Literary Agents a Writers Introduction Author:John F Baker Agents are arguably the most powerful individuals in the publishing industry. For writers, choosing the right agent for can mean the difference between not getting published at all and getting a seven-figure advance that is the talk of the literary world.John F. Baker, the editorial director of Publishers Weekly, introduces aspiring authors to... more » the world of agents: how they operate, who they choose to represent, what areas they specialize in, what they think of publishing today, what writers can do to get themselves noticed, and much much more. From the famous to the infamous, A Writer's Guide to the Top Literary Agents gives readers the inside story of some of the most respected and influential names in the business today, from Georges Borchardt and Sandra Dijkstra to John Brockman and Molly Friedrich. It helps writers learn the role of agents, understand their importance in book publishing, and identify the characteristics of a good agent/author relationship. No other book gives the in-depth look at agents that this book does.« less