Literary agent vs publicist

The differences between literary agents and publicists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a literary agent, becoming a publicist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a publicist has an average salary of $50,679, 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 publicist are press releases, press materials, and public relations campaigns.

Literary agent vs publicist overview

	Literary Agent	Publicist
Yearly salary	$37,482	$50,679
Hourly rate	$18.02	$24.36
Growth rate	10%	8%
Number of jobs	28,819	7,343
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Average age	43	42
Years of experience	6	4

Literary agent vs publicist salary

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

	Literary Agent	Publicist
Average salary	$37,482	$50,679
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $57,000	Between $30,000 And $83,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	J. The Jewish News of Northern California
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between literary agent and publicist education

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

	Literary Agent	Publicist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 78%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common major	English	Communication
Most common college	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Stanford University

Literary agent vs publicist demographics

Here are the differences between literary agents' and publicists' demographics:

	Literary Agent	Publicist
Average age	43	42
Gender ratio	Male, 41.5% Female, 58.5%	Male, 27.4% Female, 72.6%
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, 10.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	6%	12%

Differences between literary agent and publicist 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.

Publicist example responsibilities.

Manage publicity plans for fiction and non-fiction trade paperback titles.
Manage and write copy for client social media platforms and ECPR's social media deliverable, which involve SEO streamlining.
Book non-fiction author media tours.
Photograph events for the instagram account.
Maintain appropriate media lists, clips and coverage reports.
Post on Facebook and other websites to promote events & products

Literary agent vs publicist skills

Common literary agent skills

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

Common publicist skills

Press Releases, 30%
Press Materials, 7%
Public Relations Campaigns, 5%
Instagram, 5%
Twitter, 5%
Writing Press Releases, 4%

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Literary Agent
Literary Agent vs Publicist

Updated January 8, 2025

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