SlantedK: EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT LITERARY AGENTS

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT LITERARY AGENTS

Part 1

Reasons Why and How to Find & Hire the Right Agent for YOU.

A SlantedK Presentation

By Rita Emmett

Rita's Resource Center

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit." ~Richard Bach slantedk.blogspot.com
— David M Karder (@slantedk) July 31, 2012

Whether you dream of, or have started, or have completed a book, have you been wondering about this mysterious thing called "Literary Agent"? The purpose of this article is to help you understand what an agent does (and does not do), how to find a good one, and how to approach them.

If you decide to find an agent who will represent you to a publisher who will take on your book, you have to accept something you may have fought all your life. Especially if you ever heard yourself say (or even think), "Well, you know me. I just can't take rejection."

It's time to change that belief.

Searching for an agent or publisher is an adventure in being rejected. Ignore rejections, don’t take them personally and move on.

Do you need a Literary agent? Not necessarily, and I've heard a lot of people say they don't need one. But I'm a big fan of them and here's why.

WHY WOULD ANYONE
WANT TO HIRE A LITERARY AGENT ANYWAY??

1. Yes, Literary Agents take 15% of what the book makes. BUT they will probably negotiate a better deal than you would, so even after giving away that 15%, you will probably be in a better spot than if you negotiated on your own.

2. Agents have connections with publishers and know how to play the game. If you already HAVE those connections and KNOW all about publishing, then you are one of the few who does not need an agent.

3. Many major publishers want only "agented" manuscripts. Most publishers will not even look at unsolicited manuscripts. They just toss them into what they call "the slush pile” to be read sometime by an intern.

4. "I have used the same agent for all four of my books and never regretted it. My agent claims that her main job it to talk authors down off the ledge". Rita Emmett

5. Without an agent you would need to search for and hire a literary lawyer to check the publisher's contract. The lawyer's fee would likely be as much as the agent's 15% anyway.

6. Even if you have a publisher already interested in your manuscript, a good agent will probably show it to other publishers and have them bid against each other. The result of this kind of bidding is usually a higher advance and a better "deal"

7. An agent might place chapters of your book in magazines before it is released. I had no connections with agents or publishers and the agent I found (& who I like a lot) placed chapters of my book in Family Circle and The National Enquirer. A month later, when it was released, people had heard of it and they bought it.

8. A good agent offers advice, guidance and coaching during the writing, editing and publishing process --- that is priceless.

EMMETT'S LAW: "The dread of doing a task uses up more time and energy than doing the task itself." Rita Emmett kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1476620
— David M Karder (@slantedk) July 31, 2012