Do You Really Need an Agent?: In assisting an author, a literary agent may serve the author in a number of different capacities, but the primary benefits a literary agent provides are effective book placement, negotiating expertise and career guidance.
Effective Book Placement: Publishers rely on agents to screen publication candidates. Unsolicited submissions compose what publishers call the "slush pile"--a rather inauspicious place from which to launch your writing career. Usually these manuscripts are returned either unopened, unread or without the same consideration given to a submission by an agent who is familiar with that publisher's needs, and whose livelihood depends on placing attractive submissions. As most literary agents track the events and needs of the publishing industry, they should have a good idea where your book may be successfully placed.
Negotiating Expertise: A fair contract includes more than a fair royalty rate and a fair advance: all rights granted to the publisher should be clearly defined, all subsidiary rights which may be more successfully exploited elsewhere should be reserved, all licensing fees should be equitably divided, the author should not be encumbered by an unreasonable option clause, royalty statements should be timely and provide an idea of the work's financial status, termination and reversion clauses should favorably allow the author to exploit the work once it has gone out-of-print, etc.... Publishing contracts can be traps for the uninitiated. Your editor should smile primarily because she is glad to finally meet you in person. In retrospect, you should never feel you were asked to sign the contract in your own blood. A shrewd literary agent has an idea of the extent to which these provisions are negotiable, and insures that any clout possessed by the author is exploited in the publishing contract with the author's unique circumstances in mind.
Career Guidance: A good literary agent enhances an author's career by being there to help--whether that help comes in the form of simple proofreading, editing, offering tax advice, answering questions related to publication or even just lending an ear. At Bloominghouse, we actually enjoy working closely with authors to help insure their careers will blossom perennially.
The Author-Agency Relationship: Finding the right literary agent is an important step in an author's career. Above all, the author and agent should be comfortable working together. Since most publishers require a few months to evaluate works, publication decisions must be cultivated over time. The author and agent must be able to persevere through a shared vision in the quality of the work and the author's future.
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