An agent serves a number of roles, though not all of them are necessarily publishing-related, but I’ll get to that another time. Agents are the bridge between the author and the publisher. From a publisher’s perspective, the literary agent serves as a filter, another set of eyes, quality control. Editors receive thousands of proposals, query letters, and manuscripts every day. The ones that come from an author directly more often than not end up on what’s called The Slush Pile where they sit and sit, unread and unloved, until a college intern or an assistant rather perfunctorily sifts through it looking for addresses to which to send the impersonal rejection letter.

If a proposal or manuscript comes from an agent, however, chances are greater that the editor/publisher is familiar with the agent, and even the project itself, and is more likely to respond with interest or a polite “This just isn’t right for my list at this time.”  An agent is also crucial in being able to help you target the right editor or publisher for your submission. I mentioned before the importance of being specific in choosing your target audience. This is also true in targeting the appropriate editor. An agent has the resources to be able to see what subjects certain editors are currently acquiring. This information helps them make sure your proposal is going to the editor most interested in your book’s topic.

Further, an agent is able to help look out for your best interests when it comes to offer and contract negotiations. As with anything legally-oriented, publishing contracts are notorious for being difficult for the average person to understand. As an author, you want to make sure you have someone on your team looking for any loopholes or clauses that might cause confusion or difficulty down the road. A publisher also prefers dealing with the contractual stuff through another publishing professional. It saves them time from having to explain clause-by-clause the various terms of any publishing agreement. That’s the agent’s job.

And finally, an agent handles all of the financial aspects involved in getting your book published: from the advance and subsequent royalty payments to sub-rights and other nontraditional distribution deals. Believe me, you will want an agent to help you make sense of royalty statements.

Like I said at the top of this column, if you intend to launch your career as a published author by self-publishing, an agent isn’t a necessity. However, like the majority of writers out there who dream of big distribution numbers and the prestige of signing with a well-known house, an agent is instrumental in getting you there.

If you missed them…

Jon Malysiak is part of the Networlding Publishing Team. He works with me to support our ongoing efforts to educate thought leaders on the best practices for success in this new world of publishing.

You can also find him at: http://author-on-the-town.blogspot.com

Publishers want to see that your book is focused. In trying to make it all things to all readers, authors tend to lose sight of the fact that there is a specific audience to whom they should write. For example, if your book is about beekeeping, in your proposal you should say that your target audience is apiary enthusiasts. These are the people who are most likely going to be actively looking for a book on how to set up a beehive. Once you’ve targeted this set of the population, make sure you get to know the market. Publishers (and agents, for that matter) love statistics. They want to see, in numeric terms, the size of this particular demographic in addition to its book-buying and general spending habits. This information helps publishers determine how they’re going to market/promote your book, the amount of dollars they should budget on behalf of this, and –quite frankly—whether the target market can support another book on this topic.

Also, you have to think about where your book is going to be shelved in a bookstore. Booksellers rely on the information a publisher provides them about a book’s target audience. It informs the bookseller where to shelve the book. If, on the back cover, they see more than one category listing, chances are your book won’t be shelved where—in this case—apiarists are most likely to look for a book on the subject. Therefore, because you weren’t specific enough in your initial audience breakdown, your book may become difficult to find which serves no one’s benefit, least of all your own.

When working with authors on their proposals, I always insist they list the Primary Audience first, followed by a Secondary and sometimes Tertiary audience. It’s good to demonstrate that your book has the potential for mass appeal; however, typically the focus should be on that first category of readers. By doing so, you are showing that you know your potential audience, that you’ve done your research, and that you have a realistic perspective.

I realize this sounds horribly negative and pessimistic and, perhaps more so, downright cynical. It is and it isn’t. One of the dirtiest words in publishing is “Memoir.” I would say that the majority of proposals that appear in my inbox are for memoirs or autobiographies that chronicle not-all-that-uncommon experiences we all share in our daily lives. I would also say that I reject 99.999% of them, not because they are badly written or don’t contain the ability to educate and uplift the potential reader. I reject most memoirs because the majority of them aren’t written by celebrities, and even then a memoir can be a really tough sell. This gets back to the point I made above—unless a reader or a publisher or an agent has heard of you, they probably aren’t going to be interested in reading your life story, regardless of how deeply the experiences you relate have impacted you. This is perhaps one of the most brutal realities I’ve had to share with potential clients. An author’s platform is always important, but it’s even more important when pitching a memoir.

I’ll get into this in greater detail at a future date, but the time being, as you are considering the story you want to tell, ask yourself:

These are just my opinions, but they are rooted in experience. Check back in a couple weeks for the next two mistakes I’ve seen authors make. If you wish to comment, ask questions, or share your own experiences, feel free to contact me at jon_malysiak@yahoo.com and be sure to check out my blog An Author On the Town at http://author-on-the-town.blogspot.com.

Ciao! Don’t forget: If you missed, #1 of top 10 mistakes authors make can be found here.