What's with agent-publishers? (digital publishing from agents)

Seems a lot of people around here are calling it just that. Seen a thread or two around about it.

I'm not the most well-versed on the subject, though.

It definitely feels deceptive, if ever so slightly. And it also feels more like self-marketing (for the agent) than legitimate representation.

It could be a last resort, like, if they can't sell it to any of the publishing houses but they really believe in it and can market it well.

But again I'm not that knowledgeable. I've never sold a longer work.

It seems to me that, should you accept an agency's offer of representation, you as employer have the right to add a clause in their contract saying something on the order of: "Agent shall represent Author's work(s) by presenting them for contract by royalty paying, advance-offering publishers and not to any entity involved in self-publishing."

You can add anything to a contract. If they sign, they're bound by it. If not, shake dust and find an agent who will try to earn their 15% by pitching your work to publishers who will pay both of you.

Come on guys. This is sounding like amateur hour here.

A reputable agent won't gain anything by bringing in a bunch of authors and encouraging them to self-pub, and if they did, they wouldn't have their reputations for long. As long as they're up front with their associations it's all fine. You can choose what to do and if the deal sounds fishy, just cancel your contract with the agent.

Now if your agency contract doesn't have an escape clause, not that would be a problem.

Their reputation as an agent is far more important to them than a few dozen, or even a few hundred self-pub clients.

Drachen Jager said:

Come on guys. This is sounding like amateur hour here.

A reputable agent won't gain anything by bringing in a bunch of authors and encouraging them to self-pub, and if they did, they wouldn't have their reputations for long. As long as they're up front with their associations it's all fine. You can choose what to do and if the deal sounds fishy, just cancel your contract with the agent.

Now if your agency contract doesn't have an escape clause, not that would be a problem.

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Well you are talking to at least a couple of amateurs. Speaking of creative work, at most I've published a dozen short stories--a process which requires a "how do you do, yes/no" and that's about it.

I've never looked into this to be honest, and didn't even realize it was essentially "self publishing," which kind of spins it in a new light. Though if you acquire representation, and said representation publishes your work, is it really self-publishing? Or is it just published work missing a WHOLE lot of checks and balances.

Either way this wouldn't be the route for me. It's interesting, but there's probably a reason so many writers are wary of it, no?

I just typed "define: agent" into Google and from Wikipedia got

Agent (law):
in commercial law, is a person who is authorized to act on behalf of another (called the principal) to create a legal relationship with a third party

(That last bit of bolding mine) Literary agents are included on the list of examples for this definition of Agent. So where's the "third party" in an "agent-publisher"? I wouldn't consider a so-called agent-publisher to an agent at all, but rather a salesman/woman if this "publishing" they offer is at a cost to the writer. It's a clear conflict of interest.

Even if it's supposedly there as a fallback position should they be unable to sell the book to another publisher, it creates a perverse incentive to give up on that and on helping the writer being their book up to scratch. The agent is supposed to make their money by getting the writer a deal - that's their incentive.

I personally know one agent who's added this to his list of services that is offered only to clients. However, it's a voluntary service. He's not going to look at a proposal and say "hey, let's just self-publish this." No. It's a service for other works that can be used at the client's discretion: for subbed works that didn't sell, for shorts that the author wants to use for promotion, for other works that might not sell to NYC (like novellas), to bring out extensive backlists that have gone out of print.

If the client wishes to self-pub on their own, they are free to do so. If the client wishes to use the agent's contacts as part of the available service, they are also free to do so.

Personally, I don't know that I'd ever use such a service. But I've learned this year to never say never where this business is concerned, so....

ChaosTitan said:

But I've learned this year to never say never where this business is concerned, so....

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I'll say. :/

As recent as 6 months ago I wouldn't have considered self-publishing at all, but recent events and developments have made me take another look at the model to see it's viability for some of the things I'd like to do.

Can you guys clear up which aspect of this is self-publishing? I'm sort of confused on that, as I don't know much about this service.

Self-publishing=author writes book, author puts own book into print/e-book.

Is that the case here or is it only that the agent is extending their title to editor/publisher as well? Do they merely encourage and assist the writer in their own e-pub efforts, at their own cost, or does the agent cover things like cost, help with things like marketing? Is there a contract between the two parties regarding the publication and is there a shared percentage? Does the agent offer any kind of advance whatsoever?

Some of these things would really make it legitimate/worthwhile or not in my eyes.

EDIT: after looking at the link upstream, if agents are merely "representing" work that would have been self-published anyway, why would I give away my hard earned (probably very small) profit to someone else? Unless they had extreme marketability...

The Lonely One said:

Can you guys clear up which aspect of this is self-publishing? I'm sort of confused on that, as I don't know much about this service.

Self-publishing=author writes book, author puts own book into print/e-book.

Is that the case here or is it only that the agent is extending their title to editor/publisher as well? Do they merely encourage and assist the writer in their own e-pub efforts, at their own cost, or does the agent cover things like cost, help with things like marketing? Is there a contract between the two parties regarding the publication and is there a shared percentage? Does the agent offer any kind of advance whatsoever?

Some of these things would really make it legitimate/worthwhile or not in my eyes.

EDIT: after looking at the link upstream, if agents are merely "representing" work that would have been self-published anyway, why would I give away my hard earned (probably very small) profit to someone else? Unless they had extreme marketability...

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From what I understand, the agent is offering to assist with things like editing, formatting, cover art, etc... They aren't acting as a publisher, but rather as a partner in the process of self-publishing the author's work. Obviously these are things the author can take care of themselves or by hiring someone to do it for them. So by having the agent use their contacts when it comes to formatting and covers, it takes a few steps off the author's shoulders--for a percentage, of course.

There are pros and cons to this, and those have been discussed in several other threads here in Round Table and elsewhere as the agencies in question made their public announcements.

peace said:

Exactly. I don't want to accept an offer, only to find that they're going to e-pub me (again, nothing wrong with e-publishing... but most of us are looking for an agent because we want to be PRINTED). They should be upfront about this.

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Well, there's nothing "non-published" about e-published books. Lots and lots and lots of readers prefer ebooks, and the goal, I think, is to reach readers, not just to hold a printed book in your hands. If you just want to be PRINTED, you can do that yourself.

The way to be sure an agent is going to sell your book to a good traditional publisher, whether they publish you electronically or in print or both -- and that's what you want an agent for, to negotiate a favorable contract with a professional publisher -- is to do a lot of research on every agent before you query them.

Too many people shoot off queries to anybody who says they're an agent, and sometimes that lands them in varying degrees of trouble. Narrow down the pool of agents by carefully researching each one. What books have they sold recently? Is their list of books similar in key ways to your book? Is this agent likely to enjoy your book and be enthusiastic about it? And most importantly, to whom has this agent sold books recently? If being published by a major imprint is your goal, then only query agents who have recent sales to big imprints.

Pretty easy.