If you had asked me this question several years ago, I would have said either was fine, with a slight preference for literary agents. Now I will tell aspiring authors to definitely try to find an agent before submitting to publishers.
Sending to publishers without an agent is still doable, as editors are always on the lookout for good books, but there are so many compelling reasons for submitting through an agent. Here are some of them.
1. An early second set of eyes. If you can get a reputable agent interested in your manuscript, chances are better that a publisher will like it and buy it. When I was writing my first novel I sent a query letter and the first three chapters to about five literary agents. One contacted me within days and said that when I finished the novel, she’d gladly represent me.
That was the fuel I needed to get going. A New York literary agent was interested in my work, so move over people. Nothing was going to get in my way now. About a year later I finished the novel and sent it to her. She went on and sold the work within days to a new editor at HarperCollins who was interested in the kind of fiction I was writing.
2. A good agent has contacts and knows the publishing houses inside and out. He or she knows which publishers and editors are looking for work like yours. You can research the market and learn some things yourself, but all the research in the world won’t beat having an agent who is meeting and lunching with the editors at publishing houses represent your work. And besides, wouldn’t you rather focus on your writing and let someone else do that stuff?
3. With computers on every desktop, writers are churning out manuscripts faster than ever before. Editors are being flooded with manuscripts. The result is that unsolicited, unagented manuscripts submitted directly to publishers sit in the slush pile longer. When an agent submits a manuscript, editors know that someone who is knowledgeable about the market thinks this is a good book and they will review it far more quickly.
4. If you’re an African American author, the road to publishing glory got a lot bumpier over recent years. Far fewer manuscripts by African American authors are being accepted by publishers now than were in the 1990s. In fact many previously published authors can’t get book deals. A reputable agent can to help smooth the road out a bit.
5. A good agent won’t stop after selling publication rights to a book publisher. He or she will help you try to sell paperback rights, foreign market rights, audio and electronic rights, television and movie rights and more if those markets are appropriate for your book.
6. An agent can likely get you a better financial deal. Need I say more?
Of course, all of this applies only if you’ve got a great manuscript that you have polished to perfection before you submit it.
Photo credit: Sharon Dominick/iStockphoto
3 comments ↓
Ms. Briscoe,
I feel like I’m seeing more and more books by African Americans lately, but you say African American authors aren’t receiving as many deals. One, is that comment related to statistics, like, there are more black writers now so there are less deals? Two, why? Is it because the agents and publishers looking for “ethnic” are really looking for “non-American”? Three, what are you suggestions for overcoming this? Agents, yes, but, what else so the agents will be interested?
And, do you know of agents/agencies, looking for African American authors? (Literary authors at that.)
I am very close to the agent search. I feel this one last revision has to happen before I should even try. My reasons for looking for an agent are just about the same as yours. I want someone who knows what she or he is doing to help me out because I wouldn’t want to miss out on something later. It’s like you said, my research is one thing, but I still don’t know it all.
And thank you so much for saying you’re still trying to figure this out. It helps so I won’t feel like a three-headed frog out here. LOL!
Yes, Tuere Ganges, there are many more African American authors and books than there were 15 years ago. But some authors who had books published by mainstream publishers in the 1990s and early part of this decade cannot get book deals now. The reasons are varied and complex and perhaps I’ll go into that in another post.
When I say it’s harder to get a deal now than it was 10 years ago, I really meant with the mainstream publishers. A lot of the books you’re seeing now are by self-published authors, which has really taken off over the past several years. There are also more AA, ethnic and small publishers that specialize in one or two genres–e.g., AA street lit or nonfiction, which also accounts for a lot of the books you see.
Having said all that, regardless of the genre, there is always room for great stories that are well told, even at mainstream publishers. Other than the publishers that focus on AA books I can’t say which are looking specifically for AA authors; however just about all of them will accept good AA writers with great books. Many of the mainstream publishers also have black imprints, which you can find with a little research.
Thank you!
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