Roxane Gay on Finding a Literary Agent

Roxane Gay is a best-selling writer of fiction, essays, and memoir. To date, she has authored five critically acclaimed books—a memoir (Hunger), a collection of essays (Bad Feminist), two collections of short stories (Ayiti, Difficult Women), and a novel (An Untamed State). She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and her fiction has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, McSweeney’s, Tin House, and Oxford American.

She is both the first Guggenheim Fellow and the first Black woman to write a Marvel comic book (Black Panther: World of Wakanda). In 2021, she launched The Audacity, a newsletter that includes a book club, features Roxane’s writing, and showcases emerging writers. She is also an acclaimed and highly sought-after public speaker.

A literary agent acts as an intermediary between an author and the publishing houses. A literary agent is your representative in the publishing world who helps you navigate the writer's market and negotiate your publishing contract. In addition to making sure that you’re paid fairly, your agent makes sure that you have a say in promotional and marketing decisions, like your cover art, and the advertising and promotion of your book. In exchange, the agent takes between 15 to 20 percent of your book sales. “And it's worth it,” Roxane says. “It’s worth absolutely every penny.”

Finding the right agent may take time, and persistence is key. Here are some tips for new authors looking to find the right agent gleaned from Roxane’s experience:

1. 1. Prepare your manuscript. For first-time fiction writers, you’ll want to complete a manuscript of your novel or short stories before approaching an agent. New writers working on a nonfiction book don’t always need a full manuscript but can work “on proposal,” which means submitting a book proposal. A nonfiction book proposal involves outlining your book’s synopsis, the research involved in its creation, and the resources you’ll need to complete it. In either case, you’ll almost always be asked to include sample chapters when you query, or pitch, an agent.
2. 2. Research prospective agents. Before sending out any proposals, research the agents you’re interested in. You can research the submission guidelines and protocols of each literary agency on agent databases or websites like QueryTracker.net and AgentQuery.com. Alternatively, you can look up who represents your favorite writers—or writers whose work you feel is similar to your own—and try reaching out. “There are no mysterious, secret ways of finding an agent,” Roxane says. “I actually found my first agent by looking online.”
3. 3. Send queries. Once your manuscript or proposal is ready and you have a short list of agents you’d want to work with, you can start querying agents. Send a query letter to the agents you think will be most interested in your work. Sometimes, you only need to query one agent. Sometimes, you need to query dozens, or several dozens. “It’s all very subjective,” Roxane says.
4. 4. Be patient and persistent. For an aspiring writer, finding an agent can require patience and persistence. If you get a rejection letter, don’t take it personally. “Just because an agent rejects you is not an indication that you’re not worthy of finding an agent,” Roxane says. “It just means that you’re not a good fit for them.” If the rejections are piling up and you aren’t making progress, it might be worth reevaluating your project and deciding if it needs revisions or time on the back burner. Oftentimes, the first book a writer publishes is not the first book they’ve written. Don’t be afraid to start a new manuscript while continuing to shop your initial effort around to agents.

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