Do Literary Agents have a limit?

Question

Hi! It's pretty common knowledge that literary agents don't get paid until their client gets their book published. However, what happens to those who have a literary agent, yet no publisher is interested in their book? Does the agent have a time limit? For example, they will only work for two months with the client unless the client gets published? Sorry, I know this is confusing. Thank you for any answers! :)

Answer 1

If the agent thinks your novel is worthy he will spend a long time trying to interest a publisher, but in the long run, it is entirely up to him.

Answer 2

An agent won't take on a client if they really think they can get their work published-it's not worth their time and effort otherwise.

But they're likely to spend a lot longer than two months on it. It can take many, many months for a novel to work it's way through in-house procedures within some literary agents, before it's presented to any publishers.

Answer 3

Usually, you sign a contract with an agent that they will represent you for x amount of time. If the time has elapsed, you can re-sign with the agent, or look for a new one.