*raises hand*
Forgive me for being naive or possibly ignorant to boot, but it seems there is more controversy and conflict over agents, what they should do, and what they should charge, than is genuinely worth it. How many of you guys truly recommend having an agent?
I ask this because the majority of my experience in the entertainment business is in music. I'm a musician and an audio engineer/producer, and most of my close friends are involved in the music scene as well. The vast majority of us in recent times, in this scene, have gone completely away from the notion of managers, agents, labels (the music equivalent to publishers), etc. Everything has transitioned to nearly 100% DIY; indie has all but taken over the rock, metal, and jazz scenes.
Is having an agent or a publisher really worth it in literature still?
I also ask because I took the same approach to my first book (eBook, actually), [which I just released]....all DIY, I haven't gone agent shopping or anything, and I haven't the first clue of how to attract a major publisher (and don't even know that I would want to). There's a totally negative thought process regarding things like that in the music scene now.