Sarah Glazer wonders if literary agents have a future in the new digital world.
Lately I’ve been wondering if literary agents will soon be going the way of the dinosaur—or, dare I say it?—the paper book.
While crying on my shoulder is no equivalent for a scientific poll, it seems all the stories I’ve been hearing from fellow writers recently are about literary agents NOT delivering. I remember a time not that long ago when getting an agent to take you on was the penultimate challenge for friends writing their first book.
Once the agent was found, everyone was ready to break open the champagne, assuming all would proceed smoothly to publication. But that doesn’t seem to be the way things work anymore, except for a few blockbusters. One friend’s memoir spent over a year in the hands of a literary agent who was very enthusiastic about its prospects. But when the agent shopped the finished project around to major publishers, she met a chorus of rejections.
My friend called a halt, worried that the agent’s forays were precluding her from making her own pitch on the book’s merits. She sent the book out on her own to university presses and finally found a prestigious one that gave her a contract. Just this week, a British writer with four published novels to her name told me that she had two finished novels sitting in a drawer because of the disappointing performance of a big name literary agency. The agency had promised that each book would make her rich and persuaded her to make extensive revisions to fit in with their vision of the book.
In one case, she thought the rejections from multiple publishers was due partly to the less-than-accurate claims the agent made for the book--“epic” rather than intimate. Now that her agent has exhausted the British publishing market, she’s thinking of looking across the ocean to the bigger market in America. It’s possible that these stories are exceptions. But a recent story in the Wall Street Journal makes me think they exemplify a trend. The Journal reports on a debut novel, Kirsten Kaschock’s Sleight. Kaschock’s agent thought it would be a shoo-in with New York’s top publishers. But the major New York publishers passed on it, and she ended up going with a small independent, Coffee House Press in Minneapolis, for an advance of $3,500—a fraction of the typical advances once paid by the major houses.
As the Journal reports, big retailers are buying fewer books, so publishers are approving fewer book deals and signing fewer new writers. The Journal blames this trend on the digital revolution in much cheaper e-books--a growing market that it says is disrupting the traditional economic model of the book industry. One consequence is that authors are getting much smaller advances.
If they go with an independent publisher, advances range on average from $1,000 to $5,000 instead of the $50,000 to $100,000 publishers once paid for debut literary fiction. It makes me pause to think that a novelist I love, like Anne Tyler, would no longer be nurtured by publishers as she simmered through a few “modest successes” with her early books before reaching a “boil” with enduring best-sellers, according to New York literary agent Laurence Kirshbaum. Since e-books cost less, publishers and authors make less—and the literary agent gets a much smaller cut. The same is true for the small independent publishers that more writers are now turning to.
While some writers have a great experience, others are shocked by how little influence small houses have on the book-sellers. Like the writer who told me she discovered that her small publisher’s “distribution” consisted of him riding around on a bicycle with her books in a backpack. I wonder if there’s anything in it monetarily for literary agents anymore. The financial dilemma is epitomized by the arrangements surrounding a debut short-story collection recently published by Turtle Point Press, a small independent.
According to the Journal, author Creston Lea’s advance was only $1,000, and the Vermont author says he can’t make his living as a writer. But one wonders if his literary agent can either. At a 15 percent commission his agent Leslie Daniels, a 20-year veteran, used to make $11,250 on a big publisher advance of $75,000. Her advance on Mr. Lea’s $1,000 was only $150.
Dear Sarah...thank you again for your piece on agents, print publishing and ebooks. It sent me to the WSJ article, which gave me the idea of uploading all my O. Henry Awards and Pushcart Prize short stories as a collection onto Kindle ebook, where my published novels already are. I could never get the stories published as a collection with mainstream publishers. If this works, I will share the experience with SheWrites. It might help writers just getting started. With alohas from Hawaii...Kiana Davenport
Dear Sarah...thank you again for your piece on agents, print publishing and ebooks. It sent me to the WSJ article, which gave me the idea of uploading all my O. Henry Awards and Pushcart Prize short stories as a collection onto Kindle ebook, where my published novels already are. I could never get the stories published as a collection with mainstream publishers. If this works, I will share the experience with SheWrites. It might help writers just getting started. With alohas from Hawaii...Kiana Davenport
An agent holding the book for years unsold shouldn't happen. First, make sure your agreement with the agency is limited to one year, renewable by agreement of both parties. Second, remember you can fire an agent who isn't doing their job. That should also be in the ageny agreement.
