What are advances, royalties, payment milestones, and sales escalators? What are foreign translation rights and film/TV options? And how much commission do agents take?
Thank you for taking the time to so clearly explain this, Evelyn. As an indie author/publisher I find these conversations about the publishing industry so fascinating! And it's great to hear about it from a traditionally published author's point of view. I've been drinking my tea and soaking up all this info. I even ordered the book about the DOJ, Penguin Random House, and Simon and Schuster trial. I always feel empowered after learning more about the things I'm passionate about. :) I'm adding this post to my personal education file.
This makes me so happy to hear that what I shared was enlightening. I love learning more about our industry, too, so I'm a voracious reader about it all, too. We're kindred nerd spirits. ;)
This article just made me realize that I think, on some inner level, that I am not worth an agent. That is something I'm definitely going to have to get over. No doubt I'm going to have to "discover" this over and over as part of the process. (Because a part of me is like, *slaps me on the head*, what do you mean you're not worth an agent. Of course you are.) Not what I was expecting out of reading this article, but very valuable.
I will respectfully disagree, River, about being "worth" an agent, because I think everyone's writing is unique and holds its own beauty, by virtue of just who you are, and that makes you worth EVERYTHING. Really. Just by showing up and wanting to write, you are absolutely worth it. Your writing and your effort is worth it. :)
Another thing I was thinking about--even though there is an economic incentive in the agent-writer relationship, it's not the only thing. Agents and editors are people who are passionate about books and writing and ideas first, and money, second. (If any of them were looking to get rich, books isn't it, haha.)
For example, I've had many conversations with my own agent where I've expressed an artistic preference for doing something that will make us both less money but is more fulfilling to me as a writer; likewise, I have turned down lucrative opportunities that just didn't resonate with me, such as ideas that she and I have had that are "on trend" and could probably sell for big bucks but wasn't what I wanted to spend my creative time and energy on. Each time, she has been on my side, because what she cares about most is putting great writing into the world. So if anyone out there is thinking that you have to have huge economic potential to be worth an agent, I don't think that's true.
Additionally, though, what I love about the current publishing landscape is that there are SO many ways now to get your work into the world, with or without an agent. I just happen to be in traditional publishing, but there is now hybrid publishing and self-publishing, Substack and Wattpad... You don't have to go the agent/traditional publisher route anymore to have your work read by others. You can just be YOU and write what you want, and then readers can have your writing without the gatekeepers.
There are pros and cons to all avenues, but at the end of the day, I truly am a champion for everyone writing what they want and being able to express themselves and share their beautiful souls, in whatever way works best for them.
I saw that you subscribed to my community, CREATIVE.INSPIRED.HAPPY. Welcome! I look forward to having you here, River!
You're very welcome, Adrianna! I'm happy it was helpful for you and will continue to be as you continue on your writing journey. I'll be cheering you on!
Outstanding Evelyn! Regarding agents, it is not well-known that agents collect from publishers, then give the author money due. I researched this, and people are saying to reject this formula. YOU get the money, then YOU pay the agent. How do you feel about this?
I would not want that for me, personally. Whoever collects the money from the publisher also has to be the one to chase them down if amounts have been due and not paid on time, as well as having to do more accounting work on my end to show what I received, what I owe my agent, issuing those checks and also the tax forms for paying them and IRS filings.
Also, if you have foreign rights sales (like I do in many countries), then you would have to collect from each individual overseas publisher, and then pay each of your foreign subrights agents in all those other countries and deal with THEIR tax forms and filings with foreign tax agencies. I don't want to deal with that admin headache and am very happy to have my agent do it! :)
If you have a great agent, there's no reason not to trust them to get the money first, then pass on your amount after they take their 15%; they must do it all very quickly (your contract with them will say how fast, but I believe it's standard to be within a business week or so), and they are required to provide immediate, detailed accounting statements for what has been deducted.
It's all the same money anyway (15%), so it's not like I get paid more if I handle the check from the publisher first. Arguably, I get less if I do it that way, because I should account for the value of my time. (Plus pay an accountant for all the complicated overseas tax filings.)
Others may disagree, but that's my personal preference. :)
Thanks Evelyn! I also read where writers insisted the publisher send one check to the agent and another to them. These were writers who ran into trouble with agents : (
Personally, as a writer who has made absolutely no headway querying agents, I'd love to have that problem : )
ooof, I'm so sorry they had to deal with bad agents! I've been lucky to have worked with upstanding ones.
If you're free this Sunday, you should join our book club meeting! During the writer hangout portion, I'm going to be talking about my own agent journey and answering people's questions about agents and querying.
Where I come from they say oof da : ) Thank you so much Evelyn, but I don't think I can add much to the meeting. I'm a pro, a busy magazine freelancer, I'm pretty sophisticated, and have tried everything in the book. And some not in the book : ) I thought by publishing heavily, writing a savvy, upmarket novel, and querying like crazy I would catch the eye of an agent. Sadly, this is not the case.
I'm now on Substack. It's pure writing, essays for the fun of it, and anyone reading me can see I can write. Maybe an agent will catch a post? Who knows? Social media is the one thing I haven't tried. What a dope I've been : )
Thank you for taking the time to so clearly explain this, Evelyn. As an indie author/publisher I find these conversations about the publishing industry so fascinating! And it's great to hear about it from a traditionally published author's point of view. I've been drinking my tea and soaking up all this info. I even ordered the book about the DOJ, Penguin Random House, and Simon and Schuster trial. I always feel empowered after learning more about the things I'm passionate about. :) I'm adding this post to my personal education file.
