What precisely do I need an agent for?
Background: My name is easily googlable, I have 10 books in print from significant publishers, I've guested on a documentary TV series, advised on movies. I derive my functional income from my writing. (I have a sideline business that mostly supports my hobbies and ammo budget.)
Since the beginning, agents have "not quite found" my proposals "interesting enough."
I've sold every word I wrote for pay, eventually, for professional rates, save one story.
The first agent was advised, "The editor has asked for the rest of my novel." Nope. They weren't interested.
The second was advised, "The publisher's taking too long on this third work. I'm considering withdrawing and shopping it around." The publisher did buy the novel about 8 weeks later (total time close to 18 months. It happens). Agent responded, negatively, three months after that.
On the languishing story, one agent politely declined that it was not the type of work she represented. That's fair. Another said they had no open slots. That's also fair. The third said to send it in...and it came back, because the address listed in the SFWA guide, and that I CONFIRMED BY EMAIL BEFORE SENDING, was long dead.
The next, one of the "most recommended" agreed to look at the usual synopsis and chapters, sent a "please send us more" letter to SOMEONE ELSE, who called me, and we unsnarled that (I got his rejection letter). Then, when the 6 weeks came and went, and turned into 10, I made a polite inquiry call, as I was invited to, and the assistant on the phone was rude and hung up on me.
Their rejection arrived the next day.
Meanwhile, I'm still selling novels and shorts at professional rates and better (8 stories this last year, including a novel, a novella, a PB reprint of a hardcover, three? shorts, an Afterword, a couple of articles, and some TV work), cashing the checks and living adequately if not in finery. So clearly, my writing is marketable.
I've had one positive response from a well-recommended SF agent, but at present, I've got more work than I can write, so we're on hiatus and good terms, pending time to clean up the mostly-completed novel I want to send him...when I'm not being sent advance checks on other stuff.
Meanwhile, any of the others could have had 15% of what I've earned, and, according to industry wisdom, more than that, by the value they'd add to the contracts.
I'm not seeing it.
The ones who are too busy or in different subgenres were very fast and polite in their responses. The others were, to be polite, bumbling. Yet they're all highly rated.
Since I haven't managed to deal with them, I can only surmise that they're just not up to speed on the 21st century and really aren't long for this world--I remember one publisher insisting I send a PAPER MANUSCRIPT. The only paper MSS I've ever sent anyone. I'm guessing those agents are stuck in that universe, not realizing that was 30 years ago.
DISCLAIMER: This is about my personal experiences, and I am not attempting to suggest new authors diss agents without cause. No, I won't mention names.
But what's the disconnect?
Background: My name is easily googlable, I have 10 books in print from significant publishers, I've guested on a documentary TV series, advised on movies. I derive my functional income from my writing. (I have a sideline business that mostly supports my hobbies and ammo budget.)
Since the beginning, agents have "not quite found" my proposals "interesting enough."
I've sold every word I wrote for pay, eventually, for professional rates, save one story.
The first agent was advised, "The editor has asked for the rest of my novel." Nope. They weren't interested.
The second was advised, "The publisher's taking too long on this third work. I'm considering withdrawing and shopping it around." The publisher did buy the novel about 8 weeks later (total time close to 18 months. It happens). Agent responded, negatively, three months after that.
On the languishing story, one agent politely declined that it was not the type of work she represented. That's fair. Another said they had no open slots. That's also fair. The third said to send it in...and it came back, because the address listed in the SFWA guide, and that I CONFIRMED BY EMAIL BEFORE SENDING, was long dead.
The next, one of the "most recommended" agreed to look at the usual synopsis and chapters, sent a "please send us more" letter to SOMEONE ELSE, who called me, and we unsnarled that (I got his rejection letter). Then, when the 6 weeks came and went, and turned into 10, I made a polite inquiry call, as I was invited to, and the assistant on the phone was rude and hung up on me.
Their rejection arrived the next day.
Meanwhile, I'm still selling novels and shorts at professional rates and better (8 stories this last year, including a novel, a novella, a PB reprint of a hardcover, three? shorts, an Afterword, a couple of articles, and some TV work), cashing the checks and living adequately if not in finery. So clearly, my writing is marketable.
I've had one positive response from a well-recommended SF agent, but at present, I've got more work than I can write, so we're on hiatus and good terms, pending time to clean up the mostly-completed novel I want to send him...when I'm not being sent advance checks on other stuff.
Meanwhile, any of the others could have had 15% of what I've earned, and, according to industry wisdom, more than that, by the value they'd add to the contracts.
I'm not seeing it.
The ones who are too busy or in different subgenres were very fast and polite in their responses. The others were, to be polite, bumbling. Yet they're all highly rated.
Since I haven't managed to deal with them, I can only surmise that they're just not up to speed on the 21st century and really aren't long for this world--I remember one publisher insisting I send a PAPER MANUSCRIPT. The only paper MSS I've ever sent anyone. I'm guessing those agents are stuck in that universe, not realizing that was 30 years ago.
DISCLAIMER: This is about my personal experiences, and I am not attempting to suggest new authors diss agents without cause. No, I won't mention names.
But what's the disconnect?
