A few days ago, Passive Guy discussed a blog post at edittorrent about one or more agents reportedly asking for 15% of royalties from self-published books.
Author, lawyer and musician Pete Morin posted the following comment:
PG – there is a slight chance that this rumor might actually refer to me and my agent, because I have written something about it previously.
When my agent and I together made the decision that I would self-publish Diary of a Small Fish (the manuscript she had under contract – we’d waited 9 months for 6 editors to not respond), we discussed a strategy to pursue and how it would change the nature of the working relationship we had. Essentially, I had a second manuscript on the way, and we both wanted to continue to work together. She is a big believer in the idea of “building the author’s career” (the – ahem – “garbage”), she’s sold a lot of work for her authors, several of whom have both traddy and SP works in the market, and she works harder than any human being I’ve ever met.
My point in the post was that if we rewrote her job description to include activity outside of the typical agent’s (e.g., promote the book and the author in professional circles, help obtain panel/speaking assignments at conferences, raise profile, etc.), there should be a means of compensating her. In short, I proposed to compensate her, and she declined. So, we continue to work together anyway, and she awaits my second manuscript.
So if this is indeed referring to my situation, the rumor has turned the truth on its head. The agent did NOT demand or even ask for her commission, and when offered it, she declined.
I realize this upsets the cynical characterization of The Literary Agent these days, but there really are a few out there who actually get it, and embrace the dynamism of the marketplace. Being a battle-scarred 56 year old litigator, I can take care of myself, too.
PG is happy to heap scorn and ridicule on the seemingly endless supply of perfidious swindlers who prey on authors, but doesn’t want anyone who doesn’t fall into that class to be improperly labeled.
When I posted my comment earlier, I hadn’t had a chance to read through the linked post – and now see that the OP was NOT referring to my sitch.
Ooooer… as Emily Litella said, “Never mind.”
Still, Pete, it’s good to hear of some agent/author relationships that are going right. 🙂
I think anyone who has indie-published understands there is a lot of work involved in promoting your books. If someone besides the author has skills in that area, I think it makes perfect sense for an author who can afford it to hire pay for that work to be done.
In Pete’s case, he probably bills for at least some of his work by the hour, so he has relatively easy arithmetic to perform in order to decide if an hour is more profitably spent representing his clients or promoting his book.
So here’s something I’m still trying to figure out. I hear from some indie author friends that promotion and being a publisher takes A LOT of work. On the other hand, I hear Konrath and DWS saying that they have *more* time to write since they started indie publishing. I’m still trying to reconcile the two.
Livia – When I’ve seen comments like that, they generally refer to all the time involved in dealing with the publisher and agent relationships. While there can be long periods with no communication, there are also “go do some book signings” and “here are 20 blogs you should contact for reviews” emails or phone calls. And, of course, there are also the “rewrite this to take out the Jane and John characters and cut 15 thousand words” emails.
Remember that back in the day Konrath self-funded his own book tour to a couple hundred bookstores. Now, he posts a blog a week. Seems like a lot less work to me!!
Also DWS, used to run his own publishing company and would say that the best/only promotion a writer can do is write the next book!!
I am guessing that they indie authors are would disagree with Konrath and DWS.
Has anyone checked with Theresa (the editorrent blogger) about this? I’m guessing that she’s not talking about Pete’s case, cuz it seemed like from her entry that she’s had it confirmed by personal communication.
But either way, nice to see a more open minded and nuanced characterisation of literary agents than we so often see these days.
The story unfolds very clearly in the comments
http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/2012/01/sign-of-times.html
It’s pretty clear the situation isn’t Pete’s.
It sounds like she’s moving into the role of a manager. (Which, frankly, I expect will happen with a lot of agents.) It’s really hard to define the role of a manager, because each one does different things. Some folks treat them as producing partners, some as nannies. And a lot of them are just bloodsuckers.
In the past couple of years, though, there have been some court cases in Hollywood, of clients refusing to pay managers, and last I heard, the clients were winning.
P.G.
Oh brother, how I wish the media in general put out corrections like that.
Admirable.
Good on Pete Morin for piping up, and good on his agent for filling a role that suits both parties.
Good news doesn’t always have to be on page 231:)
brendan
This points out a very important distinction, PG and Pete.
There is a difference between grubby, greedy industry professionals saying “That’s how it’s done and if you don’t like it, you can kiss your career goodbye, so shut up and sign.” And two reasonable people hashing out a business arrangement that benefits both of them.
Thanks for making the point.