02. About Money

Who's on the side of the author?

The agent is the one person on the author’s side. The publisher? Maybe yes, maybe no.

mei 11 2004

Agents can help authors

By knowing the likes and dislikes of individual editors around the world, as well as different competing titles in different countries, agents can help authors to write the kind of proposals that editors will want to buy.

mei 11 2004

Advantages and disadvantages of globalisation

The globalisation of publishing has disadvantages which, when examined more closely, have brought advantages with them:
1a). Publishers may have become increasingly dependent on bestsellers and literary agents, but this very dependence has made them more alert in looking for alternatives.
1b). The competition is enormous, but this does also mean that a publisher cannot afford to become complacent and rest on his laurels.
1c). Constant changes in the market bring with them new opportunities for quality.

mei 11 2004

Who needs an agent?

In my former role as a publisher, I spent much of my time convincing authors that they didn’t need an agent. Now as an agent, I know that the real question is not ‘Why would anyone want an agent?’ but ‘How can an author expect to reach a broad audience without one?’.

mei 11 2004