I know a lot of literary agents. A lot of literary agents.
Over the years, four of my novels have also been accepted by four different agents, though none of those agents were able to sell the books for various reasons. You get to know literary agents that way, too.
One of the things that literary agents love to do is complain about how difficult things are in the publishing business, and how hard it is for them to earn a living. Especially with the explosion of indie publishing and ebooks. Many of them have second jobs or other sources of income to support themselves.
Do I feel sorry for these people?
Not a bit.
In my experience, literary agents are the most un-businesslike businesspeople I’ve ever come across. The main criteria that most of them have for choosing the works they represent that they have to “fall in love” with the books. I’m serious. Nearly all of them openly admit this, and you often see it in their rejection letters: “Dear Jane, While your book was engaging and interesting, I didn’t fall in love with it, so I’m sorry to say I won't be...”
I remember once, when I’d received about my 500th rejection letter, the 14 year old daughter of one of our friends happened to be over at our house, and she heard me utter a tired groan when I read the letter. She also happened to be a Girl Scout. I showed the letter to her, and she started laughing. “That’s the dumbest excuse I’ve ever heard,” she said. When I asked her why, she said, “I was the Number One seller of Girl Scout Cookies in our troop three years in row, and I don’t even like Girl Scout Cookies!”
Even a 14 year old can see that choosing the products you sell based on whether you personally fall in love with them is a silly way to make business decisions.
However, in defense of literary agents, I can tell you why most of them operate this way. “It’s so incredibly hard and takes so much time to sell a book to a publisher,” one of them explained, “that if I don’t love the product myself, I simply won’t have the inspiration to pull me through the process.”
Fair enough. But if that is your main criteria for choosing the products that are going to feed you and your family and put a roof over your heads, I think it’s a case of “you made your bed, now sleep in it.” Most of the top American and British literary agents are sophisticated, literary types that live in Manhattan or London. It’s very difficult for me to believe that their tastes in books remotely match that of Average Reader.
At present, it seems that most agents continue to search through their query letters and slush piles for manuscripts they can "fall in love" with, while there are thousands of books being sold by indie authors every day who do not require their services.
I think they better start listening to the Girl Scouts.
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Note: if you want to read a debate I had on this subject with a top NYC-based literary agent, see this post.
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Note: if you want to read a debate I had on this subject with a top NYC-based literary agent, see this post.
I'm new to book writing, up to now I just wrote informative pieces for the web. I've never looked for a publisher but the more I read from people such as yourself, the more I realize, Indie writing for ebook publishers is the only way to go.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Mike, thank you.
Mike! Get out! “I was the Number One seller of Girl Scout Cookies in our troop three years in row, and I don’t even like Girl Scout Cookies!”
ReplyDeleteWow! Such wisdom and insight! Isn't that the number one marketing rule for business: let need drive what product/service you sell? I'm I wrong?
Nice article but I love such simple wisdom. We have gotten so used to inane logic that we've come to accept it as a practice as well as truth. We've got to dig deeper, people!
You said it! I gave up trying to find representation two years ago. Though I'm not Indie, I started representing myself. Most e-publishers don't require agent representation, while the big NY/London houses do. I really admire Indie authors. Don't know if I could do it on my own. Hmmm. There ought to be classes at literary centers--a hands on, step-by-step class to walk author's through the process. Anyway, love the post. I just did one on my blog a few weeks ago about the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThis is sooo totally true. And I was a Girl Scout Leader - glad I stopped bothering! Am now an Indie and proud of it. :-)
ReplyDeleteLike you I have sent out query letters for my husbands books, unwilling to wait for rejections letters or acceptance letters we self published his work.
ReplyDeleteNow I am learning everything I can about Author Platforms. In the past two years we have grown leaps and bounds out of necessity.
I enjoyed your blog finding it very informative and useful. I do not envy an agents job but having to promote A J Morgan's books I have to say I am learning a lot.
well, agents have it tough, but guess who has it tougher? The writers who once had to depend entirely on the love of agents...
