Literary Agents

Literary agents generally earn between $20,000 and $60,000 annually, with a rare few making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Because independent agents take a percentage of their clients' earnings (4 to 20 percent), their livelihoods are contingent upon the success of their clients, which is in turn contingent on the agents' ability to promote talent. Some beginning agents can go as long as a year without making any money at all, but, if at the end of that time, their clients begin to gain notice, the agents' investment of time may well pay off.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes earned a median salary of $66,040 a year in May 2018. The highest paid 25 percent earned $187,600 or more, while the lowest paid 10 percent earned $33,440 or less. Agency assistants typically earn lower salaries than agents. Sometimes agency staffers working on commission actually can earn more money than their bosses.

Benefits for salaried workers include vacation and sick time, health, and sometimes dental, insurance, and pension or 401(k) plans. Self-employed literary agents must provide their own benefits.