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The Pros and Cons of Literary Agents |
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Choosing whether you want a literary agent can be a difficult decision for an aspiring author. There are, of course, established authors who swear by their agents and there are those who have succeed without them. Whatever direction you’re leaning towards, it can only help to look at some of the pro and cons involved in choosing whether to get an agent or not.
Some reasons why it is good to get a literary agent
• Many of the larger, established publishing houses – approximately 80% - will only look at manuscripts sent to them through agents.
• A good literary agent can be very useful, in that he or she can buy you writing time, as the agent – rather than you - will be the one getting your book into the hands of a likely publisher.
• An agent, knowing the industry better than the author, will also know which publisher is most likely to accept your book and who would be a waste of time.
• Agents understand the publishing industry, the language used in contracts, and know how to get you the best deal for your book.
Some reasons why you might not want an agent
• Many authors manage to get published without them.
• Literary agents do receive a commission (usually about 15%) on all the writing sold through them.
• If you have written a non-fiction book for a specialised field then you probably won’t need an agent, because it will be easy to identify which publishers would be interested in your book.
A good resource for finding an agent is the latest Guide to Literary Agents (Writer’s Digest Books) or Agents, Editors, and You (Writer’s Market Books). Agents, like publishers, are very particular about how they are approached and it is best to check their individual websites, or listings in the books mentioned above, for the specifics on how to approach them.
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