The first step in finding an agent to represent your work is to research their area of specialty. Not all agents focus on works of fiction some are only interested in technical books, while others enjoy pursuing works of poetry. Once you’ve narrowed the field down, you now have to find an agent who has your best interest at heart.
Finding Book Agents who are on the up and up is not an easy task. In reality, there are not many really good agents in the business. Now, if you are looking for people who claim to be book agents but are instead scammers, bad at their job, unhelpful, or in it only for themselves, there are many to find and choose from. But to find someone you trust who has the experience to sell your work, can become a full-time job.
Good Book Agents work hard, and got a solid grasp of how to do their job by working for a reputable agent. After learning to talk to publishers and authors on their own and understanding the true ins and outs of the business, they eventually start a business on their own and are then considered legitimate.
They will work for you and never ask anything of you that has to do with money. They will edit books as needed without a charge, as that is part of their job.
Scamming Book Agents will more than likely ask for payment from you before a book is even sold. Real book agents will not do this; they wait and make the real money as a percentage of the amount you are paid on a book that is sold so this is the first true way to tell scamming agents from real ones.
Scammers will also try and hide their client lists as confidential, but it is usually because these scammer Book Agents really have no client list at all. Unlike legitimate book agents, scammers will not offer book revisions for free and will usually try to get you to go to an outside source to have your book edited. As Book Agents, they should definitely have the skills to edit the book for you.
It all comes down to researching Book Agents and making sure you are comfortable with their business practices from beginning to end. If something doesn’t seem right to you, it probably isn’t so don’t hesitate to move down the list of possible book agents until you find one that meets your needs perfectly.