Literary Counsel
Literary Counsel is a privately held, boutique New York City literary agency founded in 2010 by Frances Black, representing roughly 30+ authors in romance and mystery genres on a commission basis. It negotiates publishing deals with major houses and is currently closed to new submissions until after Labor Day 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Literary Counsel does
Literary Counsel is a privately held, boutique literary agency founded in 2010 by Frances Black in New York City. The firm represents approximately 30+ authors, both debut and veteran, across a tightly defined set of genres: contemporary romance, rom-com, cozy/light mystery, mysteries/thrillers, and literary and commercial fiction. It explicitly excludes YA, middle grade, picture books, sci-fi, paranormal romance, poetry, and previously self-published work. Author acquisition is via selective email-based query submission, with the agency currently closed to new submissions until after Labor Day 2026. The firm runs on a traditional commission-based model, taking a percentage of advances and royalties on the publishing deals it negotiates; commission rates are not publicly disclosed but follow industry-standard norms of approximately 15% for domestic sales and 20% for foreign rights. Its distribution is entirely indirect, operating through approximately ten publishing house partners including Crooked Lane Books, Tule Publishing, HarperCollins, St. Martin's Press, Kensington, Harlequin/Carina, Hallmark Publishing, Entangled Publishing, The Dial Press, and Blackstone Publishing. There is no proprietary technology platform; the underlying service is human judgment in manuscript evaluation, deal negotiation, content advice, social media support, and brand promotion, with the stated goal of long-term author career development rather than transactional representation. The current agent roster consists of founder Frances Black and Jordan Breindel, and the firm shows no evidence of external capital, acquisitions, or institutional backing.
Literary Counsel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Literary Counsel
- Legal name
- Literary Counsel
- Website
- https://literarycounsel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Literary Counsel is a privately held, boutique New York City literary agency founded in 2010 by Frances Black, representing roughly 30+ authors in romance and mystery genres on a commission basis. It negotiates publishing deals with major houses and is currently closed to new submissions until after Labor Day 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Literary Counsel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Literary Agency Services
- NAICS
- Other Management Consulting Services (541618)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Manuscript Development Services (Coaching, Developmental Editing) (MPAJAJAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)
Keywords
Where Literary Counsel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Literary Counsel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Author Representation Commission: Literary Counsel operates as a traditional literary agency, generating revenue through commission fees on book sales. The agency represents authors and negotiates publishing deals on their behalf, taking a percentage of advances and royalties as compensation.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Literary Counsel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Literary Counsel is a boutique literary agency that represents authors by evaluating manuscripts, providing content advice, supporting social media presence, and promoting author brands. The agency negotiates publishing deals with major publishing houses and develops long-term professional relationships with both debut and veteran authors in genres including contemporary romance, rom-com, cozy mystery, mystery/thriller, and literary/commercial fiction.
Product overview
Literary Counsel is a boutique literary agency located in New York City that provides author representation services. The agency offers content advice, social media assistance, and brand promotion for their clients. They specialize in contemporary romance, rom-com, light mystery/cozy, mysteries/thrillers, and literary and commercial fiction. The agency works with debut authors and veteran writers, developing long-term relationships to help promote their books and careers. Services include manuscript evaluation, submission guidance, and connecting authors with publishers for publishing deals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Author Representation Services Comprehensive literary agency services including manuscript evaluation, content advice, social media support, brand promotion, and publishing deal negotiation for debut and veteran authors. The agency negotiates with major publishers on behalf of authors and develops long-term professional relationships.
Quantifiable outcome
- Authors have secured multi-book deals with major publishers including Crooked Lane Books, Tule Publishing, Kensington, Harper Collins, St. Martin's Press, and Harlequin
Companies that use Literary Counsel
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Literary Counsel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Literary Counsel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Crooked Lane BookscoreLiterary Counsel has an established relationship with Crooked Lane Books for publishing mystery series. Multiple authors including Victoria Gilbert, Wendy Tyson (as Liv Andersson and Ayla Rose), and Tracy Gardner Beno have multi-book deals with this publisher for various mystery series.
- Tule PublishingcoreTule Publishing has a multi-book deal with Cassidy Carter for sweet, family-centered romances publishing in 2025-2026.
- HarperCollinscoreHarperCollins published Odessa Begay's The Language of Flowers, a fully illustrated compendium of flower meanings and lore.
