Are agents any good?

[George Wilder Jr.]

Are literary agents any good at all?

[Jay Saunders]

That depends on your market? If you have a small and defined readership, then maybe they will be of little use to you. If you are writing non-fiction and are an expert in the field you are discussing, then you'd be better off talking to the publishers/editors direct.

If on the otherhand you have a potentail large readership, then I would argue that an agent is essential. This is the only realistic way that you will end up being looked at by mainstream publishers. And that is the only way you can truley reach a broad audience.

While I am a fan of POD, until the prices substantially reduce, there is no way that these can compete with £6.99 novel on the bookshelf of Waterstones. If you want to be one of those, then you'll need an agent.

[Dick Stodghill]

I agree with Jay. One word of warning: there are many predators posing as legitimate agents. Never, under any conditions, pay even one cent to someone claiming to be an agent. Real agents don't operate that way.

[Jay Saunders]

Very good point!

Before sending anything to an agent or publisher, make sure that you have checked them out against the very good resource that is Preditors and Editors.

I cannot recommend this highly enough, as it saved me from a scammer about 5 years ago!

[Jonathan Fesmire]

Another thing to keep in mind is that breaking into the big publishing market is tough. More than tough. It's a huge pain and, to me at least, felt like a monstrous waste of time. I've had a couple of agents, and others interested in representing me, but I eventually decided to publish through Lulu. It might be harder to get on book store shelves, but my books are easy to order from Amazon and elsewhere! Plus, they won't go out of print, and copies are printed when they're ordered.

They may not be in standard paperback for $7.99, but at $16, they're a good price for trade paperbacks.

So yeah, it all depends on your ultimate goals. I got to the point where I just wanted people to be able to read my books. I'll be making my living as an illustrator--which, I discovered, I love just as much or even more than writing.

[George Wilder Jr.]

Thanks for the info.

George Wilder Jr.