"Don't tell my mother I work in an advertising agency - she thinks I play piano in a whorehouse." ~Jacques Seguela
The conversation about romance writers having an agent is an interesting one. Some want one without question, so they can snag that publishing contract with a big NY house. Others are much more hesitant, because romance is one of the only genres in which you can still get contracts without having to go through an agent (with some, not all, bigger publishing houses). If you don't have an agent, you might miss out on rights opportunities and get sucked into contracts that don't benefit you the way they should. But if you don't have an agent, you also keep all your sales profits yourself.
A new author recently introduced herself on the Samhain Yahoo Author group -- her agent just sold her first book to Samhain. Here's the thing: if I ever have an agent, I want him/her to submit my books to publishers where I can't break in myself. An agent takes 15% of the money you make, right off the top. I love Samhain -- you know I do -- but I'm not sure the profits there warrant an agent. It's still considered a small press, even though it may be up and coming. On the other hand, I guess I'm glad that it has such a great reputation that agents are submitting to it.
What do you think?
4 comments:
I agree, Allie! Samhain has a great reputation but you don't need an agent to submit to them. And financially it'd be wiser to submit on your own to a smaller publisher.
I absolutely agree... why get an agent to sell to Samhain? I want an agent to sell to... oh... Kensington or NAL (though I can sub there w/o one, I imagine an agent might give you a leg up).
I'd be horribly let down if my agent sold me to a small press that I could do myself.
I agree, for small press why spend the money on an agent. You need an agent for the presses that won't accept you without one!
I'm on the fence, Allie. I've been hunting for an agent for a couple of years, have met with both editors and agents, and some editors (from big publishing companies) are perfectly at home with taking an ms and running with it without an agent. I still WANT an agent, and I've actually submitted a requested partial to Samhain as well, but I've heard so many pros and cons. Sorry to be long-winded, but I have one published friend who swears all agents are out to 'sell' themselves (it's all about them, she says), while some editors insist it's in the author's best interest, if they're intent on making it a career, to have agent representation. However it works, I just want to put out the best manuscript I can and be able to take my audience on a life-changing trip. Does that include another driver? I'm not sure...
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