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05-25-2009, 01:02 PM
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#1
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Addict
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Virginia
Gender: Male
Posts: 193
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Big Time Agencies
I was wondering if any of you could help me here. I've been digging for a long time sending querries to agents and from now on I want to make sure that I'm sending letters to the best and or biggest agencies out there that can grant me great deals. I've so far tried maasagency, and um, um, well I forget the rest, but I'll appreciate any advice that you can give me.
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05-25-2009, 01:54 PM
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#2
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Mercury
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,544
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Agents at larger agencies are usually genre-specific. They also don't grant deals, they try to broker them. How good your deal is has a lot more to do with the publisher, the property, and the market than the agent.
The average advance for a first novel right now is around 8K. If you're looking to get rich, there are probably better avenues.
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From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.
Groucho Marx
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05-26-2009, 02:27 PM
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#3
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Wordsmith
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 10,939
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Check out the credits in the front or back of really successful books. They usually mention the agent's name in there.
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05-26-2009, 03:20 PM
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#4
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Mercury
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,544
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__________________
From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.
Groucho Marx
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05-26-2009, 03:33 PM
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#5
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Adept Writer
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: New Mexico
Gender: Female
Posts: 851
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Writer's Market
Concentrate on the agents that deal in your genre/subgenre. And, to avoid future disappointment, bear in mind that very few books ever earn back their initial advance.
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"I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." -- Marilyn Monroe
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05-26-2009, 05:09 PM
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#6
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Addict
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Virginia
Gender: Male
Posts: 193
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What do you mean by initial advance?
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05-26-2009, 05:27 PM
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#7
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Wordsmith
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 10,939
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You get an advance on the book. Only after that money has been made back to you begin to see any kind of percentage of sales. And most of the time the money is never made back.
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05-26-2009, 06:12 PM
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#8
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: England, the beautiful southwest.
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,621
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Trust me, if it's a good book, it'll make more than the advance. First time authors don't tend to make a lot of money out of their first novel but nor do the publishers. They look to make more out of you on your second and third books, if you reach those milestones.
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05-26-2009, 06:55 PM
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#9
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Wordsmith
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 10,939
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Quote:
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Trust me, if it's a good book, it'll make more than the advance.
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Sorry, I don't trust you. The vast majority of first novels will never make up their advance. And I'm sure there are plenty of good ones in there. |
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05-26-2009, 08:03 PM
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#10
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: England, the beautiful southwest.
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,621
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Malone
Sorry, I don't trust you. The vast majority of first novels will never make up their advance. And I'm sure there are plenty of good ones in there.
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So you are clearly on a mission to discourage him? 
Have you not read best-sellers by first-time authors then?
My post was addressed to the OP. It is not my concern whether you "trust me" or not... Doctor.
Last edited by Mermaid on the breakwater; 05-26-2009 at 08:08 PM..
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05-26-2009, 08:52 PM
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#11
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Wordsmith
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 10,939
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I'm not trying to discourage anyone, but I'm not going to lie either. The chances of writing a best-seller your first time out is about the same as being hit by lightning. Hell, the chances of writing a best-seller EVER are about the same as being hit by lightning. The chances of making back the advance aren't much better.
I encourage S-wo to write a novel, try to get it published, and make it a great one. Just understand that even if you get published and receive an advance, the monetary value of your writing with be around $00.05 a word.
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05-27-2009, 12:08 AM
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#12
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Mercury
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,544
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mermaid on the breakwater
Trust me, if it's a good book, it'll make more than the advance. First time authors don't tend to make a lot of money out of their first novel but nor do the publishers. They look to make more out of you on your second and third books, if you reach those milestones.
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And from under what rock do you derive your data?
Here's some good info from a pro.
Want more? Here you go. Here's a bit more, from the same author, referring to the first article.
Here's another.
Stephen King's advance for the hardcover of Carrie was 2500.00. Sales figures were not fabulous, but not bad. A movie option and brisk sales of the paperback led to renegotiation and a 400,000.00 advance against his next three books.
So there's your encouragement. If you have King's talent and perseverance, and a whole lot of luck, you might make that kind of money. Or if you just have a whole lot of luck and hit a hot market you might do it. The odds of doing that are probably higher than being hit by lightning.
__________________
From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.
Groucho Marx
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05-27-2009, 12:36 AM
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#13
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Wordsmith
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: South-east UK
Gender: Male
Posts: 6,570
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The chances of writing making you rich are slim, for sure, but not impossible. In the circle of Pro writers I rub shoulders with are one who got an advance of around $500k, another who got "a check bigger than anything I've ever seen in my life" right through to pennies or less advances. A handful - less than half - earn a living solely from writing, and most of those will have to turn out a book a year from now on to keep it that way.
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05-27-2009, 08:34 AM
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#14
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: England, the beautiful southwest.
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,621
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The chances of getting rich in any walk of life are very slim.
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05-27-2009, 08:55 AM
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#15
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Ink Slinger
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Mercury
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,544
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"You have a firm grasp of the obvious." OJ Simpson to Howard Cosell.
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From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.
Groucho Marx
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