I came across an interesting (and alarming) blog post today that I wanted to share with you guys: http://kriswrites.com/2011/06/01/the-business-rusch-agents-surviving-the-transition-part-3/.
Author Kristine Kathryn Rusch breaks down her thoughts on why working with a big, corporate literary agency may be hurting writers more than helping them as the publishing world changes.
She calls out a few things that writers absolutely NEED to be aware of, such as unethical agency clauses, rights grabs, as well as conflicts of interest as more and more big agencies turn into e-publishers to keep the money flowing.
Please, if you're looking for an agent, have an agent, or had one and parted ways, check out this blog article.
What do you think?
Are agents still relavent during these changing times?
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Stay tuned tomorrow as I make an appearance over at author Callie Kingston's blog! She was kind enough to interview me, and asked thought-provoking questions about my journey, the characters in Legacy of the Empress, and my thoughts on the publishing landscape. Check it out then! I'll be there answering questions in the comments :).
P.S. Remember to comment on my contest for a chance to WIN :)!
Author Kristine Kathryn Rusch breaks down her thoughts on why working with a big, corporate literary agency may be hurting writers more than helping them as the publishing world changes.
She calls out a few things that writers absolutely NEED to be aware of, such as unethical agency clauses, rights grabs, as well as conflicts of interest as more and more big agencies turn into e-publishers to keep the money flowing.
Please, if you're looking for an agent, have an agent, or had one and parted ways, check out this blog article.
What do you think?
Are agents still relavent during these changing times?
_____
Stay tuned tomorrow as I make an appearance over at author Callie Kingston's blog! She was kind enough to interview me, and asked thought-provoking questions about my journey, the characters in Legacy of the Empress, and my thoughts on the publishing landscape. Check it out then! I'll be there answering questions in the comments :).
P.S. Remember to comment on my contest for a chance to WIN :)!
5 comments:
I'm currently reading Ebooks and Self-Publishing - A Dialog Between Authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath. They think traditional publishing is obsolete and that writers can make more money over the long run by self-publishing, since they don't have to share money with agents or publishers. I've also been following Rusch's blog series with great interest. If someone who's been involved with the publishing industry for so long says it's hurting authors, I'm inclined to believe her.
Great post, Rebecca.
I gave you an Irresistibly Sweet Blog award:
http://betterwritethanwrong.blogspot.com/2011/06/thank-you-jenna-for-lovely-blog-award.html
I'm still in the process of pursuing/stalking agents, but this article rang true for me on a frightening number of levels. My research has turned up some conflicting opinions on the same people, and I'm pretty uneasy waiting to see what happens next. It seems iffy to me for an increasing number of agents to be subbing work to small epublishers.
If things continue the way they're going into the end of the year (and they most likely will), I'm planning to give the self-publishing thing a go in 2012. (I hope it's safe to say that!)
Sandra: I feel the exact same way. All of this information keeps piling up, and I'm inclined to believe that agents are scrambling right now.
Callie: THANK YOU :D! You're awesome.
M: I totally get where you're coming from. Best of luck to you!
I tend to be of the opinion that agents are very important in this industry. For one, the major publishers still only accept agented submissions and for another, foreign rights are a very difficult thing for an author to deal with and agents have a network that they exploit to help authors get the most out of each book.
Many of the self published authors I know have agents who at least handle foreign rights for them.
An author can certainly be very successful without an agent (there are many examples),but I think authors with agents are further ahead if for no other reason than all doors are open to them (you can take your book any direction you want).
Interesting post though. Cheers.
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