Literary Agents - Do you need one?
Ask ten different authors and chances are you'll get a number of varied responses regarding whether you need to get a literary agent or not. Personally, I think you should, but your goals as an author may be different than mine, so here I'll espouse the virtures of both. Much of this information is regurgitated from the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook (a definite must for any serious aspiring author - even J. K. Rowling said it's 'Full of useful stuff. It answered my every question').If you're an independant type of person who enjoys and is willing to do everything yourself, perhaps you won't need a literary agent. You certainly won't have to share a percentage of your income with one if you're savvy enough to negotiate a contract with a publisher on your own. Keep in mind though, negotiating a contract is just one of many things that a literary agent does. They also manage most (if not all) of your media rights (radio, TV, movie, etc.) and protect you from all sort of unsavory characters who might be interested in taking advantage of your hard work to make a quick buck. Also remember that many major publishing companies will not accept manuscripts from individual authors, preferring instead to correspond with literary agents who they know or have a history with, or who they feel have already 'sifted out the chaff'.
One thing you should never forget is that a legitimate literary agent NEVER charges a reading fee. Ever. Period. Their job is to get you published and earn a commission off the sales of your books. Therefore, they have a vested interest in your success. The more successful you are, the more money they make (and vice versa). If you are trying to decide on submitting your manuscript to an 'agent' who charges a reading fee, take this piece of advice. Don't. Granted, since many successful literary agents are rather busy, they may return your manuscript unread, or say they are not taking on new clients. In that case, just send it to another one, and keep on doing that until someone is willing to represent your work. The first agent J.K. Rowling submitted her manuscript for The Philosopher's Stone to, turned her down - I'm sure you can imagine how much they regret doing that now!
If there is no literary agent willing to take you on as a client, you might want to consider taking a very serious, critical look at your manuscript.
Another argument for literary agents is this: as an aspiring author you probably want to spend the majority of your time, well, writing. The publishing process takes considerable time and effort, and the time you spend doing that is time probably better spent on your next manuscript.
