Submitting a complete manuscript to a literary agent is often extremely frustrating, and often not overly rewarding. The process for submitting a manuscript to an agent is simple, but due to the massive number of people that submit a manuscript on a daily basis the process can be quite discouraging.

          Please remember seeking literary agent representation is only one of many options for publishing a book. Agent representation is not the only option for authors to publish a book.

          I have known many authors that will never speak to an agent that was rude in the early days of their career. I am not one of those authors.

In the early days of my writing career, when I was publishing articles in magazines and online, I put a nail in my wall. I put every rejection letter on the nail. I quickly needed a much larger nail. I removed the nail and all the rejection letters. I decided instead of tracking denials, I would keep a list of every agent that never responded, and those that sent a generic turndown letter. Updating the list became a fulltime job. I realized how an agent did or did not respond was of no importance. The point of submitting a manuscript to an agent is to find an agent that says, “yes”. Every comment other than “yes” is of no importance. Keep going until you hear, “yes”.

I’m now in a position where agents and financial investors seek me out and offer me deals for representation. Yes, investors will pay authors to publish. The details of working with an investor are too complex for this book, but the first time a legitimate investor offered me money I realized I was onto something, traveling in the proper direction.

I have a simple method of responding to agents and financial investors. If the offer is well constructed and properly presented, I provide a response.

I’m very difficult to work with (the worst). I’m intensely passionate while I create, and never sympathetic. My answer to people that wish to work with me is typically no, but I’m sure that will change one day. I gave the first legitimate publishing contract I received for a children’s book to my friend, unsigned and unopened.

          Many authors view agents as a leech that sucks blood from the true creative talent (the author). Other authors call agents “tin pan alley”. That is a term for people that stand in a row, hold out their collection pans, and nickel and dime an author’s earnings, ten percent here, fifteen percent there, thirty percent on certain occasions.

          I don’t feel any negative feelings toward an agent. A good agent earns every percent of commission through vital services provided to an author.

          The only fact is, as an author that has completed a book, only you can decide if you wish to travel the road to work with an agent.

          Securing literary agent representation does not guarantee your book will sell better or earn a quality contract. Given the availability and advanced state of the internet and companies like Amazon, a literary agent may become a rapidly diminishing entity. The average percentage of authors that receive a contract from a publishing house with an advanced payment over a hundred thousand is under ten percent, and continues to decline yearly. An agent typically only represents an author that is dedicated and has an established reading audience.

          My feeling is if you have the dedication to complete and edit a book, go ahead and submit the book to an agent. I allow six months for a response, and then I move on. After all, if you are able to complete a book, then you are able to publish your book regardless of agent involvement.