Literary agents help unpublished authors get published. Literary agents help already-published authors get their next book published and help them secure new publishing deals. Literary agents represent writers. Some literary agents mostly represent non-fiction writers and some mostly represent fiction writers. Some literary agents specialize in representing a certain genre of authors. For example, some literary agents mostly represent romance writers. Literary agents shop unpublished manuscripts to publishing houses. Once a publisher shows interest in a manuscript, the agent will help secure a book deal and help negotiate the terms of that deal. Some agents work for agencies that employ many literary agents and some work by themselves.