This makes me so happy to hear that what I shared was enlightening. I love learning more about our industry, too, so I'm a voracious reader about it all, too. We're kindred nerd spirits. ;)
Hooray for kindred nerdy spirits! :) ✨
Wow! This was super helpful!
Thank you for taking time put put this together!
I'm really glad it was useful for you, Jamal!
This article just made me realize that I think, on some inner level, that I am not worth an agent. That is something I'm definitely going to have to get over. No doubt I'm going to have to "discover" this over and over as part of the process. (Because a part of me is like, *slaps me on the head*, what do you mean you're not worth an agent. Of course you are.) Not what I was expecting out of reading this article, but very valuable.
I will respectfully disagree, River, about being "worth" an agent, because I think everyone's writing is unique and holds its own beauty, by virtue of just who you are, and that makes you worth EVERYTHING. Really. Just by showing up and wanting to write, you are absolutely worth it. Your writing and your effort is worth it. :)
Another thing I was thinking about--even though there is an economic incentive in the agent-writer relationship, it's not the only thing. Agents and editors are people who are passionate about books and writing and ideas first, and money, second. (If any of them were looking to get rich, books isn't it, haha.)
For example, I've had many conversations with my own agent where I've expressed an artistic preference for doing something that will make us both less money but is more fulfilling to me as a writer; likewise, I have turned down lucrative opportunities that just didn't resonate with me, such as ideas that she and I have had that are "on trend" and could probably sell for big bucks but wasn't what I wanted to spend my creative time and energy on. Each time, she has been on my side, because what she cares about most is putting great writing into the world. So if anyone out there is thinking that you have to have huge economic potential to be worth an agent, I don't think that's true.
Additionally, though, what I love about the current publishing landscape is that there are SO many ways now to get your work into the world, with or without an agent. I just happen to be in traditional publishing, but there is now hybrid publishing and self-publishing, Substack and Wattpad... You don't have to go the agent/traditional publisher route anymore to have your work read by others. You can just be YOU and write what you want, and then readers can have your writing without the gatekeepers.
There are pros and cons to all avenues, but at the end of the day, I truly am a champion for everyone writing what they want and being able to express themselves and share their beautiful souls, in whatever way works best for them.
I saw that you subscribed to my community, CREATIVE.INSPIRED.HAPPY. Welcome! I look forward to having you here, River!
I loved it! Thank you.
You're so very welcome, Reda!
What a helpful post for authors!
Thank you for the new restack, Sally! Glad you found this helpful to your clients and other writers. :)
This was really great and really enlightening. You explained it so simply and made it understandable. Thank you.
Oh good, I'm glad it was easy to follow and useful for you. Thank you for your kind comment, E!
You are welcome! 🤗
I really appreciate how straight-forward this was! Thanks for laying it out for those of us who haven’t quite gotten there yet. :)
You're very welcome, Adrianna! I'm happy it was helpful for you and will continue to be as you continue on your writing journey. I'll be cheering you on!
That was a great explanation of Book deals. Thank you for writing this Evelyn.
You're so welcome, Lala!
Outstanding Evelyn! Regarding agents, it is not well-known that agents collect from publishers, then give the author money due. I researched this, and people are saying to reject this formula. YOU get the money, then YOU pay the agent. How do you feel about this?
I would not want that for me, personally. Whoever collects the money from the publisher also has to be the one to chase them down if amounts have been due and not paid on time, as well as having to do more accounting work on my end to show what I received, what I owe my agent, issuing those checks and also the tax forms for paying them and IRS filings.
Also, if you have foreign rights sales (like I do in many countries), then you would have to collect from each individual overseas publisher, and then pay each of your foreign subrights agents in all those other countries and deal with THEIR tax forms and filings with foreign tax agencies. I don't want to deal with that admin headache and am very happy to have my agent do it! :)
If you have a great agent, there's no reason not to trust them to get the money first, then pass on your amount after they take their 15%; they must do it all very quickly (your contract with them will say how fast, but I believe it's standard to be within a business week or so), and they are required to provide immediate, detailed accounting statements for what has been deducted.
It's all the same money anyway (15%), so it's not like I get paid more if I handle the check from the publisher first. Arguably, I get less if I do it that way, because I should account for the value of my time. (Plus pay an accountant for all the complicated overseas tax filings.)
Others may disagree, but that's my personal preference. :)
Thanks Evelyn! I also read where writers insisted the publisher send one check to the agent and another to them. These were writers who ran into trouble with agents : (
Personally, as a writer who has made absolutely no headway querying agents, I'd love to have that problem : )
ooof, I'm so sorry they had to deal with bad agents! I've been lucky to have worked with upstanding ones.
If you're free this Sunday, you should join our book club meeting! During the writer hangout portion, I'm going to be talking about my own agent journey and answering people's questions about agents and querying.
Where I come from they say oof da : ) Thank you so much Evelyn, but I don't think I can add much to the meeting. I'm a pro, a busy magazine freelancer, I'm pretty sophisticated, and have tried everything in the book. And some not in the book : ) I thought by publishing heavily, writing a savvy, upmarket novel, and querying like crazy I would catch the eye of an agent. Sadly, this is not the case.
I'm now on Substack. It's pure writing, essays for the fun of it, and anyone reading me can see I can write. Maybe an agent will catch a post? Who knows? Social media is the one thing I haven't tried. What a dope I've been : )
Thanks for posting this, Evelyn! It’s really informative.
I'm glad it was helpful, Barb!