Is Your Agent Doing You Wrong?

Receiving unsolicited and inappropriate manuscripts is the norm at any publishing house. Arrow Publications is no exception. We receive scores of manuscripts over the transom weekly, some with an SASE, some without, some written in pencil (usually from correctional institutions), some barely written—most destined for the return pile or the round file.

This is typical in the publishing industry. Even though we try to alert authors to the necessity of querying us first (see submissions guidelines on www.arrowpub.com) and reading what material we do publish (see myromancestory in the iPhone App Store or online), we more or less are resigned to the fact that most would-be authors are just learning the ropes and need some guidance. Which we try to give in our “reject” letter.

What is annoying and distressing is receiving unsolicited manuscripts from so-called agents. Annoying, because they clog up the in-baskets (they usually send the entire manuscript and no SASE, thank you very much) and distressing, for it is apparent that somewhere, somehow, an author is not being properly served by the one person who is supposed to be looking out for him/her.

Any agent worth his/her salt, knows how things are done. They know which houses are buying, what the houses are looking for, and what the submission process is.  When we see a certain agent/agency continually sending us, let’s say, autobiographies, when we only publish romance fiction for graphic novels (at this time at least), despite our contacting them about this error—then we begin to wonder.

Just who are these people? What have they promised their clients they will deliver?

Perhaps the author believes everything is fine if the agent/agency can provide a list of 50 publishers to whom the work was sent. But the agency is not really doing its job if the author’s work is not the type of project the publisher undertakes. Sadly, the author may even feel the work is not worth much because of the 50 rejections.

Before signing with an agent, make sure you know who his/her clients are and do a little research into what titles they have managed to sell. You should never have to pay an agent up front for anything.

As you do your research, visit Preditors & Editors for more information on agents and publishers operating in the marketplace. Also see the article, How to Submit a Romance Manuscript for Publication, at MyRomanceStory.com.

Two agencies that recently submitted inappropriate material are The Literary Agency Group (a query on an historical novel  set in ancient Greece), and The Author’s Clearinghouse (a  “pre-history”  412-page romance novel.)

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