When no publisher is ready to accept your manuscript, you might solicit a literary agent to represent your work. Literary agents present manuscripts with great potential to the publishers. The primary role of a literary agent is to sell books and negotiate contracts. However, your literary agent can also be your biggest motivator, editor, and supporter.

History of literary agents

There was a time in Victorian England when literature and publishing was at its peak. Inevitably, someone had to meet the demands of the unprecedented growth of emerging authors and new publishers. This was when the new role of an agent between the writers and the publishers began to develop. In the years that followed, they proved valuable for the writers as well as the publishers.

Much like today, writers in the late 19th century didn’t want to engage in the business part of writing. They only wanted to focus completely on writing without anything else bothering them. So, the presence of literary agents made life a lot more easier for writers, especially the newer ones.

Initially, the publishers used to despise the literary agents. Over a period of time, everything changed in the publishing world. Today, many publishers have made it mandatory for an author to be represented by a literary agent.

Functions of literary agents

Besides being a good friend and a guide for budding writers, the literary agents perform several functions. Here are some of them:

1. Seeking out new literary works

Many of the literary agents handle multiple projects at a time. The moment they’re done with one, they pick up another one. In order to keep their business going, these agents are always seeking new works. They may use social media channels like Twitter or respond to emails and letters from new writers.

2. Getting the manuscripts ready for submissions

Once your literary agent selects your manuscript, he or she might request certain edits or changes. This is to increase the chances of the manuscript getting accepted by the publisher. The best literary agents always know what’s happening in the contemporary book market.

They know what’s selling and what’s not. For this reason, they always want to represent the manuscripts that carry the highest potential. So, if your literary agent wants certain changes, it is to increase your manuscript’s chances of success.

3. Representing writers and negotiating with publishers

In recent times, most of the book publishers accept solicitation only from literary agents. So, it’s obvious that they represent the writers and negotiate the best deal with the publishers for them. Today, many authors rely on their agents for their book publishing and legal expertise.

You need to be a successful author in order to get a book contract with one of the reputed publishers. If you’re not, all the big publishing companies and even some indie publishers won’t accept your manuscript directly. You’ll have to reach them through a literary agent.

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Every literary magazine will have its own editorial focus and a unique style. If you’re a new writer, you must certainly try to get a piece of your work in a literary magazine. Here are some of the renowned Texas-based literary magazines:

1. The First Line

Each story in the magazine begins with the same first line. The purpose is to jumpstart the writers’ imagination and help them overcome the block of a blank page. This quarterly magazine is based in Plano, Texas. It was founded by Jeff Adams, David LaBounty, and Robin LaBounty in the year 1999. Each issue of the magazine consists of the best short stories having no restrictions on style or genre.

These stories offer an exercise in creativity for writers. They also allow readers to know how many different directions writers can take after starting from the same place. Besides this, The First Line also has a forum for discussing favorite lines in literature. The discussions happen through personal or academic essays.

2. American Short Fiction

Founded in 1991, American Short Fiction seeks out stories that keep the readers hooked. These stories must take a different route, stretching the readers between recognition and surprise. This magazine based in Austin has a national circulation and publishes short fiction, an occasional novella, and novel excerpts. It also strives to publish emerging as well as established contemporary writers.

The magazine sponsors two short fiction contests every year. One of them is the Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize, which had ZZ Packer as the judge in 2018. The second one is the American Short(er) Fiction Prize. In addition to these two contests, the magazine also sponsors online workshops and a reading series in Austin.

3. The Southwest Review

Formerly known as the Texas Review, this literary magazine is based in Dallas, Texas. If you’re a writer based in Dallas, you can find it on the Southern Methodist University campus. The Southwest Review is the third oldest literary quarterly in the country. It began in 1915 at the University of Texas. During the year 1924, it went to the Southern Methodist University.

This was possible because of the efforts of George Bond and Jay B. Hubbell. They had served as the joint editors of the magazine until 1927. In 2005, Willard Spiegelman was honored with the PEN/Nora Magid Award for Magazine Editing. He has been the editor of the magazine since 1984.

4. Concho River Review

This magazine was founded in the year 1987 by Terry Dalrymple. Based in the San Angelo city of Texas, Concho River Review publishes short stories, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and creative non-fiction. The book reviews in this magazine come from the Southwestern authors and discuss Southwestern themes.

An interview with the writer featured at the Angelo State University Writers Conference appears in the fall issue. Since the conference’s inception, interviews with featured writers have been a regular component of the magazine. The Spring 2013 issue featured the interview of the 2012 Texas Poet Laureate, Jan Seale.

