Do Agents Charge a Fee?

"Preston, good job on the blog. Here's my question. Do agents charge a fee for reading? Young writer."

Thanks for the question, young writer. No. From my experience agents do not charge a fee. Some of the smaller houses may charge a small sum at the beginning for postage and even this is rare.

Agents make their money in the commission they earn from your book (about 15%). If an agent feels that he/she can make money from your book, then they will represent you. If they feel they cannot make a sale from your book, then they will not sign you.

Think about it. If an agent could make $100 for reading your book, he/she would never really need to make a sale. Why? There are so many people out there with books . . . all the agent has to do is sign, say, 500 people at $100 a pop, and he/she has just earned fifty grand, and believe me with the number of unpublished writers out there it would be a piece of cake to sign 500 clients.

Trying to sell their books would not seem a very profitable venture compared to that easy hundred.

Thanks,

Preston