Literary Agents - What You Should Know Before You Sign on the Dotted Line, by Kim Hillman

The Real Cost Of Hiring A Literary Agent

When you're under contract with a literary agent, that agent will take 15% of the money your book makes for the life of your book.  That means as long as your book is in existence, every time it sells the agent gets paid off the top, before you ever see a penny.

But, money isn't the only thing you must consider when hiring a literary agent.  You must also consider your cost of time.  It may take that agent months to find a publisher willing to publish your book - if they find a publisher at all.  And once they do, the publisher is under no obligation to publish your book within a certain time frame, although most publishers will publish a book within 12 - 18 months of acceptance.

Hiring A Literary Agent Doesn't Guarantee Your Book Will Make It To The Marketplace

Sometimes, the publisher will decide at a later date not to publish your book.  This can be a real blow to an author who has signed the contract and eagerly anticipated seeing their book in print for months.

Finding an agent slows down the process of getting your work into print, and therefore getting money from your work into your pocket.  Not every agent will be willing to sign you, and when you finally do get one you'll be at their mercy when it comes to getting your book published.  You literally give up control of your work and the time it takes to get it to market.  In fact, finding an agent won't guarantee your book will make it to market at all.

You Can Get To Market Faster And Make More Money Without A Literary Agent

This is why many authors choose to self publish and forgo the traditional publishing route, literary agents and all.  You can get to market on your own much faster. You're also in control of everything when you self publish - from your titles to your cover design to how much money you make per copy sold or per deal made.  You keep every cent your books or booklets bring in. 

If you don't want to give up control of your work, a literary agent isn't in your best interest.  In fact, if your booklet or book has sold well, you've got a waiting audience for another one.  Why not take advantage of that rather than trying to find an agent, and then waiting for months on end to see what develops from it? 

Literary agents exist for one reason - to make money for themselves and the publishers they represent.  If your title is already selling, why would you want to give an agent a percentage?  And if your title isn't selling, a literary agent won't help you.  They're looking for proven titles and authors who are well known in their title's market. 

Copyright 2009 Kim Hillman