Submit to a Publishing House via a Contact, or Seek an Agent?

Edwardian · Feb 24, 2017

Firstly, I am an unpublished author who is on the point of completing my first novel. I have a friend who used to work for a large publishing house and who has maintained contacts with people there. He has offered to call his contact/s to ask them to take a look at my manuscript. However, he wonders if I might get better terms going through an agent who will much better understand contracts and terms than I could. At the same time, going direct to the publisher does seem like an opportunity too good to pass up, even if it comes to nothing. I don't mind reading up about contracts and I am capable of being professional when dealing with an editor and a publishing house. What do you think?

Secondly, as I understand it, normally it is perfectly okay to submit to multiple agents. When submitting to a publisher, can I also submit to agents at the same time? Should I inform them that I am also submitting to agents? Should I give them a deadline for looking at my manuscript before I submit to agents? Excuse my ignorance on this. I have no idea what is considered acceptable.

lizmonster · Feb 24, 2017

Not sure where you're located, but this is my experience for the US:

1) Yes, it's absolutely expected that you'll be doing multiple submissions to agents. Any agent who expects an exclusive query will say so on their web site (I ran into a few).

2) If even your friend with the contacts is questioning whether you'd get a better deal with an agent, I would strongly suggest you not take them up on their offer.

In general, the advice I hear is to query agents or publishers that take unagented subs - but not both at the same time. Any publisher to whom you submit your manuscript directly becomes one that your agent can no longer tap. Whether or not an agent makes the most sense for you is going to depend on what sort of publishing career you're looking for, so it's worth doing the research and going through the query grind if you decide you want representation.

When you say "on the point of completing," what do you mean? Is this your first draft, or are you working on final edits and polish?

Dennis E. Taylor · Feb 24, 2017

I can tell you unequivocally that my agent is worth every penny of commission. This is obviously a personal preference thing, and it depends on how successful your books are. The more successful you are (or intend to be), the more you need someone who knows what they're doing. Especially if, like me, you consider sales and marketing to be less fun than multiple root canals.

At this moment, my agent is negotiating three different foreign-language agreements. I wouldn't have even known where to start with that. So every penny that comes out of those is found money.

Edwardian · Feb 24, 2017

lizmonster said:
Not sure where you're located, but this is my experience for the US:

I'm in Canada and the publishing house would be in the UK.

lizmonster said:
If even your friend with the contacts is questioning whether you'd get a better deal with an agent, I would strongly suggest you not take them up on their offer.

Well, my friend doesn't really know. Do reputable publishing houses sometimes offer an exploitative contract? Do you think I would get a better deal via an agent, even with payment of fees/royalties which I understand is about 15%?

lizmonster said:
In general, the advice I hear is to query agents or publishers that take unagented subs - but not both at the same time. Any publisher to whom you submit your manuscript directly becomes one that your agent can no longer tap.

I hadn't thought of that. So I presume I would have to inform an agent that a manuscript has already been submitted to a publishing house, and that the agent would not be able to approach that publishing house with my manuscript.

lizmonster said:
Whether or not an agent makes the most sense for you is going to depend on what sort of publishing career you're looking for, so it's worth doing the research and going through the query grind if you decide you want representation.

I'm hoping long-term, so I suppose ultimately an agent makes sense.

lizmonster said:
When you say "on the point of completing," what do you mean? Is this your first draft, or are you working on final edits and polish?

I'm finishing up. I'll be ready to copy-edit in less than a month I hope.

lizmonster · Feb 24, 2017

Edwardian said:
Well, my friend doesn't really know. Do reputable publishing houses sometimes offer an exploitative contract? Do you think I would get a better deal via an agent, even with payment of fees/royalties which I understand is about 15%?

Exploitative is kind of a loaded term. But any large company is going to have a contract that favors them. An agent would at least be able to vet the contract, and negotiate some of the terms (reversion clauses, rights to future work, etc.).

And seriously, don't get caught up on the 15%. A good agent will absolutely save you that much, never mind the peace of mind that comes from being able to focus on your work rather than all the business stuff.

