I apologize for using agent as a verb, but the questions of whether to get or not to get an agent and (if you answered yes, I want one of those) how to get an agent is a topic that often comes up in conversations about publishing. What are the advantages of having an agent? Do I really want to give up 15% or more of the small amount I make? What do they do? How do they do it? Can I do it for myself? How do I find one?
I have been told that it is as hard (perhaps harder) to find an agent as it is to find an editor to publish your book. There are more editors than agents. For editors, agents act as first readers. They save them time by weeding out the schlock. Agents also know which editors like what and what the different publishing houses are looking for. In essence, they do the research of where your book would fit for you. They also negotiate the contracts. Some agents claim that their negotiations make the author more money and therefore pay for their fee.
Some authors/writers prefer to handle their own negotiations. (There are literary attorneys that can help with this.) These authors/writers don’t want to give up their money or the control. At least in children’s literature, there are still ways to approach publishing houses without agents. (Even when the size of slush piles have caused a publishing house to refuse unsolicited manuscripts, editors speaking at writing conferences usually will accept manuscripts from the participants after the conference for a period of time.)
What do you think? Do you have an agent? Do you like your agent? Do you publish without an agent?
We can talk about finding agents in another post. In the meantime, I will do some research, so I welcome comments about this too.
Best,
Mara
