How Do Literary Agents Decide Which Publisher to Solicit to?

Question

Assuming an author has a literary agent and a completed manuscript, how does the agent decide which publishers he/she will submit the manuscript to? Also - one more question, if that's okay - do the major publishers "care" which agent submits to them - i.e. do you have to have/be a "known" agent? Thanks.

Answer 1

Depends.

A good agent will submit the manuscript to 1) houses which deal in the kind of book being shopped, and where there are editors with a interest in the type of thing being offered, and 2) houses where the agent has good contacts. But after that, the agent will submit it to any place left halfway appropriate.

Publishing houses absolutely care which agent submits. It doesn't mean a lesser known agent won't get something read (and it is always better to have the ms submitted by an agent rather than cold) but the better known the agent by the editor/publishing house, the more consideration the book will get.