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Why
Should You Hire An Agent?
• Agents
serve as
the initial screen, filtering out inappropriate,
inept, and near-miss projects. Good agents match projects with
prospective publishers, saving the editors from having to wade through
worthy submissions that just aren’t right for their imprints.
• Agents know which editor at a given house is most likely to give you
a receptive reading. Here are some things an agent will do for you:
1.
Send your work
to the right editor
2 Help you choose the right publisher and editor
3 Negotiate the terms of your contract
4. Make sure the publisher keeps you informed on the book’s progress.
1.
Editorial
contact
• Agents
build
relationships with editors. They get to know the
acquisition editors and gain credibility with editors. They meet with
editors at ICRS, conferences, and sometimes visit the publishing
houses.
• The author can meet editors at writers conferences; some writers know
as many editors as agents do. If you’re writing for several lines you
may need help in managing the submissions.
2.
Business
Management
• An
agent typically
can get a larger advance and royalty rate for you.
Signing the contract is only the beginning. You have to maintain the
contract. The agent checks the royalty statement for accuracy. Also
she/he can ask for the check from the publisher when it’s due.
• Subrights - TV and film rights, foreign rights, reprint rights,
audio rights, serialization rights, book club sales, online electronic
rights.
• Revision suggestions and pre-press information. Many times authors
feel
more comfortable having the agent make inquiries about the book—how
it’s selling, how large the print run, options.
• The agent can negotiate multiple book deals with a publisher.
• Response time is much quicker for an agent.
• Our in-house publicist helps and advises with name identification and
marketing efforts.
3.
Career
Development
• The
right agent
can help your career development by associating your
talent with future deals
• The agent can act as a sounding board for the author, give
suggestions, and provide specific input to keep you selling. There is a
lot of value in being able to discuss your manuscripts with a
professional.
• Perhaps the best criterion for measuring agents is communication. You
should feel your agent expresses an understanding of your work and your
goals.
• Because the fiction field has become so competitive, and publishers
are so busy, more and more are relying on agents. For publishers,
agents act as “first readers.”
• It used to be that editors were allowed to develop authors. Now
publishing is so market driven, the editors don’t have time for this
anymore. It’s up to the agents.
4.
Expectation level
• It can
take
months, even a year or more to sell a manuscript.
• The best way to work with an agent is to be a team player.
• Give the agent your very best work; know the market and the
publishers
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