One thing you notice about the literary agent world is: there are a lot of them. How can they all be making money? I think the answer is that they're not. There

One thing you notice about the literary agent world is: there are a lot of them. How can they all be making money? I think the answer is that they're not. There's a severe power law distribution, similar to acting, where a few agents like Wylie make really big bucks, and the rest... well, I did a little research: ZipRecruiter says her salary (they're almost all female), if she’s average, is $58,585. Salary.com puts it at $70,187. Indeed says $88,363. This survey gives a range in NYC of $52,925 to $90,024, but also says that most of their compensation comes from selling books. Agents at large agencies may receive a small salary, but they’re expected to make most of their money from sales, similar to most salespeople. Whatever figure you settle on, this is not a lot of money for an expensive place like NYC. By way of job comparison, Salary.com says the median salary for various occupations in New York is barista: $29,028 municipal bus driver: $44,502 automotive mechanic I: $57,607 literary agent: $70,187 police officer: $74,400 secondary school teacher: $76,212 librarian: $82,215