How much do authors pay their agents?
This is part of a series on demystifying traditional book publishing. There is so much I didn’t know about this world before I became a published author. I hope that sharing parts of my journey will give readers a look at what goes on behind the scenes and also help other authors who are new to the industry.
If you’re an author looking for a traditional publishing deal, you’ll most likely need a literary agent.
Disclaimer: I’m not a literary agent and will never know the ins and outs of everything they do. But as a traditionally published author, I am familiar with how agent commissions work.
In this post, I’ll explain:
What a literary agent is
How literary agents are paid
How much commission authors pay their agents
3 examples of publishing deals and their commission payments
Why authors shouldn’t be paying reputable agents for any other services
How to find a literary agent
What is a literary agent?
A literary agent is a person who represents the written work of an author. In the context of traditional publishing, a literary agent is responsible for sending their authors’ books on submission with the goal of securing publishing contracts.
Depending on their experience, they may also send books to film or television producers, theatre producers and/or foreign publishers in a bid to sell the rights to their authors’ novels.
How are literary agents paid?
Literary agents are paid on commission, which means they’re paid a set percentage of the revenue they generate for their agencies.
The publishing industry standard commission rates are 15% on domestic sales and 20% on foreign sales. That being said, I believe literary agencies are free to set their own commission rates. But those are pretty standard and I wouldn’t personally sign with an agency that offered anything outside of this.
Some agencies will pay their agents a base salary. In that way, agenting is somewhat like a sales job, similar to real estate or software sales, where the bulk of a professional’s salary comes through commissions earned. I think a purely commission-based structure can be a blessing and a curse. When you’re dependent on selling projects consistently, it can light a fire underneath you. But the publishing industry is notorious for having low pay rates and making a living off advances alone is tough.
Another thing to note is that even if an agent sells a book and gets a 20% commission on it, unless they work purely under their own company, they have to give a portion of that to their agency. So it’s not as though they’re making the full commission, especially early on in their careers.
How do authors calculate commission owed to agents?
I mentioned above that agents usually take 15% commission on domestic sales and 20% commission on foreign sales. But what does this mean?
Domestic and foreign in this case refer to where a literary agent is based — not the author. If your agent and their agency is based/registered as a company in the UK, then they’d take 15% on any deals done with UK publishers. If that same agent then sells your book into the US market, they’d take 20%.
But what if you’re an author living in the United States? Shouldn’t it be 15%? Unfortunately not - commission rates are always based on where the agent/agency is registered. It’s important to keep this in mind when choosing an agent. If you are writing primarily for the US market, you could potentially make more money having a US agent simply because they’d be taking 15% of your deals there instead of 20%.
Examples of publishing deals and commission payments
Agent commissions are pretty straightforward, but here are three examples of how domestic and foreign commissions would work.
Example 1:
You are an author who lives in Australia. You have a US-based agent who sells your novel to a US publisher for $10,000. Because your agent is based in the same country as the publisher, the commission rate in this case is 15%. Here’s the math:
Agent earnings: $1,500 USD
Author earnings (before tax): $8,500 USD
Example 2:
You are an author who lives in Australia. You have a UK-based agent who sells your novel to a US publisher for $10,000. Because your agent is based in a different country to the publisher, this is a foreign deal and they would take 20%. Here’s the math:
Agent earnings: $2,000 USD
Author earning: $8,000 USD
Example 3:
You are an author who lives in Spain. You have a UK-based agent who sells your novel to a Spanish publisher for €4,000. Because your agent is based in a different country, this counts as a foreign deal. It doesn’t matter that you live in Spain - it’s all based on where the agency is based. So, your agent would take 20%. Here’s the math:
Agent earnings: €500
Author earnings: €1,500
In most cases, authors don’t have to pay their agents from the money deposited into their bank accounts. Agents will usually have the publishers pay them directly, take their cut, and then send the authors what you’re owed. In some cases, authors can ask to receive their portion of the advance directly, but the amount owed to the agent/agency will generally be deducted before that happens.
Do I have to pay my literary agent anything other than commission?
No, no and no. If a literary agent is asking you to pay them to:
read your work
edit your manuscript
provide feedback
submit your work to publishers
or literally anything else
Please run. Reputable agencies do not charge authors anything other than commission.
How do you find a literary agent?
If you’re looking for a literary agent, you can try using AgentQuery for US-based agents, and Writers & Artists for UK-based agents. There are also more lists than I can count circulating online — these could be a great starting point. Just be sure to double check the rules on the actual agency website before you submit. These lists and databases don’t always provide real-time information.
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