Agent or publisher?

[wurdwise]

I am torn between seeking a publisher for my middle reader first then getting an agent, or querying agents first. I have seen it said often that children's book publishers are more open to submissions, and my thinking is I won't have to sit and wait for an agent to find my book a home, but I want one to take care of the business end of things. What are your thoughts on this, advice, input?

[E.G. Gammon]

From what I remember reading on the forums, an agent would probably be the best way to go. When my novel is finished, I intend on getting an agent first. I thought you would have to go through finding an agent and then the wait would be even longer because your agent would have to find a publisher. But, someone has said that once you get an agent, the agent has connections you don't have as an unagented writer, and your manuscript would get read by publishers quicker than if you sent them your manuscript yourself. Plus, if you have an agent, you have a shot at getting a top name publisher, one who doesn't accept manuscripts by unagented writers, like Random House or Harper Collins.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

[Christine N.]

Depends on where you want to submit to. Big publishers usually get better response from agents (and some publishers don't accept unagented subs - Candlewick Press is one I can think of right off the top of my head). But most small publishers take unagented stuff, some queries only, some queries and pages.

What kind of book is it? That also makes a difference. Fantasy publishers, for example, like Tor (whose children's division escapes me at the moment) takes unagented stuff, but it's a really long wait. Tyrannosaurus Press also takes only SF/F ms. Historical fiction? There's someone out there who does it.

I didn't have an agent, but my publisher is small. I'm thinking about looking into getting one for the next book.

You can always spend some time with P&E, click onto publishers sites and see what fits you best. They also have agent listings, so do the same thing.

Have fun!

[Zolah]

My advice - look for both at once.

I'm a children's writer like you, and I found a publisher (one that didn't normally accept unagented submissions, believe it or not) on my own, and got an agent at about the same time (though before I had a contract). I was submitting to both at once.

You just have to keep a detailed record of all the submissions that you make, so that if you find an agent you can tell them where your work has been seen before. Being able to say 'My manuscript has been requested by Generic Editor at such and such publisher and is currently under consideration' in your query letter to an agent helps tremendously, I think. But if you decide not do that, you can always contact agencies once you've been made an offer. They'll be keener to represent you then anyway and it's definitely worth having an agent by the time contract negotiations come around - mine proved that she was worth her weight in gold when she got the publisher to remove a really dreadful option clause and increase both my advance and my royalty rate.

[wurdwise]

I like the way you think! Ok, why not, it's all roll of the dice, maybe I'll roll snake eyes. Thanks, everyone.