Hi everyone —
Authors and Agents. As a reader, you’re probably aware that some authors have agents and some don’t. If you’re an author, you may be wondering whether, in this rapidly changing publishing world, you need an agent. Since i’m going to be speaking on this topic (among other things new authors should know) at RT, the author/agent relationship is on my mind. It’s also very much in my thoughts because this evening i have my “professional planning” meeting with my agent where we discuss my goals for my writing career over the next few years and determine how i can get there.
First, it should be said that authors don’t need an agent to get published anymore — unless they want to submit to some of the New York Big 5 publishing companies that only accept agented submissions. But today, unless you’re going straight for a mass market print run on your book, there are many other options besides the Big 5 for publishing your novels and, in some cases, you will make more money and receive better terms by going elsewhere. Most publishing companies today accept submissions directly from authors, and it can be argued, that many publishers have pretty standard contracts that don’t get a lot better if you have an agent negotiating them. In addition, any author can now self-publish which, of course, requires no agent. So why give away the 15% if you don’t have to?
I asked myself that question for the first two years of my writing career. Then, in 2013, i began considering signing with an agent. Reason? The exact thing i said in the first paragraph. I wanted someone with a real stake in my writing career (ie. monetary) who could help me plan my future and chart a course to get there. At that time, I was a happy camper with no reason to change. I had an active writing life going with enthusiastic publishers looking forward to my next book. I could easily have kept on going without ever changing a thing and make money as a fairly successful romance author. But, i wanted to know what was possible. I wanted someone who could see further than my next paragraph to say “you can do better”. You can ask for a bigger contract. You can go to the best publisher for this work and know who that is. Or conversely, to tell me when i should self-pub a book to add revenue. I wanted someone to expand my horizons.
Of course, if you decide you want an agent, you need a good one; one that suits you’re personality, vision, and market. That’s not an easy task. For me, however, it was simple. I tend to be a person who plans quietly in the back of my brain for a long time — i barely know it’s going on — until i see a door open and leap through it. For me, that door was a friendly author whose opinion i respect describing how much she liked working with her agent. That author and i have very different personalities and writing styles, but the same market and many similar philosophies and ideas. I pounced. My problem had always been that i never had a book to offer an agent — all my books were spoken for by the time i wrote them. I know–oh poor baby. But i sought out the agent anyway. What should a person in my situation do? I found us talking, i loved what she had to say, i signed a contract and starting writing a book just for her to represent.
And i’ve been delighted with the results. My new werewolf series was negotiated by my 
agent, and now she’s gone further. Thanks to her, i just signed a three-book contract for my Long Pass Series with Dreamspinner Press. I had decided to write a New Adult romance (on my agent’s suggestion) and i set it in the world of college football. An odd choice for me, because i know very little about the sport, but i LOVE sports movies and books and decided i could write one. Uh, that was one! But a character in the first book (Outing the Quarterback) cried out for his own story and just like that, i was putting together a three-book deal thanks to my amazing agent. (Of course, the fact that i can now discuss football more authoritatively than my husband is a side effect!) Is an agent right for every author? Probably not. I think it was good for me in my career to write on my own for awhile and know what i could accomplish.
But now, i love having someone who knows and cares say “Look up. See the future.”
There’s so much more to be said about the author/ agent relationship, but this will do for now. Thanks to my fabulous agent, Saritza Hernandez of the Corvisiero Literary Agency. I’m looking forward to our talk. : )