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Three Wise Men |
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Three Wise Men |
Article #1 Arise ye new writers because there are several of us willing to make the commitment to get your manuscript published. It takes time and a great deal of effort in today's market but it can be done. I know that for a fact, because I've been an entertainment lawyer, Hollywood producer of feature and T. V. films and a literary agent and for over 25 years. Throw into the mix that I was one of the first sports agents in the country back in the 60's and you pretty well know that tenacity and a bulldog determinations doesn’t always guarantee success, but goes a long way in pushing it along to a better than 50% success ratio. Literary agents just have to learn that the publishing industry has changed considerably over the past ten years; and, we as agent representatives of new - and previously published - authors, must change with the times. For the most parts, the new generation of writers is better educated, researched and disciplined than writers of 25 years ago. Fierce competition in the publishing field, for the most part, encourages a new breed of writers to become inordinately competitive - not always, but most of the time. However, new writers just can't do it by themselves. They need the expertise of the experienced literary agent. Therefore, agents must recognize the changes in their literary world and respond affirmatively by answering all correspondence, returning phone calls within a 48-hour period and, if necessary, restructure their fee schedule. A few years ago, a good literary agent practically had a "slam dunk" in earning a healthy 10 or 15% commission, because they knew the publishers and the various likes and dislikes of the different editors. Contracts could frequently be negotiated over a five or six-week-period. Today it's different. It frequently takes an agent 12 months or longer to "break down" the doors of the major publishers and the dozens of smaller houses that have sprung up over the past few years. If that's the case, than a suggestion might be, that agents charge a retainer plus a percentage that might encourage them to spend the dozens of hours necessary to make a publishing deal -- and then there's no guarantee. But new writers, that's life isn't it? There's still hope, though, for all you new writers, because literary agents are gradually learning to play the game by new rules, just like in most other forms of business.
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