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Such festivals also have some exciting events, such as contests, debates, book signings, and kids’ activities. If you wish to attend any of these events, you must make all the inquiries ahead of your visit. Now, let’s take a look at some of the best book festivals in the United States:

1. Boston Book Festival

This event falls in October in Boston’s popular shopping and dining destination, Back Bay. This is a free annual book festival, which is organized by a non-profit group of the same name. The group was founded in the year 2009 with the intention to promote a culture of reading. It also includes speaker presentations in Back Bay Events Center, Boston Public Library, and other locations.

Copley Square hosts the street festival and features live activities for the participants and their families. Boston Book Festival also has writing contests and workshops, programs for kids, and many other activities. This book festival is a culmination of literary events happening throughout the year.

2. Bay Area Book Festival

This book festival hosts literary sessions that present some of the leading authors from different parts of the world. It was established in 2015 and also includes an outdoor fair that feature a large number of literary exhibitors. The Bay Area Book Festival is among the major literary events of the world. It goes on for two days every year in Berkeley, California.

The book festival also includes events for kids, writing contests, and a mini film festival. It transforms the lively downtown of the city into a literary heaven for two days. Writers, readers, creators, and thinkers of all age groups and interests can also meet kindred spirits at the event.

3. Texas Book Festival

The Texas Book Festival was established by Margaret Farabee and Laura Bush in the year 1995. Its main purpose was to benefit the public library system of Texas. The intention was also to honor the authors of the state and to promote reading. It attracts major bestselling authors and award-winners of the country.

The focus is more on the nationally-known writers.

One of the major book festivals in the United States, it also hosts over 250 authors annually. More than 40,000 individuals attend this festival. Every year, one of the writers gets the ‘Bookend Award’.

This is for outstanding contribution to the literature of this American state. The Texas Book Festival also hosts book signings, author readings, panel discussions, presentations, and many other activities.

4. Summer Words

Summer Words is an annual six-day literary festival of Aspen, Colorado. It is an event of Aspen Words and Aspen Institute. This is among the most respected literary events and writing conferences in the United States. Aspiring authors can attend advanced workshops with renowned authors to develop a manuscript.

They can also attend introductory workshops to improve their craft of writing. Besides, they can also meet editors and literary agents and attend public panel discussions. Readings, receptions, and the Aspen Words Annual Benefit Dinner happen in the evenings.

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Their readers also get the chance to engage with them at these events. Book festivals provide authors and publishing professionals a platform to bring new books to the readers. This helps the authors grow their fan base and increase book sales. Here are some of the things that you’ll come across at the book festivals:

1. Lots of books

Literary festivals or book festivals are the perfect venues for you to be surrounded by plenty of books. You get to explore all the different kinds of books for the entire day. There’s no one at the event to stop you from drooling over all those books. These events are literary heavens that you might’ve always wanted to be in.

2. Exotic venues

Such events are usually held at exotic locations that have a rich cultural history or some literary importance. It gives you the opportunity to explore some interesting places near the venue where the event is being held. You get to know the local culture and enjoy some delicious delicacies of the area. This makes your visit to the book festival truly unforgettable.

3. Book discussions

When you’re at a book festival, you have plenty of opportunities to discuss characters and plots of books. You might also get into long discussions while defending a book or a character that’s your favorite. Besides, you might also realize that the book you want to read is not as good as it was in your imagination.

4. Renowned authors

Some of the famous authors might be present at the literary festival you’re attending. This would be a great chance for you to interact with them. You can talk to them, get into discussions on their books, and even get some inside information. Above all, you can also take some selfies with them and proudly share the snaps with your friends.

5. Book discounts

There’s almost a guarantee of some fabulous discounts on books at the book festivals. You find it hard to resist yourself from shopping for books as you get some unbelievable discounts. Even if you’ve never been a shopaholic, this might be the event where you’ll become one!

6. A literary atmosphere

Book festivals are the events that people associated with the world of literature mostly attend. So, you’ll find yourself completely in a literary world while you’re at the event. You’ll have authors, publishers, booksellers, literary agents, and book lovers under one roof. What you hear the most at such events is about books in some way or the other.

7. Paperback and hardcover books

You might be one of the Gen Z who always use Kindle to read books. Well, the book festivals give you the opportunity to experience how paperback and hardcover books look and feel like. If you’ve read a paperback or a hardcover book long back, this will invoke a feeling of nostalgia. You’ll surely enjoy the scent of the paper and wouldn’t want to let go of the book.

