Should I seek an Australian agent?

[Thomas Greenbank]

Hi, Everyone. Thanks for checking out this post.
I'm an Australian author of one self-pubbed novel and two more in different stages of completion. I'd really like to find an agent who might help me snag a trad publishing deal. I know. We all want that, right?
My question here is: Should I pitch to Aussie agents only? Is there a list of agents who specialise in Aussie books? I haven't been able to find one.
Thanks in anticipation.
Thomas.

 

[Unimportant]

It might help to work at this backwards: If you were to query agents, what would your comp titles be? --> which presses published those books? --> which agents routinely sell books in your genre to those presses? --> where are those agents located?

Also, Australian Literary Agents Association.

 

[be frank]

Hi, Everyone. Thanks for checking out this post.
I'm an Australian author of one self-pubbed novel and two more in different stages of completion. I'd really like to find an agent who might help me snag a trad publishing deal. I know. We all want that, right?
My question here is: Should I pitch to Aussie agents only? Is there a list of agents who specialise in Aussie books? I haven't been able to find one.
Thanks in anticipation.
Thomas.

Hi Thomas.

One reason you might be struggling is that lit agents aren't really a thing in Aussie publishing -- certainly not like they are in the UK and US industries. Last time I checked, most Aus publishers simply accept direct submissions without using an agent as an intermediary (though admittedly, it's been a few years since I looked into it!). IIRC, they just have periodic open windows for submitting work for consideration.

Having said that, there certainly are some Australian agents (who solely work within the Aus market) floating around, but there's far fewer of them and far less information about them/their reputations/sale histories than there is about overseas agents, so I have no clue what their competency is like or even what value they bring since you can submit yourself directly (aside from their contract and negotiation expertise... assuming they bring any). There are also some Australian-based agents who work for US and UK lit agencies. There are also UK and US agents who are comfortable subbing to Australia (for example, my US agency uses a co-agent to submit into 'foreign' markets like Australia). But it depends what kind of books you write and where you want to sell (for example are you only interested in the Aus market or would you ideally like to sell your books overseas, too?).

Basically, is there a reason you're only looking at Australian agents rather than querying internationally? It's not unusual for Australian writers to have agents not based here!

 

[Thomas Greenbank]

Hi Thomas.

One reason you might be struggling is that lit agents aren't really a thing in Aussie publishing -- certainly not like they are in the UK and US industries. Last time I checked, most Aus publishers simply accept direct submissions without using an agent as an intermediary (though admittedly, it's been a few years since I looked into it!). IIRC, they just have periodic open windows for submitting work for consideration.

Having said that, there certainly are some Australian agents (who solely work within the Aus market) floating around, but there's far fewer of them and far less information about them/their reputations/sale histories than there is about overseas agents, so I have no clue what their competency is like or even what value they bring since you can submit yourself directly (aside from their contract and negotiation expertise... assuming they bring any). There are also some Australian-based agents who work for US and UK lit agencies. There are also UK and US agents who are comfortable subbing to Australia (for example, my US agency uses a co-agent to submit into 'foreign' markets like Australia). But it depends what kind of books you write and where you want to sell (for example are you only interested in the Aus market or would you ideally like to sell your books overseas, too?).

Basically, is there a reason you're only looking at Australian agents rather than querying internationally? It's not unusual for Australian writers to have agents not based here!

Thanks for the detailed input.
Yes, I know that here in Oz it's not unusual to query direct to publishers. I'm just thinking I might have a better chance of being taken seriously if I have an agent.
I have one self-pubbed title but I'm really hoping to snag a deal for my WIP. Both are very Australian stories with dinkum Aussie characters (without being Bazza McKenzieish) That's not to say they won't be well-received in the US or elsewhere. My best reviews for the first book came from the US.
Since posting here I have found some OZ agents and I'm working on tweaking my submissions as we speak. (or write)

 

[Janine R]

Hi, Everyone. Thanks for checking out this post.
I'm an Australian author of one self-pubbed novel and two more in different stages of completion. I'd really like to find an agent who might help me snag a trad publishing deal. I know. We all want that, right?
My question here is: Should I pitch to Aussie agents only? Is there a list of agents who specialise in Aussie books? I haven't been able to find one.
Thanks in anticipation.
Thomas.

According to QueryTracker 4 agents show up with Curtis Brown Australia and one with Australia Literary Management.

 

[Thomas Greenbank]

It might help to work at this backwards: If you were to query agents, what would your comp titles be? --> which presses published those books? --> which agents routinely sell books in your genre to those presses? --> where are those agents located?

Also, Australian Literary Agents Association.

Thanks for your input. Sage advice.

 

[Thomas Greenbank]

According to QueryTracker 4 agents show up with Curtis Brown Australia and one with Australia Literary Management.

Actually, I did look at that list just minutes ago. Fiona Inglis from Curtis Brown is Liane Moriarty's agent—not that that's really relevant, I guess. Our genres and styles are vastly different.
Thanks for chiming in.

 

[mccardey]

There are some excellent Aussie agents out there, and most of the good ones are more than capable of securing international deals. (There are also good reasons for looking specifically at Australian agencies - if, say, your work is intrinsically Australian in voice or place, it can be easier to get publication here than overseas.)

Good Australian agents tend to either co-Agent with overseas people, or have great links with overseas publishing houses.

As Unim suggests, I'd start by checking out ALAA and the Australian Society of Authors - but also, have a look at the Acknowledgements pages of recent Australian books in your genre. Most people thank their agents, and it's a good place to start.

Do remember to check both agents and publishers on our Bewares and Recommendations pages. There are some sharks out there, and you don't want to get taken if you can avoid it.