One agency's new 'business model'...(?!?)

I agree with Scope that I feel badly for agents, and I don't blame them for trying to think of new ways to make money, or for worrying about their paychecks. That's true in any sales-based job, right?

But for myself, I don't think I'd sign a contract where my money was taken. I'd have a hard enough time figuring out if it was legit, and having to worry about not only not selling but going broke WHILE NOT SELLING isn't something I'd risk.

Then again, there are plenty of writers who fall for the PublishAmerica trap because they don't know enough about the business. I can see agents still getting clients if they changed to this plan, taking that into account.

Would they still be members of...er, what's the agents group called, that an agent can only join if they're ethical?

Michiru said:

Would they still be members of...er, what's the agents group called, that an agent can only join if they're ethical?

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I'm reading through the AAR's Canon of Ethics, and while it heaps disapproval on fees for "reading and evaluating", and kickbacks from referring clients to third parties, it also says that "compensation for agency services ... is agreed upon between a member and a client". I'm sure there must be an AAR rule about agents not charging fees for representation - perhaps my legalese isn't as sharp as it should be.

Pat~ said:

(or even pay out of pocket in the case of very low advances)

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If my agent was considering deals with very low advances I'd get a new agent.

James D. Macdonald said:

If my agent was considering deals with very low advances I'd get a new agent.

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Me, too!

I'm only looking for an agent in the hopes that it will secure me a big, fat advance (which I'll then have to work my hiney off to sell through, of course.)

If I wanted to get a small advance, I'd throw my queries over the transom without the assistance of an agent.

Is the author required to sign a crummy contract? That is, if the agent has made a deal for you that only pays, say, $100, and the agent minimum is $150, then supposedly the author will pay out $50, the publisher will pay out $100, and the agent gets it all. That's awfully close to vanity publishing, and I wouldn't do it. I'd tell my agent to get me a $1000 deal so that her 15% would be $150, and if she can't me a $1000 deal, I can damn well get my own books published for a fee.

Sure, first book advances are often low, but that's the whole point of building a relationship. One of my agent mates has been with my agent from her first book, which pretty much got bupkis for an advance. The second book got a nice advance. The third book got a very nice advance and is selling at Target. That's how an agent makes a living, by building writers' careers.