Uncreated Conscience

Recently there was an article in GalleyCat about no longer needing an agent if you are thinking of publishing. Since then, there have been some great rebuttals in defense of the agent, from an agent and and from a writer‘s perspective.

Moonrat has written a better post about why you should never submit unagented to publishers, but I would like to offer my own meagre, neophyte thoughts from the publishing/editorial side of the desk.

Do you–strictly speaking–need an agent? No.

Do you want an agent? Oh yes, wholeheartedly yes.

Of course, I am running a contest for unagented (and agented) writers, but as someone who writes, who has worked for a literary agency, and who is now on the editorial/publishing side of the entire business, I will say that all these roles have a place.

The reason that a writer wants an agent is because the agent works for the writer. Always, always, always. They do more than negotiate contracts; they help guide your career. The publisher does not work for the writer; the publisher first and foremost publishes for the consumers, the readers, the hoi polloi (and ourselves). We are concerned with developing a book, not an author. We produce products–the physical (or digital) book. There is even a difference between a publisher and an editor–the editor focuses on the book while the publisher deals with placing the book in the market.

The agent, on the other hand, develops the author. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that agents and editors/publishers sit on the same side of the desk. There are five distinct places in the publishing industry and it flows in a specific way: from writer to agent to editor to publisher to reader. A writer might think that bypassing the agent and going straight to the source works to their advantage, but more often than not it can blow up in your face. You can self-publish, of course, but if you want a chance of your work–your baby–reaching a greater audience, a traditional publisher can help with that. Do you know everything about the ins-and-outs of a publishing house? No. Does your agent? Your agent sure as hell knows a lot more than you.

On the editorial/publishing side, we are more likely to turn to agents to find book to publish. Why? They know our tastes, but more than that, they do the actual work in finding authors. We want the product; they want the writer. There’s a difference.