Do you need an agent? Well, it depends on what your publishing goals are. Take this little test.<\/i><\/p>\n
I get asked this question all the time by writing friends who are getting ready to publish. It\u2019s a good question. Literary agents are one of those publishing business mysteries. These eight questions might help you determine your needs.<\/p>\n
These are pretty rudimentary questions, and I\u2019m sure the decision will be more complex for some people. But, here\u2019s the rub:<\/p>\n
Basically, if your answers tend to be in the \u201ca\u201d column, you\u2019re likely to want to find an agent. Before you do, you neeeeeeeed to have a completed, polished, edited manuscript. That\u2019s job one. Then you start the querying process, through researching agents that fit your needs and personality and genre. Much of this information is online now, and a good resource I\u2019ve found for querying is Chuck Sambuchino\u2019s Guide to Literary Agents.<\/i><\/a> He updates it every year. Good places to look online are AgentQuery.com <\/a>and EditorsandPredators.com. Reviews are available. Not all agents are created equal.<\/p>\n If your answers tended toward \u201cb,\u201d you probably don\u2019t need an agent. Many of my friends write for a smaller niche of readers, such as the LDS audience. There may be an LDS agent, but it\u2019s rare if it exists. Much of that is probably because the readership is more niche, the royalty checks will be smaller to divvy up, and it\u2019s not a profitable business for an agent. (That\u2019s my guess.)<\/p>\n Also, smaller presses often don\u2019t require a go-between for their authors. This means they likely receive more manuscripts that get slushed, and requires more reading time for them as they receive them, but for whatever reason, they\u2019ll work directly with authors. They, however, often have smaller staffs for publicity, as well as smaller budgets. Authors who want bigger success will, of course, have to put in more marketing effort themselves with a smaller press.<\/p>\n One \u201cpro\u201d to having an agent is they are there to assure the best legal interest for the author. They should have experience reading literary contracts and can potentially negotiate different terms for their clients. However, many literary contracts are simple boilerplates and some are non-negotiable for new authors. These are things to take into consideration.<\/p>\n I personally fell into the \u201cb\u201d category. After querying agents I realized I\u2019d be happier with a small press, where I could build relationships with the staff and other authors (which I, so happily, have) and where my writing could remain my hobby, rather than having pressure exerted to make it a career. (Job one for me is to be The Mom. Writing is for fun and kicks and variety.)<\/p>\n I married a lawyer so, the contract\/legalese didn\u2019t worry me. I didn\u2019t mind gearing up and doing quite a bit of my own marketing online (although, yeah, it\u2019s been a bit of a time-vacuum now and then), and I like that the publisher has been very supportive of my efforts.<\/p>\n