The Perfect Literary Agent Resume Writing Tips
Do you want to apply for a Literary Agent position to help you get closer to your career goals? Applying for jobs on Seek, LinkedIn, and other job boards can be a time-consuming process, however, to streamline the process, you can ensure your resume writing helps you to stand out from the crowd, and your online profile helps you to get an interview!
If a recruiter or hiring manager are looking for a Literary Agent, they are searching for specific transferable skills. With less than ten people being interviewed for the job and hundreds of people, just like you, applying, The Perfect Resume team have created Resume Writing Tips to help you stand out from the others.
What do recruiters look for in a Literary Agent resume or an online profile?
Tailoring your resume to a Literary Agent position is mandatory today to ensure that your application will pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). In doing so, your resume will be read by the prospective employer. Then, fingers crossed, you will be shortlisted as a potential candidate and be called for not one, but multiple job interviews!
Firstly, before you apply to be a Literary Agent, you need to be acquainted with what a Literary Agent does!
Literary Agents handle the pitch of authors' written works to suitable book publishers as well as television and film producers. They determine whether manuscripts have substantial market potential, negotiate contracts on behalf of authors, and guide authors through the publishing process.
Hiring Managers are looking for a driven and experienced Literary Agent to assist in acting as the main point of contact between authors and publishers, guiding authors through the publishing process, and taking the necessary steps to protect authors' interests.
To be successful as a Literary Agent, you should have knowledge of necessary Advertising, Arts, & Media procedures, be open to learning, and have strong communication skills. Ultimately, a high performing Literary Agent should be able to achieve trends in the publishing industry and be able to manage the careers of both new and existing authors effectively.
Knowing this, your resume and online profile should include the hard and soft skills that the recruiter or hiring manager is looking for in a candidate.
The Literary Agent position description template will also contain pivotal information about what the candidate will need to do daily. Such as:
• Developing and sustaining long-lasting relationships with Editors, Publishers, and Authors.
• Sorting through query letters to identify literary talent.
• Requesting sample chapters or complete manuscripts from promising Authors.
• Reading Authors' manuscripts to determine whether they have substantial market potential.
• Responding to rejected queries by sending form letters to the respective Authors.
• Working directly with Authors to suggest necessary changes to their manuscripts and to ensure that their manuscripts are ready to be submitted to Publishers.
• Pitching Authors’ manuscripts to suitable publishing houses.
• Negotiating favorable publishing deals on behalf of Authors.
• Offering Authors guidance, support, and encouragement.
You will also have some requirements and personal attributes that you will need to demonstrate in your resume to ensure your potential employer will take your application seriously, such as:
• Bachelor’s degree in English language or literature, journalism, or a related field is preferred.
• Proven experience working as a literary agent.
• Sound knowledge of the publishing industry.
• Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications.
• The ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong networking and negotiation skills.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• Exceptional reading, writing, and editing skills.
• Effective communication skills.
You may also want to do some industry research to find out what other companies want in their Literary Agents.