Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: Agents Are Not Just Gatekeepers

There's A LOT of talk out there! "When t...

2010-06-24T18:38:03.580-07:00

There's A LOT of talk out there!

"When the REAL AGE OF THE EBOOK arrives, anyone who wants to can publish their MOST FABULOUSIST MANUSCRIPT that the editors and publishers and agents they approached didn't see the brilliance of..."

I recently blogged about this:
http://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2010/06/slice-of-pie-editors-and-agents-arks-in.html

Laura Miller at salon.com has some interesting light to shine on the Advent of the Ebook:
http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2010/06/22/slush

And Ian Randall Strock Facebooked about it here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/notes/ian-randal-strock/thinking-about-self-publishing/409746324095

That seems like a lot for one person. To be an ag...

2010-06-17T22:02:57.849-07:00

That seems like a lot for one person. To be an agent for the authors that you do have while at the same time look for new talent.

Shouldn't there be a headhunter agent of sorts?

Is it a bad thing to split the job in half? Or is the whole notion ridiculous?

Hahaha - "buggy whip" Thanks for being ...

2010-06-17T09:30:36.430-07:00

Hahaha - "buggy whip"

Thanks for being a resource for us, Nathan! Keeping our heads filled with knowledge and truth and inspiration.

:-)

Hey there, I just had to say that I agree with t...

2010-06-17T00:40:38.728-07:00

Hey there,

I just had to say that I agree with this post whole-heartedly. I've always been surprised that the gatekeeping aspect of an agent's job takes up so much of the attention - and I'm an unagented author btw - when the thing is, the most important bit comes after you're actually agented, whether you work well with your agent, whether he/she is good at what they do (not gatekeeping so much as negotiating good deals, managing the progress of the work in the publishing industry so that it actually gets somewhere/has a chance to succeed, ensuring the money gets paid etc), and all those things that writers either aren't good at personally, or wouldn't have the time for if they're actually writing.

I think, regardless of the evolution of the publishing industry, there will always be agents (just as there will always be writers and editors); it's just the emphasis on the agent's various roles that might shift to accomodate the changing times (the same way a writer is expected nowadays to play a greater role than before in marketing/promoting their books).

Hmmmm, also wanted to mention that as far as gatekeeping goes, even if it's difficult to get an agent, I would actually be happier knowing that the agent I finally get once I make it through all this gatekeeping actually likes my work enough to stand behind it.

Cheers.

Devena

. . . and, loving it! (Ya had to grow up in the 6...

2010-06-16T23:52:46.720-07:00

. . . and, loving it!

(Ya had to grow up in the 60s.)

For a different perspective, these posts might be ...

2010-06-16T20:29:01.151-07:00

For a different perspective, these posts might be informative:

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?page_id=860

and

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=1149

This is a professional, best-selling working author's view of things, and the comments are priceless as well since many authors chime in with their views and experiences.

Yeah, but look what Luke became with a minimum of ...

2010-06-16T19:24:25.918-07:00

Yeah, but look what Luke became with a minimum of early guidance by Obi Wan. Admitting you have something to learn is not the same as asking for hand-holding.

No kidding. Agents are working with the system, no...

2010-06-16T14:29:24.032-07:00

No kidding. Agents are working with the system, not against it. There are many more effective ways to put gatekeepers in place than using an agent.

I look forward to the day when I have an agent working with me to bring my books to the shelves.

All the reasons I want one!

2010-06-16T13:23:07.817-07:00

All the reasons I want one!

Willow - It may be hard to hear, but you have to ...

2010-06-16T11:02:39.189-07:00

Willow -

It may be hard to hear, but you have to have a commodity they can sell. Most people don't. Having a finished book isn't enough; you have to meet a certain bar.

The usual percentage given is something like 98% of what gets submitted is unpublishable. It may not fit the market. It may be derivative or overdone. It may be a mess that not even an editor could save for the number of mistakes.

I don't know your work, so don't think I'm telling you that you're out of luck or not going to be successful at some point - I'm not insulting you. But know that it's an exceptionally small number of people who have something an agent thinks will sell, and a smaller number than that which actually get purchased.

