Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri
Katy is represented by
Greg Johnson at
WordServe Literary
Read more Katy at
LateBoomer.net
Recent Posts
- Try
- Becoming Brenda Starr
- Off Beat
- Scattered
- That’s It
- So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What?
- The Spoon
- Sciatica
- Sweetheart
- A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose
- However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time
- After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices.
- As with everything in life, balance is key.
- Slow down, you move too fast…
- Yeah, I know. I have issues.
Syndicate
E me at katy @ ngenius.com
So After You Sign With An Agent, Then What?
Several people have emailed me (or written a message on my facebook wall) asking “Now that you’ve got an agent, when is your book coming out?” It’s such a typical question, I thought I’d address it here at fallible. After all, I know quite a number of you are writers and hope to be published one day. Why not make the waters a little less muddy?
Another comment came from one of my sisters, and I think it might be a common observation, as well. “I really don’t know what it means to have an agent.” It was hard for her to get very excited for me, because it seemed of very little consequence.
She may imagine it’s kind of like acquiring a real estate agent to sell your house. Typically, if you put a For Sale By Owner sign in your yard, you will be inundated with calls from agents wanting to list your house. As you are probably aware, it’s rarely the “listing agent” who actually ends up selling your house. The listing agent will be only one of several people who will split the commission when your house finally sells.
Getting a literary agent isn’t quite that easy, but it’s becoming ever more important to those who want to sell their manuscripts. Even a few years ago, many more publishing houses were open to looking at the work of unagented authors than are willing to now. It’s getting so the only way to get your manuscript in front of an acquiring editor is to meet with him in person at a writers conference, garnering his permission to forward your work at a later date.
But unless you are made of money and can attend many conferences per year, there are only so many editors you can realistically hope to chat up on your own. (During a typical three-day conference, an attendee gets to sign up for fifteen-minute meetings with one editor and one agent. Other contacts occur at meals, wandering the halls, in the elevator, but NOT in the bathroom! At least, SOMETHING is sacred!)
Many agents, however, will look at the work of unpublished authors, although even then they prefer it if you’ve met with them at a conference or if you come recommended to them by an author they know and trust.
The statistics I’ve read on the subject seem to indicate that agents, on average, end up representing 1% of all the submissions they see. So, yes, even signing with an agent is something of a long shot. But once you’ve signed, your chances of ultimately getting published increase dramatically. All of a sudden, publishers are willing to at least take a peek at your book, which is being presented to them by an agent who studies the markets for a living and knows what the different publishers are looking for at any given time.
Still, even with a great agent in your corner, there are no guarantees your book will find a home. My understanding from what I’ve read is that agents tend to sell approximately 50% of the books they attempt to place.
The way I look at it, that’s fantastic. Especially since, without an agent in my corner, I understood my chances of making a sale to be only 1%.
So, the answer to the big question of when my book will be published is “I have no idea…” I hope that’s not ALWAYS the answer, but while I’m waiting to see what happens with the book my agent now has in her hands, I will be writing the next one.
‘Cause THAT’S what happens when you sign with an agent!
- I know. Most people who aren't writers have no idea what a big deal it is to get an agent. And I agree, I think a lot of folks mistakenly believe that once you have an agent, your publishing debut is on its way.
Don't we wish! But I also agree with you, having an agent does increase the chances of publication because they can send your book to publishers that don't accept unsolicited manuscripts. So, I'm really glad I have one. I just need to get over the excitement so I can get back to writing!!Posted by Cathy West on 03/16/08 at 11:14 AM - My students keep asking me when they'll find my book in the bookstores. I keep telling them about 30 seconds after I know it's there.
This is such a great post.Instead of writing my own, I'm just going to refer all to this one! In fact, if it's okay with you, I'd like to have a link on my blog on Tuesday. Monday's already reserved for my daughter's b'day.
Honestly, though, knowing how I felt after Rachelle's offer of representation, when the book actually sells, I may need spray Prozac.
I'm still bouncing off the walls when I see my name on Rachelle's blog. There's no greater joy; well, maybe seeing that my name's not on the obituary page...Posted by christa Allan on 03/16/08 at 12:45 PM - Congrats on your successes in finding an agent, gals.
Getting an agent is such a huge step in the right direction, and Katy's right, unless someone has ever tried to garner the attention of a publisher or agent, they don't know the frustration and struggle.
Can't wait to be in such great company.
BTW Christa: I got my start as writer doing obits and, while I was always glad my name wasn't on the page, I think getting an agent would be better. ;-)Posted by Kathryn Harris on 03/17/08 at 01:31 PM
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