Aspiring writers have a tough job breaking through in the industry where the odds of getting published hover between 1% and 2%. Finding the right literary agent can significantly increase those chances, assuming that the author’s work satisfies the standards and genre requirements of the agent.
In this report, we’ll closely examine literary agents – how much they earn, the demographic structure of literary agents in the US, and the most common topics agents seek from aspiring writers.
- There is a 1 in 3,000 to 1 in 6,000 chance of authors getting picked up by a literary agent over the year, depending on the number of new writers an agent can assign in 12 months.
- Most of the literary agents will consider books in general fiction (51.74%) and general nonfiction (54.19%) category.
- Memoirs (50.33%), narrative (47.79%), and history (46.75%) are the most frequently looked-for sub-categories among literary agents.
- 83.1% of all literary agents in the US are white, and over 82.1% are women.
- Most literary agents in the US are between 30 and 40 years old.
- 41.1% of literary agents earn less than $50,000 per year, and over 59.3% earn under $100,000 per year.
What genres are literary agents looking for?
- The majority of literary agents are mainly interested in general nonfiction (54.19% of agents) and general fiction (51.74%).
- Within genres, memoirs are the most frequently accepted by agents, as over 50.33% of agents stated this genre among the topics of interest.
- The other two most frequently looked-for genres among agents are narrative (47.79%) and history (46.75%).
- Literary fiction (43.27%) and young adult fiction (41.67%) are the most wanted fiction subgenres among literary agents.
- Architecture (0.85%), dystopian (0.75%), glitz (0.38%), and topics about 20- and 30-somethings (0.19%) are among the least wanted topics among literary agents in the US.
| Topic | Category | Share of agents interested in the topic |
| General Nonfiction | Nonfiction | 54.19% |
| General Fiction | Fiction | 51.74% |
| Memoir | Nonfiction | 50.33% |
| Narrative | Nonfiction | 47.79% |
| History | Nonfiction | 46.75% |
| Literary | Fiction | 43.27% |
| Young Adult Fiction | Fiction | 41.67% |
| Thriller | Fiction | 38.38% |
| Biography | Nonfiction | 37.25% |
| Science | Nonfiction | 35.84% |
| Pop Culture | Nonfiction | 32.93% |
| Mystery | Fiction | 32.74% |
| Business | Nonfiction | 31.33% |
| Suspense | Fiction | 31.23% |
| Health/Wellness | Nonfiction | 31.14% |
| Commercial | Fiction | 31.04% |
| Cultural/Social Issues | Nonfiction | 29.92% |
| Women’s Fiction | Fiction | 29.63% |
| Middle Grade Fiction | Fiction | 29.16% |
| Current Events/Affairs | Nonfiction | 28.97% |
| Lifestyle | Nonfiction | 28.32% |
| Politics | Nonfiction | 27.56% |
| Cooking/Cookbook | Nonfiction | 27.00% |
| Money/Finance | Nonfiction | 26.43% |
| Children’s Fiction | Fiction | 25.87% |
| Romance | Fiction | 24.74% |
| Crime/Detective/Police | Fiction | 24.27% |
| Historical | Fiction | 24.27% |
| Multicultural Fiction | Fiction | 23.24% |
| Fantasy | Fiction | 21.26% |
| Multicultural | Nonfiction | 21.17% |
| Upmarket Fiction | Fiction | 21.07% |
| Sports | Nonfiction | 19.94% |
| Journalism | Nonfiction | 19.76% |
| Humor | Nonfiction | 19.66% |
| Science Fiction | Fiction | 19.57% |
| Food/Drinks | Nonfiction | 19.47% |
| Juvenile Fiction | Fiction | 19.00% |
| Picture Book | Fiction | 18.72% |
| Spirituality | Nonfiction | 17.69% |
| Juvenile | Nonfiction | 17.50% |
| Religion | Nonfiction | 17.40% |
| Psychology | Nonfiction | 17.22% |
| Technology | Nonfiction | 17.12% |
| Parenting/Child Guidance | Nonfiction | 16.56% |
| Young Adult | Nonfiction | 16.46% |
| Dating/Relationship/Sex | Nonfiction | 16.18% |
| Contemporary | Fiction | 15.99% |
| Self-Help/Personal Development | Nonfiction | 15.99% |
| Graphic Novel | Fiction | 15.80% |
| Travel | Nonfiction | 15.62% |
| Mind/Body/Spirit | Nonfiction | 15.52% |
| Art | Nonfiction | 14.77% |
| Women’s Issues | Nonfiction | 14.77% |
| Ethnic Fiction | Fiction | 14.58% |
| Gay/Lesbian Fiction | Fiction | 14.58% |
| Film/Entertainment | Nonfiction | 14.49% |
| Horror | Fiction | 14.39% |
| Ethnic | Nonfiction | 14.02% |
| True Crime | Nonfiction | 14.02% |
| Humor Fiction | Fiction | 13.83% |
| Middle Grade | Nonfiction | 13.17% |
| Nature | Nonfiction | 10.91% |
| Reference | Nonfiction | 10.44% |
| Gay/Lesbian | Nonfiction | 10.35% |
| Music | Nonfiction | 10.16% |
| Family Saga | Fiction | 10.07% |
| How-To | Nonfiction | 10.07% |
| Photography | Nonfiction | 9.88% |
| Celebrity | Nonfiction | 9.60% |
| Environment | Nonfiction | 9.03% |
| Medical/Medicine | Nonfiction | 7.81% |
| Magical Realism | Fiction | 7.34% |
| Christian | Nonfiction | 7.15% |
| Fitness | Nonfiction | 6.87% |
| New Adult | Fiction | 6.59% |
| Gift/Novelty | Nonfiction | 6.59% |
| Upmarket | Nonfiction | 6.40% |
| Religious | Fiction | 6.30% |
| Diet/Nutrition | Nonfiction | 6.21% |
| Action/Adventure | Fiction | 6.02% |
