Comments on: Agents – what’s the point?

By: Rhyder

Rhyder — Tue, 04 May 2010 12:10:17 +0000

The AGENT Hustle

You have to get an agent or not is the question that worries you, once your work is complete. You want your work to be submitted directly to the publisher: but at times it is the extra sugar you add to make sure your work soars off.

People worry whether their work will attract attention or not; the question is that whether the agent you choose will be equally interested or not. At times some agents are only looking for a pot of gold , round the corner. Your work strikes their fancy and you being in a tight spot hire them. this might not work for all. Many of us would have to talk to a publisher directly.
So my Advice: In case you really need an Agent , do microanalyse their tastes, otherwise you might be the one running around in circles!!.

By: faust405245

faust405245 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:35:45 +0000

I have a question…

I sent the opening forty or so pages of my manuscript to an agent, she said send the rest. I waited three weeks (I know it’s not very long but I was impatient), and sent an email saying ??? (Although obviously phrased slightly differently) Got a quick reply telling me that she understands my concerns and hopes to get round to reading my novel soon. So far so good, I appreciated the reply. The only problem is that was a month and a half ago. So I suppose my question is – do I pester her again or do I leave it? I have no idea what’s normal in situations like this. I don’t want to annoy her by constantly rushing her, but neither do I want to hang around waiting. I’m not sure what to do…

Does anybody have any advice?

By: Cressida Downing (Editorial Consultant)

Cressida Downing (Editorial Consultant) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:01:19 +0000

Shaudhry – go with your top choice first. If they’re going to reject you, they will anyway. You might as well use the research you’ve done.

S – sorry to hear you’ve been taken in by a vanity publisher. As it’s not providing the service they were promising – I would have thought the contract wasn’t enforceable.

Cressida

By: S

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:23:18 +0000

I have just publish my first book with Publish America and then I found out on google that Publish America is a scam. I began to realise that it was a scam before I did my research on internet. I realised it after they had formatted and had “edited” my book having introduced new mistakes. Then they overprice all soft cover books and try to sell them to the authors who wrote it. I got 15 e-mails from them offering me to buy my own book at $16.95+ shipping costs and get a few copies for free. “Buy 6 copies and we will send your book to John Travolta who might make a movie “. The worst thing was I signed 7 – year contract with them. I also read that they cheat authors in many ways in order not pay royalties. I am glad that my book consists of only 6 short stories (59 pages). I might change the title of my book, use a pen name and try to publish in UK. If they are scam why I should bother with them?

By: Shaudhry

Shaudhry — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:50:38 +0000

I think I’m ready to submit to and Agent. But I have a dilemma. Shall I go with second best choice first or first choice first. I guess I want to prolong the rejection from my ‘top choice’.

By: Cressida Downing (Editorial Consultant)

Cressida Downing (Editorial Consultant) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:47:46 +0000

Good luck to everyone hunting for an agent.

Rod – I suspect that would be hotly contested but you can look out for which agents get media attention and draw your own conclusions. A ‘top’ Agent might not be what you’re after in any event. The very big names tend to concentrate on the best known authors, and deal in estates (the copyright of dead authors). What an author needs is an agent that believes in their work and can communicate that to the publishers.

Best regards,
Cressida

By: Rod

Rod — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:02:21 +0000

Does anyone know who the top Agents in the world are at the moment?

By: M T McGuire

M T McGuire — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:51:11 +0000

I’m British and I write humorous fantasy… I can’t help noticing when I do the obvious market research thing of looking at which writers who write a bit like me have agents and who those agents are that they are always the head honchos of the biggest badest agencies in the UK. My conclusion; authors like me don’t get an agent until they are already successful… I’m sure with somebody who know what they were doing to help me my work would improve immeasurably… I am equally sure that hardly any agents in the UK feel comfortable accepting fantasy writers who are not already successful. It’s amazing how many say they do but when you actually enquire… don’t.

The only route for me is a small press or self publishing… but since I write because I love it, and because I have to, that’s not a huge deal for me. I’d rather self publish and have a few people enjoy my work, than waste a lot of time and effort chasing an non-existent dream.

Cheers

MTM

By: ricky martin

ricky martin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:12:34 +0000

kateF the real truth of it is not whether you get published. but that you created something that gives you immense joy. I belive when you put the thought of getting published out of your mind and write because you enjoy it. thats when the publishers will notice. and if they dont well how many people do you know that have written a novel.just because its not picked up dosen;t make it a bad read.

By: KateF

KateF — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:33:19 +0000

I was an actress for thirty something years and as my cv blossomed I found it fairly easy to get an agent – although some of them were not entirely honest! As a novice writer I’ve read all the submission guidelines I can, and have submitted two previous novels to various literary agents with no success. Novel three is still a work in progress, and when I feel it’s ready, I’ll submit it, as per the instructions on agents’ websites. As an actress I was an incurable optimist and this is what still sustains me when I read yet another e-rejection. If anyone else tells me JK Rowling had 17 rejections before anyone took her work seriously I shall scream. 17 barely scratches the surface for me, tack a ‘nought’ onto the front of that! I shall plough on regardless however, and hope that one day… well.. you know the rest. Besides, no-one said it would be easy.