Ask a (former) literary agent your question about how to get a publishing agent here. You’ll also find answers to questions other authors have posted. This article is part of our free 15-Part Guide About How to Get a Book Agent. It was created by, and is curated by, a former literary agent who’s now helped hundreds of authors get book agents as an author coach and consultant. See successful authors at How I Got My Literary Agent.
ASK A Literary Agent – FAQ
This Ask a Literary Agent FAQ answers questions about: the definition and role of a book agent, who publishing agents are, when you should query literary agents, how much representation costs, the best way to find book agents looking for authors, submissions to literary agents, how to handle an offer for representation, what happens after you get a book agent, and more.
Author Representative definition and role
When you Should Get An Author Representative
How Much An Author Representative Costs
Finding An Author Representative
- How to find a literary agent?
- How to research book agents?
- Who are the best publishing agents?
- Who are the top 10 book agents?
- How to find publishing agents near me?
- Licensed book agents?
- Established publishing agents?
- New book agents?
- Publishing agents to avoid?
- Book agents seeking submissions?
- How to do a publishing agent search?
- Find a list of book agents?
- Publishing agent database?
- Book of literary agents?
- Where to meet publishing agents?
- Book agent events?
- How to Pitch a Literary Agent at a Conference?
Submitting To An Author Representative
- Literary agent submissions?
- How to contact a publishing agent?
- What to submit to a book agent?
- How to write a publishing agent query letter?
- How to write a synopsis for a book agent?
- How to write a publishing agent proposal?
- How to submit a book to a literary agent?
- How many publishing agents should you query?
- Best time to submit to book agents?
- How long to hear back from publishing agents?
- Book agent response time full manuscript?
- What happens when a publishing agent requests your full manuscript?
- Book agent not responding?
- How to follow up with a publishing agent?
- Book agent rejection letters?
- Revise and resubmit to a publishing agent?
Representation Offer From a Book Agent
- Getting an offer of representation from a literary agent?
- First meeting with a book agent?
- Questions a book agent will ask?
- Questions to ask a publishing agent?
- Multiple offers from publishing agents?
- Choosing a book agent?
- Literary agent contract?
- Standard book agent contract?
- Publishing agent contract terms?
- Book agent contract red flags?
- Publishing agent lawyer?
What Happens After You Get An Author Representative
Mark has helped hundreds of authors get offers from literary agents and/or traditional publishers. Writers of all Book Genres have used our Literary Agent Advice coaching/consulting to get Top Literary Agents at the Best Literary Agencies on our List of Book Agents.
Ask a Literary Agent
Due to time constraints, we can’t answer questions that have already been answered. Please make your question clear, and concise, since the submission form below is limited to 500 characters.
If you want to remain anonymous, type “Anonymous” in the name field. You’ll receive an email when a reply has been posted (usually within 48 hours). We look forward to helping you get a book agent.
MARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company
Dear Mark
THE WORLD THAT WAITS is a 4,000‑word high‑concept science‑fiction story for children ages 7–12. The book presents a clear, cinematic idea: humanity is the only intelligent species in the Universe, not by chance, but by design. Human beings are the sole organisms capable of creating the conditions necessary for life to emerge.
The story takes place after Earth enters the Age of the Irrational, a scientific and cultural shift that allows researchers to discover a third category of nuclear reactions beyond fusion and thermonuclear processes — Relativistic Nuclear Technologies (RNT). These reactions use accelerated heavy nuclei whose behavior changes at relativistic speeds, enabling the construction of engines that respond to direction and intention rather than force.
With RNT and the High‑Wave Accelerator, humanity gains the ability to build complete life‑supporting systems: a stable star for energy, a moon for axial balance, and a giant planet for orbital protection — the same triad that once made life possible on Earth. Humans no longer search for habitable worlds; they create them.
The story follows Elkene, the first child born entirely in space, who travels with the Princess as humanity begins forming new planetary systems. Elkene discovers he can influence the directed particles that guide their ship, revealing that intention itself has become a scientific parameter. Their mission is not to find alien civilizations, but to prepare worlds where life may one day arise.
This book offers:
– a fresh, marketable premise centered on humanity as the creative force of the Universe
– a unique scientific hook (intention‑based relativistic technology)
– strong series potential, as each new world becomes a new chapter in human creation
– a tone reminiscent of The Little Prince and A Wrinkle in Time
I am a writer based in Washington, DC, creating philosophical and science‑inspired stories for children and adults. The manuscript is complete and available upon request.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Vita
Hi Vita,
I received your message and I’m happy to help, if your gaol is to get a literary agent.
However, this isn’t a literary agency, so I want to be sure you realize that.