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They can help you widen your knowledge about gambling. Some of them also have intriguing tales about famous gamblers. Here, we’ve listed some must-read books for gambling enthusiasts that would help them understand casinos and gambling. Want put theory into practice? Test real money online casino on red dog casino, it’s one of the best platform in the US.

1. Bringing Down the House

This book is based on a true story about a professor and his students. They decide to develop a strategy that would help them win big in a casino establishment. This M.I.T. blackjack team won nearly $10 million with the help of their brilliant ‘spotting’ strategy. It allowed them to predict when the decks were ready and the cards were to be counted.

This is one of the best books on gambling ever, as it offers scientific evidence mixed with entertaining stories. While writing this book, author Ben Mezrich stayed true to the authentic story. If you wish to know how these geniuses managed to beat the house, grab a copy of this book.

2. Fortune’s Formula

The scientists John L. Kelly Jr. and Claude Shannon from Bell Labs decided to get rich quick in 1956. They began exploring several options, such as stock investing, gambling, and information theory. While doing so, they created the ‘Kelly criterion’, popularly known as the Fortune’s Formula. Both these scientists tested their Fortune’s Formula on everything they could.

This included the roulette and blackjack games in Las Vegas casinos and the Wall Street. They ended up winning every single time. Their strategy was picked up by the legendary investor, Warren Buffet. Author William Poundstone gives you some valuable insights on this formula in his book. So, whether you play casino games or bet on sports, Fortune’s Formula is surely a book you must read.

3. The Biggest Bluff

A book that explores a gambler’s psyche, The Biggest Bluff comes from author and psychologist Maria Konnikova. It provides an insight into how she used her knowledge of psychology to predict human behavior. Konnikova focused specifically on the game of poker.

She just didn’t write an account of what it is to be a poker player. She also proved that getting a deeper understanding of the game was possible. This is why she went on to win more than $311,000. She still visits casinos and plays live poker games. She has also continued working as a psychologist at the same time, writing and researching on the subject.

Konnikova just keeps poker on the side as a hobby. You’ll find this deeply compelling book quite interesting. It is about how the author went on to become one of the most feared women in poker.

4. Soccernomics

In this book, author Simon Kuper argued that each sports betting event must be studied individually. He also gave a suggestion to establish a model on the basis of the study. Although the book doesn’t provide easy solutions, it puts forward an excellent argument.

Kuper shows how observing certain events in a game in a specific season can lead to a successful strategy. However, this is with regards to sports betting. This book got some futures right quite successfully. Kuper had mentioned that his wife had ended up outscoring him without a deeper understanding of soccer betting.

She was able to achieve this without any scientific knowledge as well. Soccernomics is a little-known book by Kuper. After observing the 2018 World Cup, he intended to devise a pattern. This was to help him win more in sports betting.

5. The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told

Mark Paul recounted the story of a racehorse through this book. The story of this book has been described as ‘crazier than fiction’. It narrates the tale of three young men who believed that a three-year-old racehorse could be a winner. The horse went on to achieve a historic win in the 1988 Kentucky Derby. Many of the gamblers had chosen to stake against her.

The three gamblers had placed their bet with a suspected Mexican drug cartel. They then had to claim their prize while trying to stay alive. The three men are also arrested by the Border Patrol in this process. This book has some exceptional storytelling by Mark Paul and is definitely worth reading.

6. A Man for All Markets

It would be wrong to predicate that personal wealth depends on chance. This is what Edward O. Thorp argues in his book, A Man for All Markets. He proves his point by citing many real-life examples. The book tells an incredible true story of Thorpe, a card-counting mathematics professor. He taught himself to predict stock patterns and count cards in blackjack.

Thorpe then used his understanding of the way these things worked and made a significant sum with this knowledge. This caused such an uproar in the world of casinos that these establishments had to alter the rules. This was the only way to thwart him and the people that he inspired. He then turned his attention to Wall Street and used his mathematical formulas to beat the market.

Thorp has spent a considerable amount of time studying mathematical constants and patterns. As a result, he accumulated a special knowledge that helped him to make the right moves. A Man for All Markets will certainly inspire those who want to try their hand at gambling.

7. Thinking in Bets

This highly-acclaimed book was described as a blueprint of modern investing by The New York Times. The author of this book is Annie Duke, who embarks on a study of the institution of betting. She also offers interesting insights on how you can try and produce reliable outcomes with information that’s not perfect. One of the reviews mentioned that the domains explored were all problematic.