- St. Martin's PresscoreSt. Martin's Press published Sophie Sullivan's (Jody Holford) rom-com series including Ten Rules for Faking It, Love Naturally, Can't Help Falling in Love, How to Love Your Neighbor, and A Guide to Being Just Friends.
- Kensington PublishingcoreKensington Publishing has published multiple authors from Literary Counsel including Jody Holford's Britton Bay Mystery series and Shannyn Schroeder's romance novels.
- HarlequincoreHarlequin/Carina Press published Sloane Steele's Counterfeit Capers series including It Takes a Thief, Between Two Thieves, and To Catch a Thief.
- Hallmark PublishingcoreHallmark Publishing published Tracy Gardner Beno's Shepherd Sisters Mystery series including Out of the Picture, Behind the Frame, and Still Life and Death.
- Entangled PublishingcoreEntangled Publishing has published multiple authors including Jody Holford's Love Unexpected series, Shannyn Schroeder's novels, and Rebekah Purdy's Legend of Me series.
- The Dial PresscoreThe Dial Press published Lisa Peers' debut novel Love at 350 Degrees and her subsequent novel Motor City Baby.
- Blackstone PublishingcoreBlackstone Publishing published Jody Holford/Sophie Sullivan's All The Other Me and Nicole Conway's audio deals for Dragonrider series.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Literary Counsel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Writers House: One of the largest and most established U.S. literary agencies, representing authors across adult fiction and nonfiction with deep relationships at every major publisher — directly comparable to Literary Counsel's author representation model, though at significantly greater scale.
- BookEnds Literary Agency: A boutique literary agency representing romance, mystery/thriller, and women's fiction authors with major publishers including Harlequin, Kensington, and Berkley — closely overlapping Literary Counsel's genre specialization and publisher relationships.
- Folio Literary Management: Mid-sized New York–based boutique literary agency representing commercial fiction and select nonfiction authors; comparable in size and selective-submission ethos to Literary Counsel.
- Foundry Literary + Media: Boutique New York literary agency focused on literary and commercial fiction, with an author roster and selective submission process similar to Literary Counsel.
- Bradford Literary Agency: Boutique agency with strong romance, mystery, and women's fiction representation; closely matches Literary Counsel's genre mix and author-career development positioning.
- Sterling Lord Literistic: Long-standing independent New York literary agency representing authors across fiction and nonfiction; directly comparable as a similarly-sized independent agency with deep publisher ties.
- Inkwell Management: Independent literary agency in New York representing literary fiction, mystery, and select nonfiction; matches Literary Counsel's boutique model and selective intake approach.
- Trident Media Group: Mid-sized New York literary agency with broad author representation across commercial and literary fiction — a peer in service model, though generally larger in roster scale than Literary Counsel.
- Jane Rotrosen Agency: Boutique New York literary agency representing romance, women's fiction, and select mystery authors — directly comparable to Literary Counsel's genre focus and boutique positioning.
Emerging players
- Stacy Donovan Literary: Smaller, newer boutique agency focused on romance and commercial fiction; similar genre focus to Literary Counsel but at an earlier stage of roster development.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Customer concentration
Literary Counsel social profiles
Digital presenceLiterary Counsel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Literary Counsel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Literary Counsel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Literary Counsel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Literary Counsel
What does Literary Counsel do?
Literary Counsel is a boutique literary agency that represents authors by evaluating manuscripts, providing content advice, supporting social media presence, and promoting author brands. The agency negotiates publishing deals with major publishing houses and develops long-term professional relationships with both debut and veteran authors in genres including contemporary romance, rom-com, cozy mystery, mystery/thriller, and literary/commercial fiction.
Is Literary Counsel a public or private company?
Literary Counsel is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Literary Counsel founded?
Literary Counsel was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Literary Counsel based?
Literary Counsel is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Literary Counsel make money?
One revenue line is on record: author Representation Commission.
Who are Literary Counsel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Writers House, BookEnds Literary Agency, Folio Literary Management, Foundry Literary + Media, Bradford Literary Agency, Sterling Lord Literistic, Inkwell Management, Trident Media Group and Jane Rotrosen Agency. Stacy Donovan Literary is listed as an emerging player.
Does Literary Counsel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Literary Counsel.
What industry is Literary Counsel in?
Literary Counsel's product category is Literary Agency Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAJAF, Manuscript Development Services (Coaching, Developmental Editing), with a secondary code of MPAJAAAB, Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.). Its NAICS code is 541618 and its SIC code is 8742.