Literary agent vs direct sales agent

The differences between literary agents and direct sales agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a literary agent and a direct sales agent. Additionally, a direct sales agent has an average salary of $57,712, which is higher than the $37,482 average annual salary of a literary agent.

The top three skills for a literary agent include fiction, non-fiction and administrative tasks. The most important skills for a direct sales agent are customer service, medicare, and health insurance.

Literary agent vs direct sales agent overview

	Literary Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Yearly salary	$37,482	$57,712
Hourly rate	$18.02	$27.75
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	28,819	225,552
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	6

Literary agent vs direct sales agent salary

Literary agents and direct sales agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Literary Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Average salary	$37,482	$57,712
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $57,000	Between $30,000 And $107,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	TechnipFMC
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between literary agent and direct sales agent education

There are a few differences between a literary agent and a direct sales agent in terms of educational background:

	Literary Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	English	Business
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Stanford University

Literary agent vs direct sales agent demographics

Here are the differences between literary agents' and direct sales agents' demographics:

	Literary Agent	Direct Sales Agent
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%	Male, 58.0% Female, 42.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.5% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between literary agent and direct sales agent duties and responsibilities

Literary agent example responsibilities.

Schedule and meet individuals\groups for assign or self-generate leads, assist and enroll eligible individuals in suitable Medicare product.
Network at industry lunches and evening events on behalf of ICM.
Experience working with UK publishers, literary agents, and film and television production companies.
Perform editing services and act as agent for nonfiction business books and fiction work for other writers.
Acquire available life rights projects for all aspects of the company and pitch them for potential ICM represent projects.
Founder of a boutique literary agency specializing in literary fiction and narrative nonfiction.

Direct sales agent example responsibilities.

Increase customer understanding of Comcast products and pricing models as well as competitive advantage over other service providers.
Produce call reports and CRM dashboards.
Demonstrate strong understanding of Comcast products, promoting and selling offerings to individual customers by knocking every door within assign territories.
Contact new and existing customers to discuss how TWC products can meet their needs.
Maintain a professional, respectful, and helpful demeanor as a representative of TWC.
Communicate ongoing contact activity utilizing Salesforce.com.

Literary agent vs direct sales agent skills

Common literary agent skills

Fiction, 92%
Non-Fiction, 4%
Administrative Tasks, 4%

Common direct sales agent skills

Customer Service, 25%
Medicare, 15%
Health Insurance, 12%
Direct Sales, 11%
Underwriting Process, 6%
Product Knowledge, 5%

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Literary Agent
Literary Agent vs Direct Sales Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

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