What's So Great About An Agent?
An agent is a handy dandy buddy to have on your side. They
come in a variety of flavors and sizes, but here are a few common traits you’ll
find in most…
Bullies Beware
They can help you with the sticky icky issues like not getting
paid your advance and/or royalty check on time. Agents know the legal aspects
of contracts and what to do when strife raises its ugly head in a
writer/publisher relationship.
Sweet Networking
Skills
They can get your manuscript into publishers that don’t take
open submissions. It’s an agent's business to cultivate and maintain connections
in the publishing industry. They know where your story will fit the best and
bring it to that editor’s attention.
Wheeling and Dealing
They negotiate a higher rate of payback with a publisher
that a timid author might not be able to finagle. Writers are generally
solitary animals. Agents understand that and go out there into the big, scary
world to fight for them.
Friends Like None
Other
They hold your hand during the dark times like when
you think you might not be able to make a deadline or have just gotten smacked
upside the head with a rejection. An agent encourages you when the going gets
tough, and trust me, it will.