Literary Agents

Literary Agents

I want to get published, do I need an agent? This is a question I get frequently. If you want to write fiction for a major publisher, I believe you will need an agent. How-to writers and professional reference writers do not normally need an agent.

I had an agent several years back. He got me book deals with publishers who I probably would not have gotten traction with on my own. Overall, I sold most of my own work. I did not sign an exclusive contract with the agent. Most agents require an exclusive, but I negotiated my way out of it. We did agree that what he represented was exclusive to him, but I could sell other ideas to other publishers on my own.

Now, how do you get an agent? It’s tough. The procedure is much like getting a job when you are young. Employers want people with experience, but you can’t get experience without a job. The struggle is similar with agents. They want known names. By the time that you have a known name, you may not need an agent.

I recommend doing your early work on your own. Once you have been published a few times, you have something to show an agent. What you got paid for the writing rarely comes up. What matters is that you are published. Many smaller magazines and publishers have limited budgets and will pay authors in copies of the publication or very modest fees. It is a little painful to suck it up at the time, but getting your name out there is important and having clips to send to other potential buyers and agents is very valuable. I think I got 12 copies of the magazine where my first article appeared as payment, but look where I wound up.

Another issue pertaining to agents is sorting out the good from the bad. Beware of reading fees. These are becoming more common, but you should not have to pay for an agent to read your proposals. If they do not have enough confidence in you to read what you have written, why should you sign with them?

When I got into this business the internet for consumers was just developing. I was using DOS programs and somehow had memorized the codes for using it. Imagine that in this day with smart phones, Windows®, and the like. I remember getting a 20 meg hard drive and wondering why anyone would need that much space. Times have changed. Back then it was difficult to check out agents. Now you have the internet, forums, writer’s groups (such as my Writer’s Nook on Linkedin®), and similar places to check out potential agents. Use these resources.

Before you sign with an agent, read the contractual agreement closely. Make sure that you can get out of it in short order if something goes wrong. Sometimes you just can’t tell until you are in the water if it is safe to swim with the sharks.

Does it sound like I don’t like agents? It sounds like that to me, but the opposite is true. Good agents are invaluable. They are doing face time and pressing the flesh with editors on a daily basis. Agents are a conduit to success when you have the right one. The key is getting the right one.

Dodge