How to Find a Literary Agent for Your Cookbook

So you love to write. You love to cook. You've combined your two loves and written a cookbook. Now that it's written, you may be wondering what to do next. Self-publishing requires a huge investment in time and money, and is a crap-shoot at best. You need to get the book out to legitimate publishing companies, but if this is your first book, you may be at a loss on who will publish your book and how to find them. That is where a literary agent comes into play.

A literary agent is a person who will work on behalf of authors in getting a book to the proper publishers and negotiating a contract with those publishers for your work. An agent is your advocate and works directly for you. Your agent should be communicating with you regularly and asking you about what is acceptable and what is not. The agent will work for a fee that is usually a percentage of the contract that you receive from a publisher.

Finding an agent can be just as difficult as finding a publisher, but once you find one, it will make the selling of your book and the contract negotiations that much smoother, because the agent knows all the ins and outs of the business.

The first step in finding an agent is to prepare a proposal. The proposal should overview the book and provide an outline as well as a chapter or excerpt. You should also tell in your proposal why your book is unique, different, and marketable. Once you have your proposal you are ready to find your agent.

One of the best ways to find an agent is online. First go to the IACP, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (NOT the International Association of Chiefs of Police.) Also, the Literary Market Place directory in print or online. Another good idea is to go to the library or bookstore and look at some recent cookbooks. Many cookbooks will have an acknowledgment page that will list the agent they used. Find a few of those agents and look them up online. Most will have some sort of online presence.

Once you have an agent that has accepted your cookbook, only time will tell what may be in store for you. As I mentioned earlier, your agent should be communicating with you regularly on the status of your book. If not, you may need to find a different agent. Once an agent is in negotiations with a publisher, they should be updating you weekly at the very least. When an acceptable contract has been hammered out, you will have to wait another 6-8 weeks for your first check.

An agent can make all the difference in the world, especially for cookbooks as many publishers will not accept a cookbook without an agent. Once you find one, make sure they are talking with you. If anyone can sell your book, it is a good agent.