Still, Duke found a way to provide solutions when faced with many possible outcomes. Thinking in Bets examines gambling from various angles like any of the great books on this subject. The lessons that it has for the reader can be applied in many areas as well.

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Sending your novel or a collection of poems to every single publication you know is not advisable at all. It’s simply a wastage of time and efforts. You also need to know what you’ll be getting out of that publication if they select your work. So, here are the three most important things you need to consider before submitting your literary work:

1. Does the publication meet all your requirements?

You must see whether you really like what they publish. Just because a publication is a reputed one doesn’t mean that it will be the right one for you. If you don’t like what they publish, it’s better to look for another one. Especially the one which comes out with the kind of literary works that you like. Next thing to know is whether they’re likely to publish your story or collection of poems.

If your work doesn’t fit the kind of works that they publish, you might be simply wasting your time. Look for publications where your stories or poems will co-exist with everything else harmoniously. The moment you come across such a publication, know it’s the right one for you.

2. Where will your work be published?

There are several possibilities where your literary work will be published. It can be a website, a print magazine, or an ecommerce site such as Amazon. The publisher might also make it available in a print as well as an e-book version. If it’s a website where your work will appear, it will be on a particular page. You might also find it buried deep in a one-page issue.

In case of print magazines, there’s only a limited editorial run. So, these are the things you need to consider along with a few others. Know where your story or collection of poems will be published before the submission. You might want your work to be available only in the e-book format. If this is the case, then don’t send it to a print magazine.

3. How long will the publication take to respond?

Before sending your work it’s always good to know the amount of time a publication typically takes. Waiting for acceptance can be frustrating and this is especially true if it’s a long wait. Most of the well-known publishing houses mention this in their submission guidelines. In case of magazines, you’ll need to turn to a good source of information.

Some of the websites such as Submission Grinder can provide you the right information in this regard. Waiting for more than six months with a 99.9% chance of rejection would be a bad idea. If you’ve come across such a publication, it’s better to move on to another one. Of course, there are certain publications that are worth the wait. However, they’re quite rare.

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Let’s say submit your work to a magazine accepting unsolicited writing. The first thing that they’ll do is look for reasons to reject you. Now, this surely seems quite unfair, but writers have made some fundamental errors in the past which led to this. So, make sure that you don’t make such mistakes.

Choose the right magazine

There are hundreds of publications out there. This makes it absolutely essential to pick the right ones for the submission of your work. If you’ve never sent your work to a publisher before, choose the lesser-known magazines. Although this looks like a good start, do check out their previous issues.

As your works get published in such magazines, you’ll build a good portfolio. This will give you the confidence to send your work to the renowned magazines.

Check for the magazine’s genre or style

Never waste your precious time submitting your works to places where they don’t belong. Every literary magazine will have its own editorial focus and style. Visit the website of each magazine and go through their mission statement and previous issues. See whether your style of writing matches their preferences and ethos.

There are some who may state very clearly that they’re only looking out for a particular genre or style. Believe what they’re saying and move on to a different publication. Never be under the impression that you can change the publishers’ minds with your writing.

Go through the submission guidelines carefully and follow them

It won’t be a good idea to simply collect email addresses of publishers and send them your works. There are certain instructions that the publishers have for writers sending their submissions. All these instructions will be mentioned on the publishers’ websites.

If you don’t follow these instructions, there are high chances of your story not getting read. It is, therefore, absolutely important to follow the submission guidelines. Following them will be a sign of your professionalism. It also gives the impression that you respect the magazine’s publishers.

Submit only completed works

There are many new writers who make the mistake of sending stories that are not yet ready for publishing. They do this in the hope that one of the magazines might give the story a chance. By doing this, they’ll be simply wasting their time. The editors of magazines get a lot of submissions in a day. So, it’s quite unlikely that they’ll spend time reading your story and making changes to it.

This is why it’s very important to send a work that’s complete and reviewed properly. This is a painful process and needs to be done without haste. Your final draft must be polished and make for a good read. If you go through your finished work and see that there’s room for improvements, it isn’t ready.

When sending your work to the magazines, it’s crucial to keep certain things in mind. First is to submit a carefully-prepared draft to one literary magazine. This will be much better than submitting unprepared drafts to many magazines.

It is also essential to prepare yourself for rejections. Getting rejected doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a bad writer. It only means that you’re one of the other writers on their journey.

