Hunting for a Literary Agent: Which to Keep and Which to Shoot
by Chuck Rothman   1. What is an agent and why do I need one? 2.
When do I need an agent? 3. How are agents paid? 4. Where to I
find information about agents? 5. How do I choose an agent? 6.
How do I contact an agent? 7. How do I create an outline and
sample chapters? 8. What happens if I don't get an agent?   An
agent is a writer's business representative. His job is to
market your book, negotiate a deal with the publisher, keep
track of rights sold, and generally handle the business end of
things so that the author can concentrate on writing.  You may
not need an agent. If you write poetry, or short fiction, or
articles, you don't. Agents only handle book length manuscripts
-- fiction and nonfiction. It's not worth their while to handle
shorter works.  Even if you write books, you may not need an
agent. There are two main advantages that an agent can offer you
when it comes to marketing:      • A good agent knows what
editors are looking for. H