Friday, December 12, 2014

Decoding Pub-Speak: Agented Submissions Only?


Have you written a book? If you’re like most people, you will probably testify that it was a long and grueling process. But eventually you reach the end, and rejoice. And then you seek to show off your work to publishers, and quickly realize that the writing was the easy part.


“AGENTED SUBMISSIONS ONLY”

Back in the 1990s, American publishers fired hundreds of editors and readers. They figured out that they could get those same services for free through literary agents, because agents only send them material that’s already pre-screened and edited. Agented authors don’t need as much coaching and hand-holding, and the reps themselves don’t get a salary or a desk or a pension.