There are FAR more writers than there are agents and FAR more books than the market can handle. That's why the gulf between commercial and vanity publishing numbers is so high. Anyone can vanity publish, not everyone's commercially viable.

@Willow, Each agent has to evaluate your query/sy...

2010-06-16T10:49:51.347-07:00

@Willow,

Each agent has to evaluate your query/synopsis/novel (your business) to see if they can/should work on your behalf.

Your business may eat up a lot of their hours and not be worth much.

The real question then is what criteria they evaluate your business by? That is the worrisome part...

Good luck and keep at it.

Then why, if agents are on the author's (clien...

2010-06-16T10:42:00.019-07:00

Then why, if agents are on the author's (client's) side, are they so freaking hard to get? I'm offering to pay them a percentage to negotiate with my body of works, and I'm exactly as stonewalled with agents as I am with publishers. Do agents actually want my business or not? Because they seem to not understand that I am giving them my business, not the other way around.

Lakers Lakers Lakers! Whoooooo....er..oh sorry. I...

2010-06-16T10:35:12.597-07:00

Lakers Lakers Lakers! Whoooooo....er..oh sorry.

I think we're swinging to far in the other direction here. The idea is that the relationship should be one of equals, as Nathan said for mutual benefit.

The current problem is that agents have the power in this relationship (via gatekeeping). Having read a lot of the comments, im thinking agents aren't even at fault for this, writers are.

It absolutely kills me when I see writers get a subservient attitude towards agents. You are in charge of your vision, your career, your royalties, your advances, your life.

If you want a small advance with higher royalties, tell you agent. If you want a high advance with low agents, tell your agent.

Sure you should listen to your agent's advice, at the end of the day though, its your life (hence the no promise of high advances/royalties/sales/anything) in your agent contract.

Writers and agents are equals but writers are more equal than agents (the whole your life spiel).

ermo- Probably a bit of both. And yes, I will sti...

2010-06-16T09:48:43.677-07:00

ermo-

Probably a bit of both. And yes, I will still blog if the Lakers win but I will not be a happy camper. Though I have to say, my reaction is muted somewhat in that my 2nd least favorite team is playing my 1st least favorite team.

Nathan - I have a question for you. In this chan...

2010-06-16T09:45:50.807-07:00

Nathan -

I have a question for you. In this changing publishing landscape where authors are more likely to self-publish, do you see your role as gate keeper changing? Do you think you'll spend more of your time seeking out authors based on what they've self-published instead of them seeking you out via query? Or do you think the whole self-publish thing will have minimal effect on the whole query for an agent thing?

Thanks.

Bonus: Will you still blog if the Lakers win the title?

josin- Ah, I see. If the deal is signed, yes, it ...

2010-06-16T09:37:21.335-07:00

josin-

Ah, I see. If the deal is signed, yes, it would be too late for that deal, but there may be subrights or other things an agent can do. Depends on the contract and situation.

Nathan - I took "sell" in Anon's co...

2010-06-16T09:35:30.991-07:00

Nathan -

I took "sell" in Anon's comment to mean the deal had already been signed. Wouldn't that make it too late to be negotiating pieces of it? (serious question)

anon- Definitely an agent works for the author. I...

2010-06-16T09:26:42.793-07:00

anon-

Definitely an agent works for the author. I agree with you about that. I just think that the best relationships are more collaborative than the connotation of "employee" implies, and that an author isn't going to get the most out of the relationship if they go in thinking that way.

josin-

Agree mostly, but there can be lots for an agent to do after an author has found their own deal. Though I definitely agree that getting your own offer is not necessarily going to result in landing the agent you want - as you say, they still have to love the book and feel that they're the best advocate for it.

Anon- my post went through before I saw your answ...

2010-06-16T09:19:00.020-07:00

Anon-

my post went through before I saw your answer, and there's no way to say this gently... you're dreaming.

1 - if you've sold your book, there's nothing for an agent to do.

2 - if you get an offer, you MAY attract some attention from an agent, but still, you've pretty much tied their hands since they can't shop the book to multiple editors that may have offered more.

