Agents and PODs

You published your book. Why do you want an agent? Wait, before you answer that, the response is, Then you shouldn't have published your book.

POD, in my opinion, hurts far, far more authors in their search for agents or mainstream publishers than it helps. Short of it becoming a real success in the POD edition, there just isn't much of a chance that a publisher will bite.

Sorry.

Best,
Andy

I buy that... but:

Does it hurt (past tense)?

Does it hurt a writer's agent search to have had a previous book published POD in the past? Will it hurt a new manuscript's consideration prospects?

Or should I just change my name now?

LOL

Tami

I think what Andy was trying to explain is that a POD published book is NO LONGER a new manuscript, WriteStuff. It was published -- whether it was published with Random House, or Del Ray or Aventine or PA. A NEW manuscript is one that hasn't been previously offered for sale to the public. If the public has had the opportunity to purchase the book, and hasn't so far bought thousands of copies of it, then there's an automatic strike against it to a publisher. They then must overcome the previous lack of sales and try to convince the public that it is now somehow a different, or better book.

Yes, it CAN be done, but it's difficult. It's much better to wait and find a publisher from the outset. If you have already published via POD, you can certainly give it a try, but it would be better for your purposes to downplay the sales to the public, rather than hype them. Don't LIE -- ever, but if sales weren't abnormally high, you can just tell an agent/editor that the book was only available in limited areas (like Amazon and the publisher's website), which might give them hope that a market still exists if they publish.

Does that make sense?

No, No, No... I know, Cathy. I realize that the original question was concerning trying to get an already pod'd book accepted by 'anyone'...

What I was asking was just a little different.

I wanted to know if having 'been there, done that' in the past, would hurt a writer's chances for future representation with a DIFFERENT manuscript.

I don't think it counts for or against. It's not considered a valid writing credit, from what I understand.

You will be seen by agents as a new, unpublished author, and the ms, will have to stand on its own. (not that it doesn't even if you have writing credits; I think that only means you have a track record of writing what people want to read)