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Getting Literary Agent Q & A
By Valerie Hardin
Last
edited: Sunday, March 24, 2002
Posted: Friday, October 19, 2001
Writer/artist Valerie Hardin answers questions about agents and what every writer should know.
I have had so many requests for agent information from even writers who have been nominated for awards so here is a simple list.
Q. How do you pay a literary agent before he/she sells your book?
A. You don't, you don't pay for faxes, for phone calls. Good agents only make their money
from selling your book? Would you want an amateur to sell your book or worse a scam artist?
Here's the scam. The agent collects the fee for faxes, reading, handling, paying for their plastic surgery, their trips to the mall, or whatever. The agent then lies that the book is at x, y, z publishers. The agent then tells the writer the book was never accepted when the book was never submitted.
There seems to be more fee agents than the real ones out there? Yes good agents are out there.
Q But press agents charge fee?
A. A PR agent and a literary agent do not do the same job. A literary agent's main job is to look over your contract and make sure you're getting a good deal. The more money you make the more money they make. A literary agent will also submit to a few bigger markets.
Some agents will also do a little promotion for the writer, some do not.
PR agents deal mostly with promotion and they can cost a lot of money. If you decide to use a Pr agent, research the PR agent to the best of your ability.
Search engines, lists sometimes can help with finding info. Also you should have a publicity plan.
When the PR agent doesn't know your needs he/she can't help you.
Q. I don't have the time to submit to publishers so I need to find an agent who will do it for me how do I do this?
A. Its even harder to find a good agent than a publisher so if you don't or can't submit to any publishers, you can't find the time to submit to an agent. Some agents will only handle already published writers but some new writers luck out.
Q. I know about not paying reading fees what are other signs I have to watch out for?
A. An agent saying they'd love your manuscript but it needs a book doctor. They recommend one by name. The writer pays the recommenced book
doctor and then the agent suddenly changes his
or her mind or forgets who the writer is. Yes there are good book doctors, and editors out there but search for their track record.
Q. I want to break into ebook publishing do I need an agent?
A. You can get an agent if you wish too but you do not need one.
Most agents right don't know how to deal with ebooks. There only are very few who know the ins and out of ebook publishing. Yes there are a few out there who know the biz.
Q. Does not having an agent make me a bad writer?
A. No it doesn't make you a bad writer. It's fun to say. "I have an agent" at times.
Many good and great writers don't have agents, some by choice. Some writers just haven't found the right agent.
Q. I just sent my manuscript off 3 weeks ago and the agent has not replied what is wrong?
A. Agents get tons of manuscripts so it will take longer than three weeks, sometimes never.
Make sure the address is right, and you have a self addressed stamped envelope.
Q. Will I need an agent if I am a script writer?
A. A good agent can be very helpful. You can also go the indi movie way and produce the film yourself.
Q. Should I just send the whole book write to an agent I want to work with?
A. Send a query about your book and see if the agent wants too see more? I landed my first agent this way. My second agent was a publisher who
contracted my ebook liked it and wanted to represent me.
Q. Do you have a trying to find an agent horror story?
A. Yes once a long time a go. A publisher had told me about this agent though they were sorry they couldn't publish me. Huge reg flag there.
There was a huge fee over 300$. That was around two to three weeks of my pay as an actress in a play I was in at the time. I had people telling me I should go for it. I decided to call and tell them I
couldn't afford it could they lower the price. The phone number wasn't real.
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