Joseph Nassise

In this continuation of my post from last month, I’m going to cover reasons six through ten of the top ten reasons to work with a literary agent.  So let’s get to it…

Reason #6: Gives you an experienced third party view of your work

We’ve all been there – thought that our most recent effort is the best thing since the invention of sliced bread.  Trouble is, we’re more often wrong on that score than right.  A literary agent you trust can be a terrific third party filter for your ego.  If the work isn’t up to par, they’ll tell you and often offer advice on how to fix the problem.  And even better, if it is better than usual, they’ll be the first to tell you that too.

Reason #7: A literary agent can help guide you in your career

With their in-depth understanding of the market, both past and present, a good literary agent can often help guide you in building your career.  They can offer advice on everything from writing in more than one genre to the advantages or disadvantages to working with specific editors or publishing houses.

Reason #8: Most literary agents have a network of foreign or sub-rights agents

Diversification can often be the savior of a mid-listers career and one way of doing this is branching out in other mediums (comics, audio, etc) or to other territories.  Foreign rights often mean free money in a writer’s pocket (after all, the hard work of writing the book is already done) and so the more territories a work sells in the better off the author will be.  Having a network of foreign agents to help market your work in other territories is well worth the commission you’ll pay to both agents.

Reason #9: Having a literary agent allows you to concentrate on the writing

Let’s face it – submitting a manuscript can be tedious work.  You have to send the queries, prepare the manuscript according to each specific publisher’s requirements, send it out, follow up on it when you get a response, follow up on it when you don’t get a response, and so on.  Allowing your literary agent to handle this for you let’s you concentrate on doing what you do best – write.

Reason #10: A good agent can earn you more money

Remember reason #4 – a good agent is an experienced negotiator?  I’ve found that when an experienced negotiator who understands the market is working on my behalf, I usually end up getting more for my work than I would have been likely to get working on my own behalf.   That’s why I don’t mind paying an agent his usual 10-15% commission because I know that the agent will often bring in at least that much more than I could have managed myself.

So there you have it – my top ten reasons for working with an agent.  Tell me – what are your reasons for working with an agent?  If you don’t have one, why do you want one?