tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post2141576980112193180..comments2023-05-12T06:37:48.238-04:00Comments on Manuscript Mavens: When Do You Need an Agent?Erica Ridleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05511276393455961757noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-20163293391896600192007-09-19T10:15:00.000-04:002007-09-19T10:15:00.000-04:00I really like the idea of an agent as a go-between...I really like the idea of an agent as a go-between, like Erica said. I shall pretend ignorance of the 10% extra she's requesting on my behalf... La la la, I just write the books!lacey kayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04748864831060027009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-43319042118241886092007-09-18T16:17:00.000-04:002007-09-18T16:17:00.000-04:00Bill, you always slay me. Great story! (I hope tha...Bill, you always slay me. Great story! (I hope that's making its way into the GAN...)<BR/><BR/>Carrie, your comment segues nicely into my post tomorrow!Darcy Burkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819984559001912841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-71608770197779312252007-09-18T14:59:00.000-04:002007-09-18T14:59:00.000-04:00Kristen Nelson's blog pubrants.blogspot.com lists ...Kristen Nelson's blog pubrants.blogspot.com lists three places to check out agent reputations. Not to mention her blog has some of the best agenting advice I've seen. Karenafox.com lists romance deals. You can see which agents are actually selling and what they're gettng from the publisher.Kendrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17672739837820247781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-65796317111391882962007-09-18T14:22:00.000-04:002007-09-18T14:22:00.000-04:00I'm looking for both. I figure I'll need someone ...I'm looking for both. I figure I'll need someone to champion my books and also someone to cover my behind when it comes to contracts, etc. When I first started looking for an agent, it was with the simple idea that they would do all the heavy lifting in that realm, so I could have more time to write. =oDB.E. Sandersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04336115135400388268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-54712801405021763822007-09-18T13:47:00.000-04:002007-09-18T13:47:00.000-04:00But where do you learn which agents you should ask...<I>But where do you learn which agents you should ask and which you should avoid?? Who do you believe?</I><BR/><BR/>Research -- it all comes down to research :) (agent, research, I've found, is a great way to procrastinate while still feeling like you've accomplished something!) For me, the first step is to make sure any agent is reputable (i.e. isn't a scam agent). Then I looked for agents blogs, read about them on Absolute Write (taking all forums with a grain of salt), looked at who represented my friends, who represented the books I thought were similar to mine, etc. I also subscribed to publishers marketplace and checked on each agents' sales. <BR/><BR/>After all of that, I had a list of my top agents that I'd heard good things about (through friends, through writers loops, etc). And I queried them. Even if I heard a bad thing or two about an agent, I queried them. I figured I'd wait until I got an offer from someone before REALLY getting into the deep research.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-67653862407666228712007-09-18T12:44:00.000-04:002007-09-18T12:44:00.000-04:00I think an agent should make sure your book gets r...I think an agent should make sure your book gets read by as many readers as possible. That means finding a great publisher and making sure that pub. acts like you are God's Gift to the Written Word. I would hope my (some day) agent would get my books on display on the pub. website and in bookstores etc...Lady Leighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08524318995902667785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-21725228862112794692007-09-18T10:37:00.000-04:002007-09-18T10:37:00.000-04:00if you don't have an agent (or you have a bad agen...<I>if you don't have an agent (or you have a bad agent), they [the publishers] are also more than happy to take advantage of that and beat you down on the terms of your contract</I><BR/><BR/>I think this is one of the key reasons to have an agent. (The other reason is to help you find a publisher in the first place!) (Oh, and maybe if she's really good, help you to floss and polish your book like Erica's agent did.)<BR/><BR/>Contracts can be tricky, and if you get into the fancy stuff like film rights and foreign language rights and try to do it yourself, you can find yourself living under a bridge in Cleveland like the man who invented the Mr. Coffee machine and was bought out by a shark. (Sidebar: I once met the shark when I was head of the development office at Georgetown and he wanted to liquidate some closely-held stock by taking advantange of the university's 501c(3) status. He gave away $1 million and made $5 million for himself. I've rarely felt so dirty in my life, but I was under orders to go out there and get the stock. Yuk.)<BR/><BR/>But...does Bill have an agent? No, he doesn't, although he knows a few who don't mind taking his queries when a contract comes his way. Why is this? Because Bill has not yet encountered the abstruse areas that might put him under a bridge. Usually it's a matter of taking a cookie-cutter contract ("Oh, it's standard for all our local history authors") and eking out an extra percentage point or two. The thing to remember is that all contracts, including cookie-cutter ones, are negotiable.<BR/><BR/>But when the GAN (Great American Novel, of course) is finally ready, Bill will be pestering Diana and Erica and everyone else for agenting names and tips. After all, those Hollywood rights are what will pay for the yacht and private jet that have become so necessary if one is to keep up with the [Paul Tudor] Joneses around here!Bill Clarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01828998021246511869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-24626025595832973752007-09-18T10:36:00.000-04:002007-09-18T10:36:00.000-04:00BOTH! But where do you learn which agents you shou...BOTH! But where do you learn which agents you should ask and which you should avoid?? Who do you believe? Some people will rave about a certain agent, but the same number of people will give instances of horror....Hellie Sinclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03933713255844695337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-20340103302499750442007-09-18T09:21:00.001-04:002007-09-18T09:21:00.001-04:00It seems the best time to shop for an agent is aft...It seems the best time to shop for an agent is after you do the legwork and get a contract offer from a large print publisher. Once you have a contract offer, I think it makes it much easier to get the attention of the agent. LOL Of course, because that's set money for them. But then it'll make it much easier on you when you have that second manuscript ready to be sent out. No more legwork!Sable Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13403130320091633450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981315063491687057.post-72099946207830908952007-09-18T09:21:00.000-04:002007-09-18T09:21:00.000-04:00In addition to selling your book by getting it in ...<I>In addition to selling your book by getting it in front of the right editors, your agent protects your interests as an author.</I><BR/><BR/>So true! Plus, the agent can serve as a go-between, so that once you are published, your relationship with your editor is a good/positive one (without you seeming like you're always whining/crying for More. *g)Erica Ridleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05511276393455961757noreply@blogger.com