Conversation with an Agent

I could not help but notice that, while most of the comments about agents were negative, the comments arguing their value came mostly from people who used them, particularly in non-fiction areas. I also asked a few friends of mine what they thought, and while there was a split, most of our book-writing colleagues have recommended that we use one.  In may ways, they see it just like dealing with a lawyer--everyone hates lawyers, but most of us find we need one from time-to-time to protect us from maing really big mistakes.

Today, I spoke with, Neil J. Salkind, an agent from Studio B.  Neil was sent our way by Jeremy Wright, who has been very helpful to Robert and me, even though he is also writing a book on blogging from a different angle.  Jeremy strongly recommended Neil. I found Neil, to be knowledgeable and honest.  He made clear what he could and could not do for Robert and me. It was a good first conversation.

To summarize, Neil is something of a combination of a lawyer and our outbound marketing guy.  He's like a lawyer because what he seems to know best is the fine print portions of publisher's contracts, and just by the little he pointed out, there is some trickery that Robert and I might easily miss.  Neil has a passion for the negotiation and told me the difference between contracts that O'Reilly, one publisher we've spoken with, might offer and Wiley, the other publisher who has voiced interest in. He also seems like a born pitchman, and just in case our vision of a parade of publishers come to this site waving increasingly large wads of money in our faces, Neil seems like the kind of guy who would do this part well for us.

That, of course is the upside.  The down is that for any and all writing parts of The Red Couch project, Neil gets 15%. This impacts me, more than Robert, because the upfront money comes to me, with Robert making it up on the back end--if the book does well. 

At this point, we want to speak to more agents.  If you know one, please send them to this site and if they are still interested, please send him or her to us, either by email or by posting on this site.

We don't need to decide on whether to go with an agent or not, and then which agent to go with until mid-January, when our proposal gets closer to what we consider a finishing point.

Keep those cards and letters coming in.

Comments

[johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy)]

Simply put, a literary agent should be able to get you a larger advance for your proposal than an author can on his/her own. Plus having an agent frees you and Robert up to (a) write the book and (b) manage the unruly open-source process. If you are dealing with major publishers in hopes of getting as large an advance as possible… let the agent loose. Dig?

[shel]

Yeah, I dig. I think it's sound advice, John.

[Paul Robichaux]

I was represented by StudioB from 1997 until 2000. They did a good job for me, and Neil is very knowledgeable about the computer book industry. I think you'll find that the 15% you give up is made up for by a) the agent's ability to run interference b) good advice on contract terms and c) helping you find the best possible publisher.

However, I would point out one factor y'all may not have thought of: StudioB (and Waterside, its largest competitor) focus on the computer book industry. I don't think either has the same degree of connectedness with the larger trade press, and you may very well find that your book has enough mainstream appeal to be interesting to a non-computer publisher.

Why does that matter? Advances and royalty terms, that's why. A $20 book from O'Reilly will net you around $1.08 (10% of 52%, assuming that O'Reilly sold that particular book at a 48% discount). A $20 book from, say, Crown will net you $2 (10% of $20), because trade press books usually calculate royalties on the gross price, not the net. Crown probably wouldn't sell a book like yours for only $20, either, but I digress. OTOH, you really need a sharp agent to deal with those folks because their contract language is practically Talmudic.

Feel free to contact me privately if I can answer any questions for you.

[shel israel]

Paul,

This is incredibly valuable stuff. You demystified how publishers calculate advances. Thanks so much.

[Kathy Sierra]

My writing partner and I are represented by StudioB -- we created a book series for O'Reilly. Although StudioB is most known for representing computer book authors, it *has* been growing significantly and branching out into other areas--they are currently representing us on a business/marketing book that will end up on the same shelf as where yours will end up. They're awesome. It took us almost two years to make the decision to sign with them, so... we did a lot of homework and agonizing. We think they're ethical and honest and--crucially-- *if* you care about the relationship with the publisher (as opposed to simply getting the best deal), they really understand and appreciate that (that was the most important thing for us, because we deeply value O'Reilly). They care about *your* goals, both for the book and--if interested--long term. I can't say enough about how wonderful and creative they've been for us. We work with David Rogelberg, the owner of StudioB, but everyone we've talked to (including David) has great respect for Neil. He represents a few friends of mine who've been VERY happy.

[Neil Salkind]

Paul's quite right about the royalty structure for different types of books, but even within a particualar type of book (such as trade, professional or text),the structure for both royalties and advances can vary greatly in amount, the schedule on which advances are paid (some on signing, at different milestones, etc.), the type of transaction (foreign sales v. domestic sales), schedules for royalty payment (monthly, quarterly, even yearly!), and on and on. It's all in the contract and often, many of these terms can be negotiated, but often, many can not.

[shel israel]

Thanks for joining the conversation out here where everyone can see us, Neil.

[advice meister]

Keep in mind that an agent will help you get a better contract for your book (and by extension, a more successful book) only if you involve your agent in the development of your proposal. This is especially true if you're going to submit to trade publishers. You should have something to show an agent, but use your agent to write a better proposal. In fact, good agents provide much more value to their authors in helping them develop their ideas into saleable books, the contract side of things is actually pretty mechanical as agents with a track record have boilerplate agreements they've negotiated with the major houses. Other than the specific finanical considerations of your deal, they don't renegotiate every contract if they already have an acceptable one with a publisher.

Here is a true fact for you to know: an agent cannot get you a better deal by "selling" your proposal, they get you a better deal by helping you write a better book. The literary cluetrain will tell you that there is no market for agents selling proposals, there's only a market for good proposals. No agent can sell a badly conceived book, indeed, they can only sell extremely well conceived ones. A good agent who works with the major trade publishers knows what particular editors are looking for. Ask the agents you are interviewing the last time they met with editors at Random House, Simon & Schuster, or Crown, if that's who you are looking to be your publisher. (They don't need to be based in NY, just make sure they go there regularly.) You'll find that there is a real difference between computer book agents and trade book agents in their expertise and experience. Not that one is better than the other, but they work in different area codes of the publishing industry. Very, very few cross over with much effect.