| Family | Nonfiction | 6.02% |
| Military/War | Nonfiction | 6.02% |
| Chapter Book | Fiction | 5.93% |
| Inspiration | Nonfiction | 5.64% |
| Satire | Fiction | 5.55% |
| Gardening | Nonfiction | 5.46% |
| Christian Fiction | Fiction | 5.27% |
| True Adventure | Nonfiction | 5.17% |
| Chick Lit | Fiction | 4.99% |
| Animals/Pets | Nonfiction | 4.89% |
| Autobiography | Nonfiction | 4.89% |
| Computers | Nonfiction | 4.80% |
| Design | Nonfiction | 4.80% |
| Inspirational Fiction | Fiction | 4.23% |
| Short Story Collection | Fiction | 4.23% |
| Mainstream | Fiction | 3.86% |
| Paranormal | Fiction | 3.67% |
| Prescriptive | Nonfiction | 3.48% |
| Education | Nonfiction | 3.39% |
| Economics | Nonfiction | 3.20% |
| Sports Fiction | Fiction | 3.01% |
| Investigative | Nonfiction | 2.92% |
| Crafts | Nonfiction | 2.45% |
| Western | Fiction | 2.16% |
| Erotica | Fiction | 1.79% |
| Government | Nonfiction | 1.79% |
| New Age | Nonfiction | 1.79% |
| Practical | Nonfiction | 1.79% |
| Espionage/Military | Fiction | 1.69% |
| Philosophy | Nonfiction | 1.69% |
| Law | Nonfiction | 1.51% |
| Beauty/Fashion/Style | Nonfiction | 1.41% |
| Architecture | Nonfiction | 0.85% |
| Dystopian | Fiction | 0.75% |
| Glitz | Fiction | 0.38% |
| 20- and 30-Somethings | Nonfiction | 0.19% |
Literary agent demographics
The literary agent profession is predominantly white, even though some trends toward more diversity is evident over the last couple of years:
- 83.1% of literary agents in the United States are white as of 2023.
- While white agents still dominate the market, their share in the industry is 5.57% smaller compared to 2021, when over 88% of literary agents were white.
- Agents of Latin origin account for 6.4% of total literary agents, which is a 36.17% growth compared to 2021.
- Literary agents of Asian origin account for 5% of all agents, a 233% growth compared to 1.5% in 2021.
- 4.6% of literary agents in the US are multiracial, while 4.1% are Black. Both groups increased their share in the industry by 17%.
| Literary agents’ race/ethnicity | 2021 share | 2023 share | Change |
| White | 88.00% | 83.10% | -5.57% |
| Latin | 4.70% | 6.40% | 36.17% |
| Asian | 1.50% | 5.00% | 233.33% |
| Multiracial | 3.90% | 4.60% | 17.95% |
| Black | 3.50% | 4.10% | 17.14% |
| Other/prefer not to say | 1.60% | 3.00% | 87.50% |
| Middle Eastern | 1.60% | 2.30% | 43.75% |
- Over 82.10% of literary agents are women, an increase from 2021 when around 76% of agents were women.
- Men account for 14% of all literary agents as of 2023, a drop from 2021.
- 2.8% of literary agents declare as nonbinary as of 2023. Among agents younger than 40, nonbinary agents increased their share by more than 100% and now account for 7% of all agents in the group.
- The largest age group among literary agents in the US is between 30 and 40 years old as of 2023.
- Compared to 2021, literary agents became younger, as agents between 40 and 50 years of age constituted the largest age group in the industry.
| Gender | Share |
| Male | 14% |
| Female | 82.10% |
| Nonbinary | 2.80% |
| Prefer not to say | 1% |
What are the odds of getting a literary agent?
- Literary agents usually represent between 3 and 6 new authors annually.
- Agents are able to process around 1,500 queries per month.
- From these 1,500 queries, agents usually accept one author at most. Usually, it’s one author per 2 months.
- This means that there are between 1 in 3,000 and 1 in 6,000 chances to get picked up by the literary agent.
- Most literary agents reject 95% of all submissions due to the book not meeting the required standards.
- Among the 5% that are taken into consideration, around 80% get rejected.
- This means that literary agents decide to pick up 1% of the submissions they receive from the authors.
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How much are literary agents making per year?
- 10% of literary agents earn less than $25,000 per year as of 2023. This is 43% more compared to 7% of agents receiving less than $25k in 2021.
- An additional 18.20% of agents earn between $25,000 and $50,000 per year, and 31.1% receive between $50,000 and $100,000 annually.
- Overall, 59.3% of literary agents will earn under $100,000 in 2023.
- On the other hand, only 11% of literary agents earn between $150,000 and $250,000 per year as of 2023, a drop from 13.7% in 2021.
- There’s also an increased share of the highest-earning agents, with 13.40% receiving over $250,000 annually as of 2023, a 15% increase from 11.70% in 2021.
| Annual income | 2021 | 2023 | Change |
| Under $25,0000 | 7.00% | 10.00% | 43% |
| Between $25,000 and $50,000 | 15.60% | 18.20% | 17% |
| Between $50,000 and $100,000 | 23.00% | 31.10% | 35% |
| Between $100,000 and $150,000 | 10.20% | 13.90% | 36% |
| Between $150,000 and $200,000 | 8.20% | 5.30% | -35% |
| Between $200,000 and $250,000 | 5.50% | 5.70% | 4% |
| Over $250,000 | 11.70% | 13.40% | 15% |
| Don’t want to share | 18.80% | 2.40% |
