How do agents get paid?

when the author gets paid

First of all, hello new subscribers who found me through my last post! To reiterate the goals of this substack, I’ll be posting thoughts on reading & publishing as they arise, but on a more set schedule I’m posting advice for querying writers that’s behind a paywall (and paid subscribers can ask me more specific questions that I’ll answer.) Some popular previous posts have been on how to write a query email, the existential question of ‘why publish,’ and how to use comp titles.

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I don’t actually know how many authors fully understand how their agent gets paid. But assuming that a lot of you reading this don’t yet have an agent, I thought this could be informative.

All agents get paid when the author gets paid. Any agent who is asking you for money up front, or promising you representation in exchange for paid services, is not following the AALA’s Canon of Ethics. (You can pay an agent for services, like a meeting at a conference, but the payment doesn’t guarantee you anything beyond whatever you’re paying for.)

So: when does the author, and therefore the agent, get paid?