See here:
Literary Agent Advice (1-on-1 Coaching/Consulting with Me)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/literary-agent-advice/
How to Get a Literary Agent (15-Part Guide)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/how-to-get-a-literary-agent/
Ask a Question (FAQ Page on My Website Where You Can Also Post. Questions)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/ask-a-literary-agent/
Literary Agent Database (The Official Directory of Literary Agents)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/literary-agent-database/
Anything else, let me know.
Remember, you can post questions for me here:
https://getaliteraryagent.com/ask-a-literary-agent/.
I will respond personally, and promptly.
All my best,
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author, LLC
Phone/Fax: (800) 928-5028
https://thebestsellingauthor.com
https://getaliteraryagent.com
Established in 2011, we’ve helped 400+ authors get offers
from literary agents and/or traditional publishers
Hello Mark, I am in the processing of revising the novel THE DISTANCE BETWEEN DOORS, a literary novel currently at approximately 60,000 words. Inspired by lived experience, the novel traces one woman’s journey from rural northern China to a career as an American diplomat, exploring identity, belonging, and the emotional cost of living between nations and systems of power.
Tian grows up in a coal-mining town in Heilongjiang, where survival depends on endurance and her mother’s unwavering belief that education is the only path toward freedom. After excelling academically despite political upheaval and poverty, she enters university as an English major—only to discover she cannot understand spoken English at all. Her friendship and eventual marriage to an American teacher propels her into a new life in the United States, where she encounters both the openness of democratic society and the quiet barriers faced by immigrants navigating institutions that welcome them imperfectly.
After years rebuilding herself through education and work as a university librarian, Tian joins the U.S. Foreign Service in midlife, believing diplomacy embodies fairness, dialogue, and mutual understanding. Serving in Africa and beyond, she promotes the idea of America through education and cultural exchange while confronting subtle exclusion within the very institution she represents. A pivotal moment arrives when she is removed from a diplomatic meeting because her Chinese birth might influence how others speak—forcing her to confront the distance between ideals and geopolitical reality. As global competition intensifies, Tian must reconcile the country she chose with the complexities of power she witnesses from within.
Spanning continents and decades, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN DOORS is a story of reinvention, inheritance, and the search for belonging in the spaces between cultures, languages, and identities.
I am a retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer, and this novel draws on my cross-cultural experiences while presented as fiction. I would be delighted to send the full manuscript at your request.
Hi Fenghua,
I received your message and I’m happy to help, if your gaol is to get a literary agent.
However, this isn’t a literary agency, so I want to be sure you realize that.
See here:
Literary Agent Advice (1-on-1 Coaching/Consulting with Me)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/literary-agent-advice/
How to Get a Literary Agent (15-Part Guide)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/how-to-get-a-literary-agent/
Ask a Question (FAQ Page on My Website Where You Can Also Post. Questions)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/ask-a-literary-agent/
Literary Agent Database (The Official Directory of Literary Agents)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/literary-agent-database/
Anything else, let me know.
Remember, you can post questions for me here:
https://getaliteraryagent.com/ask-a-literary-agent/.
I will respond personally, and promptly.
All my best,
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author, LLC
Phone/Fax: (800) 928-5028
https://thebestsellingauthor.com
https://getaliteraryagent.com
Established in 2011, we’ve helped 400+ authors get offers
from literary agents and/or traditional publishers
Hi Mark we did a coaching last week, Christina Elliott you said the name was His Savior sounded more Christian readers instead of main stream contemporary romance. So I thought His Guardian would be better
Hi Christina,
Good morning, and now I understand what you mean.
I like that better, a lot better. 🙂
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author, LLC
Phone/Fax: (800) 928-5028
https://getaliteraryagent.com
https://thebestsellingauthor.com
Established in 2011, we’ve helped 400+ authors get offers
from literary agents and/or traditional publishers
How can I get an agent to represent my newest novel, Black Eden: a mystery thriller about major corruption within a church—with a twist. It is not the corrupt/greedy pastor this time.
Hi Dr. Dumas,
Good morning. I’m happy to help.
See here (four things that can support you in that):
Literary Agent Advice (1-on-1 Coaching/Consulting)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/literary-agent-advice/
How to Get a Literary Agent (NEW 15-Part Guide)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/how-to-get-a-literary-agent/
Literary Agent Database (Directory of Literary Agents)
https://getaliteraryagent.com/literary-agent-database/
If you want/need help with anything else, you can post again at https://getaliteraryagent.com/ask-a-literary-agent/.
I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction, and promptly.
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author, LLC
Phone/Fax: (800) 928-5028
https://getaliteraryagent.com
https://thebestsellingauthor.com
Established in 2011, we’ve helped 400+ authors get offers
from literary agents and/or traditional publishers