Self-Publishers and Agents

mrsmig · Nov 26, 2018

I was in the midst of an online discussion with some author friends of mine today. One of them is an enthusiastic self-publisher (albeit relatively new to the process), who, in the course of our discussion, claimed that agents are looking to sign self-publishers in order to sell subsidiary rights; e.g. foreign and film rights. Here's what she said:

[FONT=&quot]They actually do it all the time now! There are lots of agents signing straight selfpubs for just that reason. There’s a whole thread about it just last week on one of my forums of self-pubs who have agents that tell them if they couldn’t get the big deal to self-pub and they’ll handle the other rights. Some strictly handle the other rights since those authors want nothing to do with publishers. Agents seem to realize the publishing tide has shifted and they are adapting to stay current and keep making money.

[/FONT]I'm sure there are isolated incidents where this has occurred, but I'm just finding it a bit hard to swallow. Maybe that's because my knowledge of present-day agenting is limited; maybe my thinking about the book trade in general is somewhat hidebound. In any case, I'd be interested to know if anyone here has personally encountered this kind of business arrangement, and how that's worked out for the parties involved. Do any of our self-publishing mavens believe this is, in fact, a shifting of the publishing tide?

M. H. Lee · Nov 26, 2018

I haven't signed personally but I do know a number of self-published authors who've signed with agents or rights management agencies for audio and foreign rights deals. I want to say Hershman Rights Management is a big one for audio/foreign rights for self-publishers.

There are also agents, Kristen Nelson comes to mind, who happily work with some of the biggest name hybrid authors out there like Hugh Howey, Courtney Milan, and Jana DeLeon. In her case I know for a fact that she reached out to Hugh Howey and offered to rep him.

Jeneral · Nov 26, 2018

I have a friend who is doing this with an agent. It's a relatively new arrangement, I think, but she seems happy with it so far.

mrsmig · Nov 26, 2018

Good to know - thanks all.

I think it goes without saying that agents would be champing at the bit to sign a heavy-hitter like Hugh Howey. My question is: would self-publishers who are just getting into the business, or self-publishers who've had only modest sales, have a chance at obtaining an agent this way?

cool pop · Nov 26, 2018

mrsmig said:
Good to know - thanks all.

I think it goes without saying that agents would be champing at the bit to sign a heavy-hitter like Hugh Howey. My question is: would self-publishers who are just getting into the business, or self-publishers who've had only modest sales, have a chance at obtaining an agent this way?

I've noticed more and and more midlist SP authors getting agents but this is not for a special deal like print rights, etc. It's self-published authors who are interested in becoming hybrid so they are trying to get trade deals on the side of self-publishing. But, usually the big time SP authors are the ones who get those print-only deals. Overall, I'd say it's a small percentage of SP authors getting agents because most aren't even interested in agents or trade publishing at all so they wouldn't even try.

Dennis E. Taylor · Nov 26, 2018

It kind of worked out that way for me, albeit with lots of twists and turns. My agent has done some negotiations with Audible on my behalf, but most of his activity has been in foreign rights and movie options. It can make sense, if a self-published book ends up being popular enough for foreign pubbers to be interested.

Al X. · Nov 27, 2018

At first glance, I would think that an agent would be an unnecessary middleman for a self publisher. Do they offer promotion services unavailable to authors?

lizmonster · Nov 27, 2018

Al X. said:
At first glance, I would think that an agent would be an unnecessary middleman for a self publisher. Do they offer promotion services unavailable to authors?

Any time you're selling rights to a third party, it helps to have the expertise of an agent. I wouldn't even know who to talk to about film and translation rights for my stuff.

Al X. · Nov 27, 2018

lizmonster said:
Any time you're selling rights to a third party, it helps to have the expertise of an agent. I wouldn't even know who to talk to about film and translation rights for my stuff.

That makes sense.

Self-Publishers and Agents

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

M. H. Lee

Jeneral

Cat wrangler

mrsmig

Write. Write. Writey Write Write.

cool pop

It's Cool, Miss Pop if You're Nasty

Dennis E. Taylor

Get it off! It burns!

Al X.

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Al X.