Re: What's better
I write children's fantasty. When I say children, I mean the 9-12 year old children. Anyway, I got some advice that children's writers do better just to go to publishers.
Being a nobody, I was better received by the small publishers I targeted than by the agents I queried, who all gave me the form-letter. (I consider that to be a four-letter word.)
Somebody else said that if you can get a publisher, then you can get an agent to work out the details for you. Well, if I've come this far with a publisher, I am not going to let an agent swoop in for a share after I've done all the work.
<shrug>
Anyway, if I finally sell this book and get it out, I'll probably look for an agent again, when I've got some more publishing credit. I'll get him to help sell the next book.
Just MHO.