, preferring instead to liaise with literary agents, who constitute the pivot around which the author-publisher relationship revolves. These triangular relationships, in fact, work better in the publishing industry than direct one-on-one relationships. In the event that you're looking to place your manuscript with one of the bigger publishers, you might be well advised to first find yourself a good literary agent.

To understand better what precisely a literary agent does for you, you might want to know what  Pure Fiction or Authorlink have to say about them. Most of the links provided under the following sections provide a lot of information about literary agents in general.
 
 

Literary Agents in India
 

I have been able to locate only one literary agent in India who consistently responds to authors. There may be more, but I've not yet come across them. Writers Net lists 27 India-based literary agents; you could check them out and see if any work out. If any do, please let me know, I'd be delighted to add to my list

1. Ms Jayapriya Vasudevan, Jacaranda Press, Bangalore
    Email : books@jacaranda-press.com On the web: www.jacaranda-press.com

 
 

Literary Agents in the UK
 

The United Kingdom is chockfull of Literary Agents. For the most part, Literary Agents seem to congregate in and around London. Before you take a final decision on appointing an Agent, you could check out their authenticity with the Association of Authors' Agents (AAA), London . The best sources of information for UK-based literary agents are:

The Writers' & Artists'  Year Book 2002: Published annually by A&C Black (Publishers) Ltd, (35 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4JH) is an excellent source of information. It's an expensive book but is usually available at your nearest British Council Library as a reference book.
The Writer's Handbook 2006 : Edited by Barry Turner and published annually by Macmillan, is also an excellent source of information. It's available now in India at all leading bookstores in a low-priced format (about Rs 550). A must-own.

BLOOMSBURY MAGAZINE

BloomsburyMagazine.com's
Guide for Unpublished Writers

Preditors and Editors : Excelent page hosted on the Science Fictionand Fantasy Writers' Association (SFWA)'s website.

SFWA's Writer Beware : SFWA's own literary warnings web site, on which webmistress Victoria Strauss provides clear recommendations.

The Nebraska Center for Writers (NCW) This site provides a lot of information on a variety of related subjects, as well as some useful links.

Society of Authors, UK

Writers' Guild, UK

LiteraryAgents.com Directory of Literary Agents

Writers.net

Pure Fiction


 
Literary Agents in the US
 

Publishing is pretty much of a booming industry in the United States. The number of literary agents in the US is quite extraordinary, and sifting through lists is an extremely difficult and confusing exercise. Most literary agents are concentrated around New York and California, but with the advent of the Internet and electronic revolution, their precise location doesn't seem to matter any more. The following sources can provide you information about literary agents, but before you make a choice you might want to consult the Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR) to check whether the agent is listed with this apex body of literary agents. Even if the agent isn't listed you could check up on 'rogue agents' from links available at The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) or at Book Doctor or you could simply post the name of the agent in the Search box of Deja News or you could enter a NCW discussion on Literary Agents and check up to your heart's content.  But let me tell you one thing. Most literary agents are honest, sincere and hard working, and all this advice is only for those who want to practise abundant caution before entering into a contract. The following are, what I consider the best links to finding US literary agents:

 

 

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