3 - the idea that just because you have an offer 5-10 of your top picks will all want to rep you is ridiculous. You might get someone to agree to a one-off representation for that deal, but they still have to read the MS, love it, and believe they can rep it effectively. And that's no guarantee of a continued arrangement.

I've never understood the assumption by some t...

2010-06-16T09:15:34.757-07:00

I've never understood the assumption by some that an agent is a writer's employee. If that were the case, a writer could toss an ad up on Craig's list and pick and choose from a pool of interested agents like they would an electrician.

It doesn't work that way, nor should it.

Writers provide the raw material for a sale in the form of a book. Agents provide a service utilizing that raw material, making it marketable. They know what doors to knock on and what numbers to call.

Both parties rely on the sale for their income.

If the writer simply "employed" the agent, the writer would have to pay the agent a salary no matter what the outcome of a submission.

You don't look for an agent as though you're going to be their boss. You don't look for an agent as though they're going to be your boss. You each have a part to play in the other's success, and if you don't succeed, the failure is shared as well.

If you hire a lawyer, that lawyer is your employee...

2010-06-16T09:12:37.683-07:00

If you hire a lawyer, that lawyer is your employee in that they work for you when it comes to whatever you hired them for. Same with an accountant, same with an agent.

There's no pedestal chipping :) An agent's 15% isn't magical, it comes from an author's 100% (that they are paid by the publisher).

And you can, in fact, just hire an agent. Sell the book yourself and then make a phone call or five to your top agent picks and see which would be the best fit to negotiate the deal.

I think of the agent as a sort of general contract...

2010-06-16T08:56:19.645-07:00

I think of the agent as a sort of general contractor, the kind you need when building a house. The general contactor finds the best subcontractors (electrician, carpenter, plumber), negotiates the contracts, and ultimately rides her over production of the final product (a new house).

But, a home buyer can serve as his/her own general contractor (lots more work!), and buy services a la carte. Yes, it's difficult, but I know people who have done it successfully.

I think today's author can serve as agent to a point. Editorial services, formatting services, cover artists etc. can now be purchased a la carte (internet has opened this up, it is now a global marketplace for these services). An author can even distribute work in a large market (Kindle store, iBooks, etc), but of course not all markets (physical bookstores).

I'd take a good agent in a nanosecond, but for those who don't make the cut there are more options than ever before. It's all good -- for writers, agents (who can now operate under different business models if they choose to do so), and readers.

And I do want to add the reverse is true as well. ...

2010-06-16T08:50:37.661-07:00

And I do want to add the reverse is true as well. I sometime see this confusion on the web.

The writer is not employed by the agent either.

If you guys don't mind, I'd like to chip i...

2010-06-16T08:48:28.621-07:00

If you guys don't mind, I'd like to chip in on this one. I agree with Nathan.

If I hire a professional, they may work on my behalf, but they are not employed by me. Agents are in the professional class - they bring expertise to the relationship - and there is mutual choice involved. Someone asks to hire the professional and the professional agrees or disagrees to take them on as a client.

Either party can usually end the relationship at any point, although there are both unwritten and written expectations about responsiblities and ethics within the relationship, which may or may not affect when and how the relationship might end.

Other examples of this might be a Doctor, Lawyer, Finanical Advisor, Therapist, etc.

anon- No offense to you personally, but the "...

2010-06-16T08:03:58.188-07:00

anon-

No offense to you personally, but the "agent as employee" thing is one of the most commons mischaracterizations of the relationship. I understand that it has a seductive suggestion of table-turning and pedestal-chipping, but it really doesn't even accurately depict the relationship. Writers don't hire agents, and before the writer's work has been published, they aren't paying the agent either. Yes, an author can fire an agent, but an agent can also fire an author. In reality it's a collaborative relationship that works to mutual benefit. I absolutely agree with you that it behooves authors to familiarize themselves with the business and to remember that the decisions are ultimately theirs, but it doesn't then mean that authors can necessarily do everything that an agent provides on their own.

I mean - I'm an agent and I have an agent. I happily give up 15% to have an experienced advocate in my corner even though I know the business. And I certainly don't treat my agent or think of her as my "employee."