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.