Why You Don't Necessarily Need An Agent
I know what you're thinking "Sour Grapes, much?" Well, maybe it is. But let me lay down my reasoning here.
Almost two years ago, I set about querying my novel. I entered comps left right and center, as well as cold querying. I received partial and full requests all over the place, and all came back with the standard answer, "I love your concept, but I just couldn't connect." Couldn't connect? What did that even mean?
So I analyzed the heck out of my manuscript, trying to figure out how on earth I could make my novel more "connectable." Sound familiar?
Finally, a small press called for New Adult subs. I researched this press and, finding it legit (because yes, there are plenty of small presses that crash and burn or rip off their authors, so be careful!) I subbed to them. Meanwhile, the agents continued to give me the run around, while I sent my MS to new readers asking how I can make it more "connectable." Ironically, my readers said, "I have no idea what you mean. Your MC's voice is so strong, and her motives so clear. I completely empathize with her."
That didn't help me feel better when agents kept tell me the opposite.
So I continued smacking my head against a brick wall, trying to please the unpleasable.
Then, the small press sent me an AMAZING offer. Great deal, great royalty rate, very open and honest policy. Loved it right off the bat. So, I took it.
Since then, my writing has grown and developed significantly through not only my hard work, but because of the editor I had the privilege of working with to help me improve my writing. I also met amazing and supportive people to critique and Beta for me, thus also improving my writing skills. Signing with a small press changed me for the better.
My book sits comfortably on bestseller lists, and has reached a ranking of #59 of ALL Amazon books. I have steady sales, spiking during sales, which makes sense. The subsequent trilogy is doing very well as well. I even consider the fierce negative reviews a sign of my book's success. People will only hate something if they notice it in the first place! Not that I enjoy being bashed, but that's another issue entirely.
I also have another book out with a different publishing house, and my first publisher has more books of mine contracted for release later this year.
Now, silly me had it in my head that this success and having an established fan base would be a strong draw card while querying agents. Well, as I said, silly me. They just came up with different excuses, and excuses that completely contradicted one another, spinning me into complete and utter confusion. How am I supposed to improve if agent A says they love X, but Y needs work, but Agent B says they love Y, and X needs work? What the devil?
Finding myself in a conundrum and trying to do everything I could to make my work as strong as possible, I turned to my writer friends. During these discussions, something dawned on me; agents have no idea what they actually want.
There, I said it.
It also dawned on me that ebooks and quality small presses are taking over the world. Now, my publisher is a quality small press. This is evident by the increasing rate of agents subbing to them. Hear that? Agents subbing to a Small Press. And they love me. They LOVE me! I wrote a popular trilogy for them, and work my butt off to keep it selling. I keep open and honest relations with them, so they don't ever feel like I'm doing something sneaky, so they trust me. They have lined up all kinds of promotional stuff for me, and even managed an Audible deal for the entire trilogy.
The best part? I don't have to share my royalties with someone else, aka, an agent.
Now I know the Big Five is the ultimate dream, but the publishing world is changing. Agents are rapidly becoming redundant because the indie market is booming. Why do you think agents get funny about simultaneously subbing to small presses? Because they can't compete with it. The press will offer you something like a 35% rate, whereas with an agent, you will end up with a 15% rate after they take their cut. Yup, the math says it all.
So, if you've been querying since forever, think small press. Reputable small press. Because you don't necessarily need an agent. You just need a great idea, passion, and hard work.
Almost two years ago, I set about querying my novel. I entered comps left right and center, as well as cold querying. I received partial and full requests all over the place, and all came back with the standard answer, "I love your concept, but I just couldn't connect." Couldn't connect? What did that even mean?
So I analyzed the heck out of my manuscript, trying to figure out how on earth I could make my novel more "connectable." Sound familiar?
Finally, a small press called for New Adult subs. I researched this press and, finding it legit (because yes, there are plenty of small presses that crash and burn or rip off their authors, so be careful!) I subbed to them. Meanwhile, the agents continued to give me the run around, while I sent my MS to new readers asking how I can make it more "connectable." Ironically, my readers said, "I have no idea what you mean. Your MC's voice is so strong, and her motives so clear. I completely empathize with her."
That didn't help me feel better when agents kept tell me the opposite.
So I continued smacking my head against a brick wall, trying to please the unpleasable.
Then, the small press sent me an AMAZING offer. Great deal, great royalty rate, very open and honest policy. Loved it right off the bat. So, I took it.
Since then, my writing has grown and developed significantly through not only my hard work, but because of the editor I had the privilege of working with to help me improve my writing. I also met amazing and supportive people to critique and Beta for me, thus also improving my writing skills. Signing with a small press changed me for the better.
My book sits comfortably on bestseller lists, and has reached a ranking of #59 of ALL Amazon books. I have steady sales, spiking during sales, which makes sense. The subsequent trilogy is doing very well as well. I even consider the fierce negative reviews a sign of my book's success. People will only hate something if they notice it in the first place! Not that I enjoy being bashed, but that's another issue entirely.
I also have another book out with a different publishing house, and my first publisher has more books of mine contracted for release later this year.
Now, silly me had it in my head that this success and having an established fan base would be a strong draw card while querying agents. Well, as I said, silly me. They just came up with different excuses, and excuses that completely contradicted one another, spinning me into complete and utter confusion. How am I supposed to improve if agent A says they love X, but Y needs work, but Agent B says they love Y, and X needs work? What the devil?
Finding myself in a conundrum and trying to do everything I could to make my work as strong as possible, I turned to my writer friends. During these discussions, something dawned on me; agents have no idea what they actually want.
There, I said it.
It also dawned on me that ebooks and quality small presses are taking over the world. Now, my publisher is a quality small press. This is evident by the increasing rate of agents subbing to them. Hear that? Agents subbing to a Small Press. And they love me. They LOVE me! I wrote a popular trilogy for them, and work my butt off to keep it selling. I keep open and honest relations with them, so they don't ever feel like I'm doing something sneaky, so they trust me. They have lined up all kinds of promotional stuff for me, and even managed an Audible deal for the entire trilogy.
The best part? I don't have to share my royalties with someone else, aka, an agent.
Now I know the Big Five is the ultimate dream, but the publishing world is changing. Agents are rapidly becoming redundant because the indie market is booming. Why do you think agents get funny about simultaneously subbing to small presses? Because they can't compete with it. The press will offer you something like a 35% rate, whereas with an agent, you will end up with a 15% rate after they take their cut. Yup, the math says it all.
So, if you've been querying since forever, think small press. Reputable small press. Because you don't necessarily need an agent. You just need a great idea, passion, and hard work.
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