I caught up with six agents – based on their clients’ enthusiastic recommendations – and asked them about their perspectives on the industry, what literary agents want, their pet peeves, and their most beloved success stories. This is definitely not what literary agents want. What Literary Agents WantMalaga Baldi, Baldi AgencyAdvertisementMalaga Baldi calls herself a voyeur. If you’re going to study architecture,” she adds, “keep a journal” – the better to write the book she’s longing to represent. “As an editor, you’re troubleshooting the manuscript.”Brooks has selected the agents who work with her at Serendipity Literary Agency for their expertise in various content areas, rather than genres.