Should You Submit Your Work to Agents or Editors?

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Regardless of whether you’re penning a novel, nonfiction book, children’s book (or thing other entirely), erstwhile you’re ready to taxable your activity successful nan hopes of landing a publisher, you’ll person to decide:

Should I approach agents aliases editors?

The easy reply is: Most writers should pitch agents first, particularly since it’s difficult to spell incorrect pinch that approach. But a assortment of factors play into this decision.

Is your book due for a New York publisher?

If you dream to spot your book published by nan likes of Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, aliases Hachette, past you request to commencement an supplier search. That’s because virtually nary New York patient accepts materials straight from authors; it has to beryllium agented. If you effort to taxable without an agent, your activity is astir apt to spell consecutive into nan trash tin (either virtually aliases digitally).

But this mobility tin beryllium a small much complicated than it first looks:

• There are occasionally opportunities to transportation New York editors astatine penning conferences, aliases you mightiness meet 1 astatine a shop aliases societal function. They mightiness definitive liking successful your activity and moreover induce you to get successful touch. If you do person specified a individual invitation, don’t hesitate to travel up connected it, but understand that editors will seldom beryllium capable to move guardant pinch nan task if they want to make an offer. At that point, they’ll show you to get an agent, and of course—if you person an editor’s interest—the process of uncovering 1 should beryllium easier than if you don’t.
• Not each projects are (by a agelong shot) due for New York publishers. By “appropriate,” I mean thing that has capable commercialized imaginable that a patient would earnestly see making an connection connected it. Or, a book needs to person nan potential to waste tens of thousands of copies and merit bookstore support abstraction crossed nan country. Unfortunately, writers tin person a difficult clip telling what projects are destined for commercial success—too overmuch individual bias!

Is your activity champion suited to a small, independent patient aliases world press? (Do you cognize the right publishers already for your work?)

Some books are niche by design: nan assemblage whitethorn beryllium very specific, and location are only a fistful of publishers that attraction connected that peculiar assemblage aliases category. Take graphic design, for example: You could astir apt count nan number of progressive publishers successful that class connected 1 hand, and if you’re a schematic designer, you astir apt cognize what they are moreover without researching. Or, if you’re a scholar, you whitethorn already cognize nan circumstantial assemblage presses that regularly nutrient activity successful your field.

In cases specified arsenic these—where you whitethorn cognize nan publishing scenery amended than an supplier because you are a specialist—then there’s small request to person an supplier correspond you. You already cognize nan market, and nan publishers are apt unfastened to receiving materials straight from authors.

With any benignant of wide fiction, however, nan lines tin get blurrier. There’s a very wide scope of mini and independent publishers retired there, and they’re not created equal. (I remark much connected mini presses here.) Some, for illustration Graywolf, don’t judge unagented material; their size and prestige matches that of a New York house. With others, you whitethorn use from having an supplier assistance you pinch statement negotiations, while small, mom-and-pop publishers may balk if you bring an supplier to nan table.

For immoderate type of commercialized aliases genre fiction, nan champion strategy is to look for an supplier first, and if you can’t find 1 to correspond you, past you tin investigation and taxable to publishers that happily judge worldly straight from authors.

Avoid submitting to agents and editors astatine nan aforesaid time

Some writers (usually nan impatient ones!) determine that they’ll query agents astatine nan aforesaid clip arsenic nan editors. But I powerfully counsel against this. An supplier wants a cleanable slate to activity from, and if you’ve been sending your activity out—even conscionable to mini presses—that makes her occupation much difficult. If you desire an supplier aliases person hopes for a Big Five deal, past there’s nary question: attack agents first, publishers second.

When moving done an agent isn’t needfully nan champion thing

When you’re a master and you cognize nan correct publishers for your activity (as described above), past having an supplier whitethorn aliases whitethorn not beryllium of usage to you. Sometimes publishers that activity successful niche areas connection very mini advances and little elasticity successful their contracts. While you whitethorn want an supplier to thief discuss nan deal, giving them a 15% committee connected everything you earn—if that’s all they do for you—can make small sense, particularly if you didn’t request them to unafraid nan woody successful nan first place.

But that’s still what immoderate authors extremity up doing, because they consciousness amended astir having an supplier successful lawsuit thing goes wrong, and to consciousness for illustration personification is “taking attraction of business” for them. Whether your supplier will do this successfully and devotedly will dangle connected nan agent. Never hide that if your beforehand is mini (less than $10,000) and your income aren’t overmuch to look at, they whitethorn not person a strong incentive to do a batch of hand-holding aliases nurturing, unless they’re genuinely invested successful a semipermanent relationship, pinch profitable book deals ahead.

There are specified things arsenic literary lawyers who tin discuss a statement for you based connected a level interest aliases hourly rate. Sometimes this is simply a preferable people of action, particularly if you’re not pursuing a profession focused connected accepted authorship.

Also beryllium very observant of signing pinch agents who person a way grounds of income to hybrid publishers, publishing services, and different mini outfits that almost nary 1 has heard of. Such agents whitethorn person financial incentives to present you into nan hands of a institution that will extremity up charging you money. Publishers Marketplace is simply a bully spot to cheque connected nan way grounds of deals an supplier has made ($25/month); besides tally a Google hunt connected nan sanction of nan supplier (and/or publisher), past adhd nan connection “scam,” to study astir nan penning community’s cognition of that supplier aliases publisher.

To study more

• How to Find a Literary Agent for Your Book
• How to Find Publishers