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Agents: The Good, the bad and the Average
We’ve all heard the age-old question: “Is any agent better than no agent?” To answer that we must first answer the question: “Do I need an agent?” The answer to that is: maybe. It all depends on what you write and to which company you wish to sell. To Heartsong or Steeple Hill, for instance, you don’t get much difference in response time or attention whether agented or not. Whereas, with other companies they won’t even look at your manuscript unless you’re agented (or if you meet them at a conference or send a query letter first). So, who do you want to buy that manuscript? And do you like to negotiate and work the negotiating end of your business? The excuse of, “I don’t know what I’m doing”, doesn’t fly. This is your business. It’s your responsibility to learn about contracts either from one-on-one conversations with other writers, in chats held by writer’s groups or reading articles by authors in genre writing. No one is going to sell your story like you do. Period. And no one, including an agent, is ultimately going to be responsible for what’s in that contract except you. So, let’s say you don’t like to negotiate (as in my case) or you simply prefer having someone handling that end of the business and you decide to go with an agent. How do you know if you have a good agent and does it really matter? Oh boy does it matter! I’ve had one of each (in my several experiences here) and let me tell you, each type of agent comes with their own experiences and disasters, in some cases, that you must deal with. So that answers our main question. Yes, a bad agent is something to avoid like the plague. Let’s discuss the bad first. An agent who charges—for anything—in my opinion, can fall into this category. Be wary of scam artists who want to charge you. Never ever pay an agent. They make 15% off your sale and out of that should come their expenses. You shouldn’t have to pay their expenses and pay them 15% too. Never go with an agent who insists that you pay a ‘plot doctor’ to help you get your manuscript into shape. If they’re in love with your work, they can give you the advice to help you rewrite it. Never go with an agent who isn’t a member of the AAR unless you have talked with other people represented by the agent and they can vouch for him or her. What is the AAR? First lesson: AAR is an organization that most good agents belong. It has a standard set of ethics (more information can be found at: www.bookwire.com ) that all agents must follow to be members. Bad agents have the capability to slow down your career and sometimes ruin it. They have the ability to stress you out and cause you to forget the joy of writing. They may be enthusiastic about your work, but they can’t get you contracts, they blame the problem on your writing—even if you have a good track record before going to that agent. They oftentimes want you to do a lot of the work, like copying and sending them manuscripts. They may also be overly friendly with editors instead of on the author’s side. Be wary of an agent who is really friendly with the editors. Professional is what an agent/editor relationship calls for and when an agent crosses that line and is buddy buddy with an editor, they lose their objectivity. Not only can they slow down your career, but they can also make bad decisions on your contract (this is why you need to know everything you can about contracts). One bad mistake could tie you up for years with a particular company or could even tie up your money for books to come. Be wary of an agent who makes you sign a contract where everything seems to be in their favor and they don’t leave you an out. Every contract should have an out. A bad agent is only worried about protecting herself and is going to have her contract heavily leaning in her favor with clauses, such as her rights to a work you’ve given her during the life of the work. This means, if you leave her and sell that book down the road, she wants her 15% even though she wasn’t involved. They may also insist you stay with them for a certain length of time without a way to get out of it. Or they may even insist that any work you sell on your own while you’re with them entitles them to 15%. Run from these contracts! A bad agent can ruin your self-esteem, ruin your career and ruin your ability to write so if you get with one, get out as soon as you can instead of wasting years trying to make it work. So, what about an Average agent? I had a wonderful person who was only a so so agent. I loved her. She held my hand when I needed it and was the sweetest woman in the world. She even tried to help me stay on track with my career. (I’m a wild cannon, wanting to go 50 different directions). But she was burned out. She got me contracts (something my ‘bad’ agent never did) and she would argue for anything I asked her to argue for in my contract. I have to admit, she was honest and fair and I would even recommend her to new writers. She was great at holding my hand as I learned the ropes. I was a burden with so many questions, but she was always patient. The problem came with advancing my career. She preferred I stay at the house I was at (she could avoid working to sell me elsewhere). I was there. They liked my work so why rock the boat? For someone who isn’t wanting to advance and push forward, she was fine. And there are many out there who simply want to sell and stay mid-list. However, if you are wanting to progress in your career and not stagnate, eventually you may have to leave this agent. This agent is an acceptable agent if you simply want to write the same type of book over and over. You can recognize this agent as they will encourage you to stay where you are because it’s a good thing. If you have a good relationship and don’t want pressure on you of trying to succeed or simply want to write a steady number of books a year where you don’t need hard negotiating techniques and simply want to plot along with a steady income, then this may be the right agent for you. If, however, you want to push forward in the business, then you may have to look for a better agent. So, what does a good agent entail? First off, they don’t charge you for all kinds of misc. things such as copying, faxing and phone calls or reading fees. They certainly don’t forget you and avoid contacting you for months at a time. And they certainly don’t simply send a manuscript in and wait to hear back on it. A good agent is willing to discuss career plans. They’re willing to push you with an editor, helping you develop a career plan at that house regarding marketing. A good agent is honest about your work, but remembers they work for you. Ultimately it’s your career, not theirs. They keep you updated on where your manuscripts are and what feedback they’re getting. Communication is the key here. Note the bad agent is focused on herself and what money you can make her. A good agent focuses on your career and the future relationship while taking into account your own personal goals. They’re out there working for you, getting contracts with houses that will promote you. I have an absolutely wonderful agent who has contacted me and wanted to get my story out as soon as possible. They approached me about my career plans and were very honest when I confronted them with questions about certain books. The first manuscript they sent out was also the very one my ‘bad’ agent refused to send out, saying it wouldn’t’ sell and just wasn’t what ‘she’ thought I should be selling (this new agency I’m with, by the way, is one of the top agencies in the business). Finally, they assured me that anytime I needed to talk—anytime—to contact them immediately. They’re also very fast. I am a bit overwhelmed with just how good they are and the response they elicit from publishing companies. (It is night and day for me with this agency regarding responses from publishing houses). A good agent will make publishing companies sit up and take notice. But how do you know what agent is which? It is possible to know, if you’re hooked up into a network of other writers. Find writers groups and get involved. I run a list on yahoo called ChristianRmWriters. ACRW is a list that has yearly fees and there are many other great professional writing lists that aren’t just geared toward Christian Romance. Ask about agents. Listen to what others are saying. Publicly some authors will be careful about what they say, fearing lawsuits, but privately they may be more honest. Especially in person where someone can’t print up an email and send it on to that particular agent. Check out agents sites and see who they represent. If an agent won’t tell you who they represent, then walk away. Agents like you to know who they’ve had as clients. If they don’t then there’s a problem there. SFWA has a wonderful site (www.sfwa.org) about bad agents. Also check out predators and editors online which warns about complaints against people in the publishing world. If you’re a member of RWA, you can check with their office and find out of there are any complaints against the agents you are interested in. Do a search on a newspaper’s website in the city your agent is from, or in Publisher’s Weekly and look for stories. If they’ve made the paper, chances are it’ll be in one of the two things mentioned. And don’t forget, you are your best salesman. No matter how good the agent, they won’t care as much as you do about that story. So, send that story out while you’re looking for an agent and learn the ropes of writing a snappy query letter and shinning proposal. Remember, it’s not a friendship, but a business relationship you have. Don’t worry about dropping a bad agent. It’s your career and your future and the buck stops with you. End of Article |
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