McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Published Author On Board
Rechan:
So that's what they do; I wasn't clear on an agent's role and duties.
Wordmaker:
Literary agents use industry contacts and knowledge to find the best time to pitch your book, the best publisher to pitch to (based on market trends and each publisher's current backlist and upcoming releases), helps you make changes to the manuscript to make it more marketable, and negotiates offers to find the best deal for you. Not to mention making sure you don't get stung with a bad contract.
I got lucky in getting my first book deal without an agent, but I'm ready to move forward with my career and want someone who knows the industry better than me to help.
trboturtle:
--- Quote from: Wordmaker on May 17, 2014, 07:58:42 PM ---Literary agents use industry contacts and knowledge to find the best time to pitch your book, the best publisher to pitch to (based on market trends and each publisher's current backlist and upcoming releases), helps you make changes to the manuscript to make it more marketable, and negotiates offers to find the best deal for you. Not to mention making sure you don't get stung with a bad contract.
I got lucky in getting my first book deal without an agent, but I'm ready to move forward with my career and want someone who knows the industry better than me to help.
--- End quote ---
Word of advice: Before signing any contract, have a lawyer that has IP law experience review the contract. I have heard and read about horrorible contracts that screw over the writer so bad. That's both agent and publisher contracts. It'll cost a few bucks, but it's better than getting screwed....
Craig
Wordmaker:
Yep. I was lucky to have a friend who works for a non-fiction publishing house who was able to read over the contract for my first book.
You want to avoid anti-competition clauses and anything where there's no clear way to get your rights back.
Willowhugger:
I struggled for a very long time to get published before my 1st book was finally released by Amber Cover, "The Rules of Supervillainy" just a couple of weeks ago.
My second book, "Esoterrorism" is coming out on July 8th.
I owe Jim Butcher a lot for helping inspire my writing as well as develop my style but it was a long hard road. Almost five years in the process.
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