Small houses vrs query to agents

wow, this question has a lot of factions to it, but the short answer is what do you want from your career as a writer?

You have to understand what small houses have to offer you verses trying to obtain an agent and then that agent trying to get a publishing house to buy your book.

A small house, as a rule, does not offer advancements. it is royalty only and each house will differ slightly on what they offer you as a royalty. Again as a rule if they accept you they will put your book in their que for publication. Most small houses deal only with e-books, but some will do print runs as well. The advantage here is your book gets out quicker. the downside- less money in your pocket and most likely less marketing by your publisher- and LOTS of competition.

Now going with an agent: First you need to query that agent and lets pretend everything goes as well as can be expected and an agent agrees to represent you- this could take as little as a few weeks or over a year- or years- or never. but let's say you have an agent. Now that agent has to query on your behalf to a publisher. again this process can take a short amount of time or a very long time or once again- never- Yes you can obtain an agent and that is not a guarantee your book will be published- but lets say you have an offer-
Your agent will take 15% of the advance you are offered by the publisher. while most major houses do have a marketing plan in place a lot of the marketing is still left to the author.

Still LOTS of competition, but you have been paid up front and being with a major house is excellent.

So to answer your question- It depends on a lot of variables. what do you want? when do you want it? are you willing too wait?

For me I would love an agent. I went with a small house because my books were hard to pigeon hole and agents hate that. But with every new book I write I query the agents again and hope for the best-

I hope that helps a little.

FlaDan said:

I have heard that for a new writer, it is better to send to the small houses and try to get a published record than start with queries to agents.

Click to expand...

There's an old-time belief that used to tell authors to publish short stories and work up a list of smaller publications before they try to publish longer work--this does not apply anymore. It's better, IMO, to go directly for the big debut in the biggest spot possible. You can still work your way up, but there's very little need to try doing so when you can possibly start at the top.

sheadakota said:

Your agent will take 15% of the advance you are offered by the publisher. while most major houses do have a marketing plan in place a lot of the marketing is still left to the author.

Click to expand...

I'll add two things: The agent should be worth their 15% by getting your MS in front someone who'll pay more for it, and the author's side of marketing it not a big deal; you won't be asked to go to a bookstores to sell them your book, but to be a presence in the reader/writer community and in the right spots. Though, you can just not do this at all and it'll be fine. You're looked upon to market/advertise yourself more when you come down from the big publishers, decent publishers, small presses, e-pubs, and self-publishing.


I'd say it's down to what you're publishing and your mindset. There's some things that big houses don't wish, or rarely publish; like novellas, erotica, niche genres. These are things that a small publisher might have their own niche in. Or, if you just want to publish small--I know of some authors who have are well setup with a big publisher and a great agent, and submitted directly to a small press.

FlaDan said:

I have heard that for a new writer, it is better to send to the small houses and try to get a published record than start with queries to agents.

Click to expand...

Did you hear this from someone you trust and that has a proven track record doing this?

Yeah....

Jeff

FlaDan said:

I have heard that for a new writer, it is better to send to the small houses and try to get a published record than start with queries to agents.

Is there pros and cons?

Click to expand...

I started with a micro-press for my first book, which was released as paperback only. My second publisher was bigger and had more clout, but still small. They released my next book as limited edition hardcover, paperback and eBook. I released an eBook only novella with them, as well. My fourth book was paperback and eBook with yet a third publisher, also small.

So it wasn't until I was shopping my fifth book that I was able to land a contract from a medium-sized publisher, which I also used to interest an agent.

But the same model doesn't work for everyone. You have to just kind of make your own way and do whatever works best for you. Perseverance is key.

As a small press ourselves, we just want to say kudos to Sheadakota for an excellent summary of the position we - and others like us, no doubt - find ourselves in. Excellent post with some salient advice.

As for "hard to pigeon hole" stuff, well... we thrive on that kind of thing!