How are agents compensated?
Agents generally receive a commission on the sales of authors’ works. Commissions may differ based upon the type of rights being sold. For example, most agents receive a 15% or 20% commission on sales of rights in the United States, its territories and possessions, and 25% for all other sales throughout the world. However, some agents charge a different percentage, say 20% on sales involving specialist sub-agents within the United States, or may charge less, say 10% for sales that may be governed by certain agreements, such as the Writers Guild of America standard agreement.