Edwardian said:
I hadn't thought of that. So I presume I would have to inform an agent that a manuscript has already been submitted to a publishing house, and that the agent would not be able to approach that publishing house with my manuscript.

As I understand it, yes.

Edwardian said:
I'm finishing up. I'll be ready to copy-edit in less than a month I hope.

I'd definitely make sure you finish it before you query it or submit it anywhere. And get eyes other than your own on it, even if (especially if) you think you're done editing. Share Your Work is terrific for shorter chunks, and can often point out systemic issues you may miss on your own.

Sage · Feb 24, 2017

Well, you're jumping the gun a little. You're assuming that your friend's offer to get your ms in front of an editor is an offer to get you a publishing contract. He can't do that. Only your novel can do that. All he can offer is to get an editor to look at your novel.

So, on one hand, if his recommendation got you in front of a Big 5 editor who did love the novel and then they offered you a publishing contract, you would then be able to send queries to your favorite agents with "publishing contract from ____" in the subject along with "Query: Title," and an agent would probably jump at the chance to represent you and negotiate the terms of your contract.

On the other hand, if those editors reject your novel, and you query agents afterwards with the hope that they can get you in front of publishers, you have now cut off potential publishers they can submit to, and that makes you a less attractive client to them.

Edwardian · Feb 24, 2017

Sage said:
Well, you're jumping the gun a little. You're assuming that your friend's offer to get your ms in front of an editor is an offer to get you a publishing contract. He can't do that. Only your novel can do that. All he can offer is to get an editor to look at your novel.

So, on one hand, if his recommendation got you in front of a Big 5 editor who did love the novel and then they offered you a publishing contract, you would then be able to send queries to your favorite agents with "publishing contract from ____" in the subject along with "Query: Title," and an agent would probably jump at the chance to represent you and negotiate the terms of your contract.

On the other hand, if those editors reject your novel, and you query agents afterwards with the hope that they can get you in front of publishers, you have now cut off potential publishers they can submit to, and that makes you a less attractive client to them.

I appreciate this is all hypothetical. Do you think an agent would be more likely to get me a publishing contract with a Publishing House, than if I approached the Publishing House via a contact, or is it likely to make no difference?

waylander · Feb 24, 2017

Agents make their money by knowing who is the right editor to send a manuscript to. Most agents are also likely to read your manuscript and offer suggestions for improvement.

When it comes to if agents are worth their 15%, ask yourself "how well to I understand the royalties statement my publisher will send me?" Because your agent will understand it and know if they've paid you correctly.

Aggy B. · Feb 24, 2017

So, a good agent would help you with the MS (if that's something you're interested in) and also make sure it's being submitted to the right editors. The "right" editors being folks who are looking for something similar to your book right now and not just those who have been interested in the past. Having an agent submit your book basically means the editor knows it's good then the question is more of "is this what I'm looking for?" And less of "Will this make my eyes bleed within the first page?"

Having a friend to make a recommendation may give you a similar "leg up" compared to trying to catch an editor's attention through the slush pile, but that assumes they are on as good terms as they say, and know what their friends are looking for is a good match with what you have written.

Personally, I think your chances are probably better with an agent. Of course, if your query agents and don't get a positive response there is nothing to keep you from them approaching publishers directly, while the opposite is not true. Querying even for a few months will give you a better idea of how appealing your pitch and project are.

Siri Kirpal · Feb 24, 2017

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Suggestion: Once you've got an edited (by others as well as yourself) novel and a good query, try out the agents first. Agents who take a look, but reject the book, sometimes (but not always) offer feedback. You can use that advice if it works for you. If no agents offer representation, then you can try your friend's contacts.

Best of luck.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Edwardian · Feb 25, 2017

Sorry I've been away. Thanks so much for your responses. You have convinced me that trying to get an agent is the first logical step.

Submit to a Publishing House via a Contact, or Seek an Agent?

Edwardian

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Dennis E. Taylor

Get it off! It burns!

Edwardian

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Edwardian

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process

Edwardian