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This is when they reach out to a publisher. This is mostly done through a literary agent. There are many choices in publishers for writers in Texas. Here are some of the best:

1. Brown Books Publishing Group

Based in Dallas, USA Brown Books Publishing Group is a publisher with an experience of over two decades. This full service publisher offers all the assistance required for writers. Their services include digital services, planning, editing, book design and layout, ghostwriting, marketing, and distribution. With all these services, writers feel as if they’ve got complete control like self-publishing.

If you’re a first-time writer of business, self-help, motivation, Christian books, or children’s books, you should consider this publisher. Instead of taking over the entire creative process, they believe in collaborating with the writer. One thing to remember here is that this company accepts only some selected works of fiction for publication.

2. Henery Press Publishing

Henery Press Publishing has many years of publishing and media experience in the USA. Many of their books have managed to hit the bestseller list on USA Today. An important thing to remember is that they mainly publish mysteries. Another thing worth noting is that they’re not open to unsolicited submissions. Henry Press Publishing only considers works that are represented by a literary agent or referred by a published author.

3. Cinco Puntos Press

This publishing company is especially interested in works focused on the US-Mexico Border Region, Mexico, and the Southwestern Region. It was founded in 1985 by Bobby and Lee Byrd in El Paso. They’re writers themselves. This is why they understand what new writers wanting to publish their book have to go through.

The company doesn’t accept children’s picture books, book ideas, unfinished titles, poetry and manuscripts written entirely in Spanish. Their manuscript submission process is quite interesting. You need to call their acquisition editor to pitch your idea before submitting your manuscript. When they accept your idea, the manuscript submission process begins.

4. Bright Sky Publishing

Formerly called Bright Sky Press, this publisher is located in Houston. Bright Sky Publishing publishes nearly 20 books a year. They like to have authors with a clear creative, marketing, and business plan in mind while submitting their manuscript. As they’re a non-profit publisher, they offer only publishing services in all formats.

To assist you with designing and editing, they have a sister company called Rule 2 Books. The company accepts manuscripts across all genres of non-fiction and fiction. Currently, they’re not considering adult fiction.

5. Eakin Press

This publishing house was established in 1979 as a trade-book publisher by Edwin M. Eakin in Burnet. They began printing titles of fiction, folklore, and non-fiction by 1984 with close to 250 books in print. In 1983, the firm shifted to south-west Austin.

Three decades later, the firm became an imprint of the Wild Horse Media Group. This is the world’s largest publisher of the history and culture of Texas. Currently, the company doesn’t accept fiction and children’s books.

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Book clubs are also great for getting some excellent recommendations for the latest books and authors. You might get an opportunity to meet a few authors and discuss their books as well. Here are some of the immensely popular types of book clubs:

1. Traditional book club

This is a type of book club that has many individuals meeting in person at regular intervals. Usually, such meetings take place every month. The traditional book clubs can also be described as reading groups that meet to discuss a specific book. These gatherings are more personal, as the members get the chance to see each other often.

The popular places to host such reading groups are homes, cafes, bookstores, libraries, or restaurants. You’ll have more control over the choice of books as a member. At these book clubs, a list of suggested titles is prepared. Then, a title for each month is voted from the list.

Alternatively, a member of these groups can also take turns to suggest a book. However, the smaller size of such book clubs limit the views and perspectives that come up during discussions.

2. Library book clubs

Many of the public libraries host a book club, which involves regular discussions. They take place after the members have read the book. A librarian leads the discussion at such book clubs. Copies of the book are made available to check out for the meeting of the group. If the librarian is holding the discussion outside the facility, there are book discussion kits available.

Several copies of the book are available to be loaned out to a patron of the library. The lending period in this case is typically longer. The discussion kits also contain questions or a reading guide. No member of the group is forced to buy a copy of the book.

3. Online book club

In this age of the internet, online book clubs have flourished considerably. They are a type of online discussion forum or group. You can access such book clubs from the comfort of your home once you’re a member. However, they don’t offer the necessary ease during discussions.

4. Discount or commercial book clubs

They’re not reading groups and don’t usually involve discussions. You’ll come across such social aspects only in the traditional book clubs. In discount or commercial book clubs, you can purchase books regularly and at a discount. This is why such book clubs are quite popular. They work better with a certain genre of books. This is because when you know what to expect, you’ll commit to a set number of books every month.

5. Celebrity recommendations book clubs

Such book clubs are not exactly a reading group. They’re a list of recommendations that a celebrity or media personality puts forward. These are individuals whose opinions people respect. So, these book clubs don’t involve discussions of any sort. They’re just a way of obtaining a reading list.

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