I understand that a literary agent takes a percent from any earned royalties (and I'm assuming a percent of the advance, right?), but beyond that, are there any other fees? I'm aware of the notorious reading fees, but surely agents don't thrive completely off of a percentage from royalties. Any idea how much those fees (if there are any) usually run? I'm new to this game and trying to arm myself with as much knowledge possible, and this is a topic I've never seen discussed. Anyway, thank you so much for your help and time!

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www.writersdigest.com might be a better resource for this. They might have a good article about it.

Successful agents can easily make a living off their clients royalties. And, you're not going to be the only client. And, yes some agents struggle financially while they're trying to make it. Just like most people struggle to make a living and some live pay check to pay check. There aren't really any fees. A small startup agency that's still building their client list might charge general office fees (photocopying and postage and office supplies they use). They might send you a bill once a year or deduct the money they sell your novel. The larger agencies usually can afford to wave those charges. I read on an agents blog (she owns her own agency) that in the beginning when she first started her agency, she used to charge for those "office fees" (that's what they're called), but once she started selling novels to publishers she was able to eat the fees because she was now racking in money. It's fun to watch her business grow because slowly she's seeing her clients make the new york times best sellers list - one was even an answer on jeopardy! - and she's sold film rights for some of her clients and this is a far cry from the time she used was very small and struggling to build her client list. Anyway, they take a percentage of whatever you make: advance, royalties, foreign sales, movie sales. You wont' be the only client. & there are some agents who have another job. And some agencies have had to close because of hard economic times. Those are the breaks. Not all agents live in NYC where it's extremely expensive and where making 50k a year is like living on minimum wage. :D One agent who was just starting out as an agent with a big agency said that his goal was to have clients for whom he can get multi-book deals for because he wanted to make a living as an agent, so the more clients writing books (at least one a year), the better. Doesn't quite answer your question, but I'm not sure how you're going to get this answered because it's a very personal question.