Publishing FAQs | Week 2: Do I Need An Agent?

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Frequently asked questions. Every industry has them and publishing is no different. Ambassador International has the pleasure of working with many new and upcoming authors as well as already-established authors who still need our assistance. Many of these authors come to us with lots of questions. Publishing your first book (or your 10th!) is exciting! There are many details to work out and decisions to make. This Publishing FAQ series covers questions Ambassador International receives regularly. Previously covered questions are:

 

Publishing FAQsDo I Need An Agent?

As an author you’ve worked through your manuscript, you’ve written, rewritten, edited, fine tuned and you’re now ready to hand it over to a publisher but before you do you start thinking things over and asking “Do I Need An Agent?”

If your plan is to self-publish the answer is simple — no!

Deciding to Hire an Agent

For many traditional publishers an agent is not required however some traditional publishing houses will only take submissions from agents and to narrow it further some will only work with specific agents, this means you need to do your homework. Look for the publisher’s submission guidelines.

Should you decide you want to work with an agent think of it in the same way as pitching to a publisher. You will want to have a formal, comprehensive proposal that shows the agent you’ve got the writing skills, manuscript and platform that will make them want to go to bat for you.

Once you’re with an agent they’ll help you in fine tuning your manuscript and getting it prepared for them to present to their publisher list.

Researching Agents

When researching agents there are somethings to keep in mind:

  • Do they represent to the houses where you want to have your work presented?
  • Which authors and titles have they represented before?
  • What is their fee?
  • Will they take a percentage of your royalty and if they do what percentage?

There are many great agents/agencies out there.

Ambassador International works direct with authors and with agents — we’d love to see your manuscript!