AGENT or PUBLISHER

[gp101]

Just read some disturbing news (news to me, anyway) when I followed one of UJ's recommended links. A publisher claims agents are useless to newbies unless we already have an offer from a publisher. So is it a waste of time to solicit an agent in order to get a publisher? Is that putting the wagon before the horse? Should we instead target publishers exclusively?

The only account I'm familiar with regarding well-known writers getting their first deals is Grisham's. Supposedly he sent his first manuscript to ten publishers before getting signed, not any agents.

[gp101]

My apologies... I was trying to leave this in Uncle Jim's thread and when I didn't see it posted there I sent it again. Didn't realize I had created it as a new topic, so it's posted twice.