How many clients does a literary agent *actually* have?
a question everyone asks + signing new clients in 2026
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Dear Not So Secret Agent readers,
As this year comes to a close, I can’t help but feel flooded by all the lists and round-ups. In the spirit of self-care, I just can’t bring myself to add to the listicle mania. Instead I decided to give you a window into the end-of-year calls that spark much of my year end reflections.
Many of my recent calls have been with clients planning to send me proposals in 2026. Others have been with a mix of people I’m scouting or who are looking for representation in the new year.
***Not So Secret Agent sidenote: Check out this post if you’re curious about how I sign new clients.***
One singular question almost always comes up during these conversations: How many clients do you actually have?
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you probably know my canned answer for most publishing questions is… “It depends!!” However, on these calls I do find myself repeating the same explanation over and over, so I thought it might be of interest to those of you looking for an agent or wondering how your current agent juggles it all.
My client list boils down to 3 categories.
Highly Active: between 15-50 at any given time. This is a mix of proposals in the works or clients I am waiting on to be ready to write their next book. I know you’re thinking, “But Sally, that’s a huge range!” You’re totally right. Read the next category. 😊
Active Sleepers: in the 50-125ish range, depending. These are clients who could become active at any time. They might contact me with new ideas at any moment and/or they are on the forefront of my mind for the various opportunities and projects that constantly pop up.
Legacy client list - hundreds of clients and thousands of titles. This means that, as an agency, we are working on their behalf for royalty statement processing, out of print questions, publishing industry news dissemination, etc. They also could pop up at any time! Whether we’ve been in touch in the past few years or not, I am responsible for responding to their queries, navigating questions or opportunities they’re curious about, or working on their behalf as their agent of record.
These activity categories are just general guideposts; no client stays in their active or inactive lane. The nature of book publishing ebbs and flows, and that fluidity means that when certain clients become more dormant, others will pop up raring to go (you know who you are – I’m so excited!).
My capacity for taking on new clients follows a similar ebb and flow.
As I’m talking with clients and thinking about what’s percolating for the year ahead, I’m not only accounting for my capacity for the prospective projects I know about. I am also keeping in mind the unforeseen opportunities that will inevitably (and excitedly) present themselves. Among those opportunities are new clients I might want to sign.
Here are just a few of the ways that could happen:
An editor making an introduction between me and someone seeking an agent
A talent manager pitching me one of their clients who is book-ready but may not have a full working proposal yet
Me running into someone at an event or elsewhere in the world and I am taken in by their project or presence
A current client connecting me with a friend or peer who wants to write a book
But Not So Secret Agent Sally, does this mean you won’t have time to look at my proposal? Should I still pitch it in the new year?
Yes, you should! Please make sure you follow my submission guidelines.
OMG Sally, there’s no way you’re going to have the time and energy for me. You couldn’t possibly!
Thanks for your concern, but that’s my call, not yours. Plus, I love me a great idea or a well-done proposal!
Let’s be clear though. While I’m excited for people to pitch me, it is still VERY difficult to land an agent, and I do not take on many new clients each year.
I do not enter a new year planning to sign a certain number of new people. I am fortunate (and grateful) to already have an incredibly full and robust client list. I prefer to let serendipity take its course.
But for those of you who are data driven (Hey, I see you, I love info too!), I signed seven eight (added one more since I drafted this newsletter!) new clients in 2025. Alongside that, four projects/clients didn’t come to fruition for various reasons.
Translation: They’re no longer represented by the agency.
Double translation: They either terminated representation with me or I terminated with them.
***Not So Secret Agent sidenote: Though untangling representation is rare, it does happen. It is often hard and/or sad, but we’re all human and not everything always works out the way we think it will.***
As a highly accessible agent even when I don’t represent people (*cough cough* this newsletter), I cross paths with prospective clients all the time. Beyond the networking avenues in the list above, here are even more ways that happens:
Queries
Exploratory calls
DMs in my Instagram
Questions in my How to be a Cookbook Author Facebook group
Formal one-hour consults (this is reserved for those not seeking or not ready for representation by me)
All told, I field upwards of 500 inbound query-type communication per year (yowzah, maybe I should examine how I spend my time-- it turns out I love what I do! 😊), and in 2025, I only signed eight new clients. That should give you an idea of how difficult it is to land an agent.
***Not So Secret Agent sidenote: For even more perspective, I am a HIGHLY specialized nonfiction literary agent. Many of my colleagues get WAAAAAAY more queries per year than I do. We’re talking 5,000+ in some cases!***
Signing with an agent is both an art and science.
I don’t know if it’s encouraging, terrifying, or motivating for you (and me!) that I won’t enter 2026 with a concrete plan for new clients, but that’s the reality over here.
Wishing you a healthy, safe, and restorative holiday stretch,
~Sally~
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Have I told you I consider myself the luckiest person in the world?
Sally, this is so interesting to read! As always, I’m so impressed by how much you manage to do and how open you are with sharing resources. Thank you!