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Agents And Publishers - Who Do I Approach First?

by SteveDempster

You may well think that the choice of approaching an agent or
publisher is academic before you have even finished your book but
nothing is further from the truth. This short article discusses
the pros and cons of agents and publishers - and which one you
should go for.

A decision that many writers put off for as long as possible
seems to be the one where they decide if they want to get an
agent or go directly to a publisher. One school of thought says
that having an agent is definitely preferable, the other says -
why pay an agent commission when you can do it yourself. Let's
look a bit closer at these two points of view -

Agents: The advantages to having an agent are best described as
ones that remove certain amounts of stress from the writer,
allowing him or her to get on with what they do best - writing. A
good agent will negotiate a better deal with a publisher than you
probably could, will have their ear to the ground to know what's
hot and what's not - and hopefully tell you where your book lies
in that regard.

A disadvantage to having an agent is, simply, cost. An agent
will either charge fees or commission on sales, the rate varying
from agent to agent. This works well for you if you haven't made
any big sales but can cost you a shedload of money if you hit the
big time. For example, it's been reported that Little's, who
handle the Harry Potter books for Rowling, cream off millions per
year in commissions. Mind you, I imagine Rowling isn't too
worried! This is of course an extreme example but it is worth
keeping in mind.

Also, you may have to sign-up for a set period with an agent, or
guarantee them the sole agency rights to a certain number of
books before they will agree to represent you. This isn't greed,
it's just business - they will be investing time and effort in
you and will require a certain return from you in the form of
this type of commitment. Again, it's something well worth keeping
in mind.

Publishers: The advantages of dealing directly with a publisher
seem obvious: fast track to the correct editor, no agents
commissions to pay and less red tape all round. All these points
are valid but, as is usual in life, they too carry their
downsides.

Your editor may well have very definite ideas of what he or she
will or won't accept from you as a book. If you want to change
tack in your writing, a publisher's editor is probably not
altogether the best person to explain this to - the editor wants
a certain type and style of work from you as this is what they
'signed-up' to. Any deviation from this type may well result in,
at the least, a straining of the relationship between you! Also,
a publisher may want a far more restrictive contract with you
than you would like - and you may well not be offered such
options as foreign rights, large-print rights and that holy grail
for all writers - film rights.

On balance, I would always advise new writers to try their
hardest to gain the services of a good agent.  I know this is
difficult and writers can often get into the Catch-22 situation
of being unable to get a publisher interested without agent
representation, yet unable to get an agent interested until they
have some work in print.

One way around this is to approach publishers directly - then
when (and if) you receive an offer of publication you can wave
the letter under an agent's nose. The chances are much greater at
this point that any agent will be interested, of course! You may
well then ask - 'Why bother with the agent when I have the
offer?'

Several reasons. The first - and  most important  - is that I
can predict that, in 99% of cases the agent will secure a better
deal for you than you could for yourself. Won't the publisher be
upset? Not usually - it's just business as usual for them and
this sort of thing happens all the time. A tip - if the publisher
really does kick off in this situation be wary. It may well be
that they were trying to short-change you on the deal and are now
worried that an agent will spot this and take the business
elsewhere. Be warned!

On balance, then - go down the agency route. Let them have the
headaches about gaining a publisher for you, negotiating terms
and all the other details that go with getting a book from
acceptance to publication. And you? Just get on with your next
book!

Steve Dempster writes articles for the web and works of fiction.
If you would like to <a
href="http://www.howtobeawriter.co.uk/page11.html">get the
know-how</a> a novelist needs to write professionally,  <a
href="http://www.howtobeawriter.co.uk/page11.html">take a look at
this.</a>

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