Tips and Timesavers

Agent or self-representation?

Everyone has different expectations of their publishing experience. Some people thrive on the challenge of stalking down and securing a contract with a publisher and the months (if not years) it takes to accumulate industry knowledge. For them the literary 'kill' is worth it.

Others prefer to let the experts do their jobs and put themselves in the hands of a literary agent. Agents have a vested interest in developing you (the writer) to the highest level because they make their money when you sell your work! (And not before if they're legit).

Ask yourself this--would you repair your own car or represent yourself in court. Sure you might be able to pull it off but would it be the best job? There are specialists in the literary agent field for good reason, although, no, its not free. I have listed some of the pros and cons to both methods of representation below.

Self-Representation - Pros

  • Many Romance publishing houses will take unsolicited/unagented work
  • You have complete control of how fast or slow your career moves
  • You keep 100% of the income (after tax) that your work earns
  • You have the most enthusiastic client and agent ever. You!

Self-Representation - Cons

  • It's hard, hard yakka. People go decades without getting accepted and its not because they're all average writers.
  • You need to spend a lot of time and money building up your networks, attending the right conferences and getting to know the industry.
  • You have no formal support or advice for financial and legal aspects of your trade
  • You are responsible for all your own self-promotion

Agented Representation - Pros

  • Better chance of getting read/published
  • You will work with them to develop your potential
  • An agent can help develop you in other directions if you would like to try another genre

Agented Representation - Cons

  • You have to find an agent willing/able to sign you
  • You have to do a lot of legwork to find the right type of Agent for you
  • You have to commit a percentage of all earnings to your Agent $$$
  • You have no real control on who they approach of how they 'sell' you
  • Your agent is working hard to sell other people in your genre too
  • You may need to undertake self-promotional activities at their suggestion (although realistically you'll need to do this at your publisher's request too)
  • You may need to 'manage' your agent to make sure they're working in a way you're happy with

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Site last updated Nov 2007