When I was a teenager, many of my daydreams included being discovered by a literary agent in a coffee shop. Imagine it: Me, quietly writing the greatest poem ever or maybe a rough draft of the great American novel, when over my shoulder would appear an agent in a trenchcoat, on his way out, but he had to stop, he wasn't sure why, and could I forgive him for reading over my shoulder but, wow, that is some really incredible, groundbreaking writing...
Well, it didn't happen :) But hey, I was 14 or 15 and I didn't know anything about literary agents.
What do Literary Agents do?
As your representative in the literary market, your agent may perform a range of tasks, including offering editorial guidance, establishing contacts for you with editors and publishers, explaining the language of contracts and negotiating contract terms, selling the rights to your work, and helping you find new opportunities for publishing.
That's a pretty good general definition. Of course, every agent is a bit different, and what you need changes by the genre you write in, etc. The general idea, I think, is that the agents knows the business, has contacts, and does the business stuff so you, the writer, can write.
What will agents do in the future?
But with the rise of self-publishing, hybrid publishers, and online writer marketplaces, do writers still need agents?
Here's the list from above. I put a star (*) next to all the things I did myself as a self-publishing author:
editorial guidance
* establishing contacts for you with editors and publishers
* explaining the language of contracts and negotiating contract terms
* selling the rights to your work
* helping you find new opportunities for publishing
I would have preferred to have an agent do it for me, don't get me wrong. But I didn't want to take the time or pay the money, so I did it on my own. And it was fine. For editorial guidance, I found an editor. And it worked out great.
But there are probably things I don't understand about the contracts that it would be good to know. And I haven't done anything with international rights, basically because I don't know how to deal with it and it's just not on my priority list. And I don't have any relationships with big publishers, well, because I don't have an agent and I haven't reached out to try and create any with the big folks. Would I have international rights covered and at least a relationship with some publishing houses, even if said relationship consisted of publishing houses mailing me rejection letters :)
But it's hard for me to feel like I NEED an agent when I have time, motivation, and basic tech skills to self-publish and promote.
But, what would a literary agent do that I and other self-publishers need in the future?
This is what I think would make the ideal literary agent:
1. Curator of online services: There is so much out there that one of the hardest things to do as a self-publishing author is to figure out what is good and what is crap, from editing services to marketing options. I would pay a retainer to an agent to point me in a safe, effective direction when I needed it and to send me updates on new things as they happen.
2. Publishing House Introductions: This will continue to be important, no matter how popular self-publishing gets. Even if it loses its veil of ivory tower legitimization in the author world, it will still be a behemouth of industry and a place where hundreds of professionals who are the best in the business work together under the same roof. That will always be valuable to have access and entry to.
3. Writing Coach: As the pressure to write more on a tighter schedule and tailor it to market tastes intensifies, I think any author will need someone to keep him/her focused, motivated, and sane. Having a buffer between me and the outside world would be awesome, and having that person be the one who has my back and keeps me motivated and in a good mental and spiritual place to be writing my best would be invaluable.
What do you think would make a great literary agent in the future?
Image source: Kevitivity via flickr and mrbill78636 via flickr
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