Do I need an agent?
What do agents do for their money?
Why isn’t my agent/publisher marketing my work?

I’ve had quite a few email debates around these questions and have just embarked on two more so it’s clearly a hot topic. Here’s my tuppenceworth:

An anecdote: My uncle was an actor with a good reputation in theatre in Scotland. When he moved to London, he got an agent to help him get new contacts. Agent sat there happily smiling, uncle went out, met people, got auditions, and heard from the agent each time he got himself a job … agent asking for his percentage.

I have also read warm and grateful comments from wildly successful authors acknowledging the help and support they’ve had from their agents. Agents and publishers are on a commission so it’s in their interest to publicise and sell the books on their lists BUT both tend to sign up far more than they will ever promote. They are pragmatists – they invest in the ones that look most promising.

Agents are useful for:
Getting the ms read – many big publishers give priority to mss sent via agents they have faith in.

Preparing the ms Agents sometimes help with editing, proofreading and procuring illustrations. They sometimes charge for this. (Of course, I want to say here that Earlyworks Press provide excellent services for this – and for members, workshopping on the club forum is a good, cheap option at £20 per year!)

Negotiating a good contract It is in the agent’s interest for you to earn well, so they are 90% on your side here BUT if you have a good business head and a clear idea of what you want - or a friend who’s an accountant or a solicitor – you can go it alone. NB It may be in the agent’s interest to get you a multi-book deal with the publisher. It’s rarely in the author’s interest.

If you are negotiating your own contract, you need to:
Ask around, compare rates. You can see what most publishers offer by looking in the MacMillan or Black’s Writers Yearbook. Decide what you expect to get for:
• UK sales
• Overseas sales
• Translations
• e-library deals
• film rights etc
• decide whether you are offering first publication rights or selling the copyright altogether (99 times out of 100 you should be going for the former with full-length mss)
If you are happy to do those things for yourself, maybe you don’t need an agent.

Marketing your book Mainstream publishers only market the books at the top of their lists. So called vanity publishers often don’t market ANY of the books on their lists. But, if a serious publisher sees evidence of activity around a new book – signings in local stores, mentions in the press etc, then they give that book higher priority. A good agent (not all agents) will aim to get this activity going when or even before your book is published. If you don’t see signs that your agent is going to do this or if you have confidence in your own marketing skills, perhaps you don’t need the agent. If you are a self-depreciating garret-dweller you definitely need someone to carry a torch for you.

NB: This is not an expert opinion. I am reporting what I’ve been told by other writers and press editors. I’ve never had an agent because my work has been published in specialist journals and by small press (got a problem? Have a beer with publisher and talk it over – ah, the simple life!) so, if anyone can add any information from experience or would like to correct/add to what I’ve written, please do so here.