Last Friday I fired my literary agent. We’d been working together for just over seven years, but we were no longer seeing eye to eye on several different issues and I felt it would be best for both of us if we simply moved on.
However, I’m one of those folks who strongly believe that a good literary agent can do wonders for your career, so as I sat down to start the hunt for a new one, I wanted to remind myself just why that was. And lucky you, I’m willing to share. So here are my top ten reasons for working with a literary agent:
Reason #1 – An agent knows the marketplace better than you do
Given that it is an agent’s job to be aware of who is buying what from whom for how much, the vast majority of literary agents know the inner workings of the market better than most authors and it is their job to use that knowledge to your benefit.
Reason #2 – An agent has a personal relationship with multiple editors
An agent is, to some extent, a professional networker and has built up personal relationships with many editors over time. They know what certain editors like and don’t like when it comes to literary properties and they know what those editors have recently purchased, so they can help target your proposal to the individuals most likely to receive it in a positive manner.
Reason #3 – An agent understands contracts
The typical publishing contract is fifteen to twenty legal size pages of the most convoluted legalese I’ve ever seen and it is ripe with clauses that benefit the publisher rather than the writer. It is an agent’s job to understand what these clauses mean and to fight to remove or alter those that do not help your career. While you could educate yourself on the basics, an agent sees several of these a day and you would be hard pressed to meet their level of knowledge on your own without considerable time and effort.
Reason #4 – An agent is an experience negotiator
In the end it the agent’s job to get you’re the best offer and contract terms possible. This is what they do, day after day for client after client. They know just how much they can push a particular editor or publishing house, they know what is an acceptable counter offer and what is not, and they can advise you on what tact to take when the publisher offers terms that just aren’t acceptable.
Reason #5 – An agent protects your relationship with the editor
For one reason or another there often comes a time when the publisher had done something that you are unhappy with and that you would like to work to change. At the same time, you don’t want to alienate your editor or allow your anger/frustration over the issue to strain your working relationship. In times like these you agent can step in and play the “bad cop” for you, allowing you to work toward the result you want without damage to your editorial partnership.
Reason #6: Gives you an experienced third party view of your work
We’ve all been there – thought that our most recent effort is the best thing since the invention of sliced bread. Trouble is, we’re more often wrong on that score than right. A literary agent you trust can be a terrific third party filter for your ego. If the work isn’t up to par, they’ll tell you and often offer advice on how to fix the problem. And even better, if it is better than usual, they’ll be the first to tell you that too.
Reason #7: A literary agent can help guide you in your career
With their in-depth understanding of the market, both past and present, a good literary agent can often help guide you in building your career. They can offer advice on everything from writing in more than one genre to the advantages or disadvantages to working with specific editors or publishing houses.
Reason #8: Most literary agents have a network of foreign or sub-rights agents
Diversification can often be the savior of a mid-listers career and one way of doing this is branching out in other mediums (comics, audio, etc) or to other territories. Foreign rights often mean free money in a writer’s pocket (after all, the hard work of writing the book is already done) and so the more territories a work sells in the better off the author will be. Having a network of foreign agents to help market your work in other territories is well worth the commission you’ll pay to both agents.
Reason #9: Having a literary agent allows you to concentrate on the writing
Let’s face it – submitting a manuscript can be tedious work. You have to send the queries, prepare the manuscript according to each specific publisher’s requirements, send it out, follow up on it when you get a response, follow up on it when you don’t get a response, and so on. Allowing your literary agent to handle this for you let’s you concentrate on doing what you do best – write.
Reason #10: A good agent can earn you more money
Remember reason #4 – a good agent is an experienced negotiator? I’ve found that when an experienced negotiator who understands the market is working on my behalf, I usually end up getting more for my work than I would have been likely to get working on my own behalf. That’s why I don’t mind paying an agent his usual 10-15% commission because I know that the agent will often bring in at least that much more than I could have managed myself.
So there you have it – my top ten reasons for working with an agent. Tell me – what are your reasons for working with an agent? If you don’t have one, why do you want one?
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Good luck on the hunt, Joe! A good agent more than earns their commission.