Same with publishers. There should be both a limit on the term of the contract and a separation clause.
Hi Linda,
You're right. Even if you find an agent, it doesn't mean you'll be published. I've heard horror stories of agents holding books for years and not being able to sell them. According to Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, the power of publishing is shifting to Indie authors. See his interview on the Lit Chick Show.
Curious to know from those who have agents...How long did it take to find one? Was the agent successful in selling your manuscript? What was the total time frame from looking for a agent to seeing your book in print? I think trying the agent route has merit but when the time frame turns from months to years an evaluation of the manuscript and the option to self publish should be explored. There will always be agents. But brick and mortar bookstores? Unless redefined and re-purposed, they'll become artifacts.
@Louella and Genevieve: Very encouraging. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this rumination. One of the problems with big publishers is that they release the book in hard cover, and if it doesn't sell well, it doesn't come out in paper..which means the book is dead in the water. With small publishers, a book can stay in print much longer. Four of my books with small presses came out first in quality paperback, and all are still in print (the first was released in 1998). Many of my author friends who published with NY houses are now looking to small presses. Big name authors like Sena Jeter Naslund, who directs the Spalding University MFA in Writing Program where I'm on the faculty, will always sell her novels to big houses, will always have them released in paper, will always get a big advance, and will always have spending money in her pocket. But it wasn't always so. Her first few books were with small presses and earned her very little $$. But after her first blockbuster, Ahab's Wife, the publisher reissued a story collection to ride its coattails. Patience and, more importantly, perseverance are the things.
Thanks, Judith, Good advice....think I'll take it
Hi Nancy,
I'd suggest exhausting your search for an agent before you decide to self-publish. You'll get better distribution with a traditional publisher.
Good Luck!
Judith Marshall
Author of HUSBANDS MAY COME AND GO BUT FRIENDS ARE FOREVER
Thanks so much for an informative post. It certainly seems as though publishing is going in a different direction now. I know e books are becoming more and more popular. I'm looking for an agent now. Actually, I haven't sent out any queries as yet, until I finish my proposal. But I plan to soon. Glad I at least have an idea of the kind of responses I could be getting. How does self-publishing figure into all this? Would it maybe be as good as or better an alternative?
Thanks for making me feel better with this post.
I just bought an eReader because some books I want to read are only available electronically. In the process I found a new site called FastPencil.com that is offering The War of Art by Steven Pressfield for $1.99 Oct. 20 & 21 only. I am not recommending FastPencil just telling people that it is a new electronic publishing site that seems to offer significant perks. I remember life before computers but can no longer imagine it. Just sayin'...
Hmm...
This post makes some good points, but it confuses the usefulness of literary agents with the "shrinking pie" effect that the entire market for books is currently experiencing.
Just as with popular music and film/video, people are less willing to pay for their content than they were ten years ago. So the pie is shrinking, and authors and agents everywhere will suffer.
It is my opinion that literary agents are often more useful in times like these. Sure, they're going to have to bank on "hits" more than in prior time periods. And so some mainstream writers who would have been good candidates for Big 6 publishers will not make it through the door. But if that doorway has narrowed, now more than ever you need a champion to help you through.
An agent's job is to know what large and medium sized publishers will buy. Why not try that route first? The prestigious university presses and boutique pubs will still be there if it doesn't pan out.
It is my experience that agents are people who love books (and publishing) so much that they knowingly forgo a higher income doing something else. Just like writers.
S.
Thanks for this great post! Have to admit this terrifies me as I am clueless about agents and marketing in general. It just shows that I got some learnin' to do.
I agree with all that you've said! Next time you search for a literary agent take a look at how many of them are also writing and trying to sell their own books, being an agent is the only way they can get their own feet in the door of the big guns. The system is falling apart, and maybe that's a good thing. Long live Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury model.
Dear Sarah...thanks so much for your piece! It sent me to the WSJ article which blew my mind. I'm so engrossed in writing these novels, am not in tune with the marketplace until its time to send book to agent. We are in the midst of a lunar leap in publishing and writers like me need to wake up! Self-publishing ebooks is the future and its here! Thanks for the wake-up call. I love SheWrites but its so extensive and link-heavy not sure how to post my messages. Hoping you receive this! Thanks again, and aloha from Hawaii! Kiana Davenport
"Since e-books cost less, publishers and authors make less—and the literary agent gets a much smaller cut." I'm not sure about this statement. The profit for publishers in selling e-books as opposed to hard-copy books is staggering. There's no paper, printing costs, plus nothing to warehouse or ship. At the present time, Amazon is giving publishers 70% of the list price minus a small download charge. As an example, an e-book that costs $10.00 translates to a profit of around $7.00 (minus a download of .40). On the other hand, from a hard copy of the book that sells for $15.OO, deductions for printing, warehousing, distribution,shipping charges can reduce a publisher's profit to a couple of dollars. Of course, how an e-book's profit is passed to author and/or agent remains a serious issue.