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comment, Scott, but I don't agree.
ReplyDeleteGreat article. Looks like you learned the hard way. "Fall in love with the product"...what a joke!
ReplyDeleteIt's incredibly liberating being an Indie. I've received my last rejection letter.
ReplyDeleteOh God, I've received that same letter from publishers. The story was about historical rural America, not something an urban, literary type would necessarily "fall in love with." I went the ebook route and was published right away. The book is doing well, thank you, and I'll never, never approach an agent again.
ReplyDeleteHad you lived in Russia, my little darlings....
ReplyDeleteReally like this post. And I totally agree with you. I've had four agents. Three did nothing. One sold a book AFTER I made the connection with the editor and told agent editor wanted to see it. :) I don't have an agent now after the last one wasted a few years sending out to publishers that didn't even publish my genre. I hate it when agents specifically request manuscripts for publishers that I can submit to myself. Why do i need them for that? I'm glad so many agents are blogging; I can get to know their personalities. You'd be surprised how many I've rejected just from things they say on their blogs! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike! That was a excellent post. Something every author should read! Makes you thankful to live in the day of ebooks! - Robert David MacNeil
ReplyDeleteI, too, have a sheaf of very enthusiastic rejection letters of my first novel that I wrote five years ago. It remains unpublished on my computer's disk drive. Now, I have written a second novel and I am again facing the need to publish. By building a modest blog following, an agent and a small publisher have indicated an interest in the new novel. Everything I read about indy publishing tells me to tread carefully when dealing with agents and publishers. Still the allure of a possible book auction still makes me hesitate.
ReplyDeleteTraditional book agents are gatekeepers for a dying industry.
ReplyDeleteAgents (like the rest of us) find ways to make easier decisions because there is no rational way to compare such large volumes of queries. So they find ways to make easier decisions by using 'gut' emotions as a guide. Its not perfect but it is palatable.
The problem for agents is that their pool of writers cannot grow in proportion to the swelling e-books market. With a flood of alternative publishing methods available to authors, the number of agents that can make $$$ will continue to shrink.
Simply put, paper publishing is quickly becoming a shrinking niche market and agents are suffering for it.
It is almost becoming a cliche', as if an agent (all agents) knows what everybody likes. It is almost like saying, I know the pant sizes of all the people in the US, and my one pair-of-pants will fit you all. Just because they fall-in-love with a pair-of-pants doesn't mean it is going to fit the rest of us. The best sales come from a diversity of products. Personally, I don't care much for the macaroon cookies, but those chocolate covered mints are great.
ReplyDeleteI try to stay positive about the whole process of publishing. I've invested only a few years so far, and I have a long road ahead. Whether I find an agent or traditional publisher worries me less because there are so many options now. I will still have to self-promote until my face is blue, either way. Your post was very relevant. Thanks, Jennifer
ReplyDeleteI love this comparison! My rejection pile mounts and I sit here at my desk unloved but undaunted. I refuse to give up. I'm a real pain. But knowing I'm not alone make me feel much better. Oh yeah, I used to be a girl scout, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great post. Now back to your Feb. 1st post that routed me here...
New follower via Twitter and (as the mother of a determined cookie selling girl scout) I love this post!
ReplyDeleteamen!
ReplyDeleteIntriguing post! In my experience, agents are ultra-business savvy. Although they indeed want to seek and represent books they fall in love with, their top priority seems to be their ability to market and sell it. A friend of mine had several agents tell him they "LOVED" his book, but didn't feel they could sell it, thus bypassed.
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that there are so many options for us authors nowadays. Whether we are repped by agents or go the indie or self-pub route, passion and hard work pay off. :)
I never thought of it this way, but it's true. Now...all you need is passion and hard work and you *will* succeed. This makes me see self-publishing in a new light...
DeleteHaha, what a smart fourteen-year-old. I'm not a literary agent (freelance editor), but I'm sure I can find a way to use her wisdom to my advantage.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love this! Thanks for the post!
ReplyDelete