@ Sue: thanks for the story. I have heard that it's better to be a big fish in a small pond, and to go with a smaller, hungrier agent than to get lost in the wilds of a place like William Morris or such. If I do find an agent for my debut novel, I would only look for a smaller agency.
Wow. It almost hurts to read this post, because I fear that it is so true. It may not be all the way there, but it is hard to deny this is the trend of the future. I am reminded of the old Star Trek, in which they read books from devices reminiscent of a Kindle or an iPad. I suspect where we're at today - lucky us - is right on the bridge between the old and new publishing worlds. A wonderful post. Thanks!
The agency had promised that each book would make her rich and persuaded her to make extensive revisions to fit in with their vision of the book.This little bit bothers me. I never liked the idea of an agent expecting an author to do extensive revisions of a book to fit their vision rather than working with the author's vision (since they wrote the book)...anytime I hear stories about agents telling an author to rewrite the book to suit them just seems wrong..."Ummmm, listen, before I sign you, why don't you rewrite it from first person to third person, cut 20,000 words, relocate the scene from that lovely small town in Maine with picket fences to LA, change the main character from male to female, have them be a sexy-vampire-axe murder named Lizzy who also solves crimes..." (now I'm being silly)... anyway, they're clearly not the right agent for that author's work...and its a shame when after all of that, nothing happens, and the potential book languishes in a drawer, which brings me to this next thought...is it even the same manuscript anymore...is the writer just as in love with the work or do they despise the sight of it? It would break my heart if I went through all of that and wound up hating the very thing I had once loved. It cost the agent nothing more than their time and effort, but for a writer, the price is much more dearer.
Are agents able to deliver in this digital publishing world? I don't know...tho' a good one comes in handy when a deal is being made...but is it worth it to them to take on clients unless they are 'big fish' that will make them money? Doubt it...they need to pay their bills, they're not likely to take on charity cases. The world of books is going through a major change, publishers, agents, distributors, and bookstores need change in order to go with the flow...one thing for certain in all of this...there will always be writers writing books. (p.s. I'm keeping my day job.)
I've come to terms with how things are, and will not expect to 'get rich quick' writing (especially literary fiction), I love to do what I do, and doing it myself makes me happier than dealing with the other personalities and their vision.
I am wondering IF it depends on fit. True story , I was once a member of (actor)Christopher Lee's fan club (CLIC) when I was in high school. He left William Morris at the time , claiming that they did not do enough for him . He went with a smaller agency - and has worked a lot more with better films . He was even knighted. None of which was done for him by William Morris. I don't see why this should not also prove true in writing.
In those days, Mr Lee talked about marketing his acting as a product. It was an arduous task for him to find the smaller agency but I believe that he is still with them. I have been out of hs for forty years.
This scenario has crept into my consciousness. I suppose because I can't seem to interest an agent, I've lost interest in them. I've had books accepted by small epublishers without any advance at all. I won't make much from them, but it's all in volume, volume, volume. The more books I have out, the more money I make. Thank goodness, I'm independently wealthy (not).
I attended a panel discussion on the future of publishing sponsored by the Women's National Book Assn. recently and the consensus of the presenters was that the agent's role will change out of necessity. How it will ultimately look remains to be seen. With more and more authors self-publishing, agents are becoming less necessary.
One more thought. In the future, don't be surprised to see fewer agents. As publishers take fewer manuscripts, fewer agents are selling and therefore making money. Unless they have another revenue stream or some long-selling clients to subsidize themselves--and I don't mean the type of agent who is pushing their fee-based editorial service or self-publishing arm--not all will be able to weather this change. Some of the reduction will come through smaller agencies consolidating into larger ones, I think.
I'm on my second agent, and hoping this time it works out for me and my book. The truth is, you can't be published by a major house unless your ms is introduced to them by an agent. I think it's still the way to go, but if it doesn't work out this time, I'm going back to teaching and e-booking or e-kindleing it. It's all very frustrating.