Benefits of Getting an Agent for Self-Published Authors

Literary agents Jessica Faust and James McGowan discuss the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing, why an author might choose one path over the other, and the benefits of getting an agent if you do choose the self-publishing route!

BookEnds is dedicated to making publishing a book traditionally a more transparent process, and it starts with these videos!

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Jessica Faust’s love for books is what first brought her to open BookEnds Literary Agency. It is her desire to be an advocate for all authors that pushed her to create her blog, the BookEnds YouTube channel and to maintain a vibrant presence on Twitter.

Jessica is proud to have grown BookEnds into an agency that represents authors of all genres for children and adults, allowing her to reach more readers and help more authors and illustrators achieve their dreams.

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James McGowan is a Literary Agent at BookEnds and writer for children. He began working with the agency as an intern in the summer of 2015, and basically never left. He represents a talented group of authors and illustrators working in everything from board books to middle grade graphic novels. He also works in adult nonfiction, and adult mystery and suspense projects. James is the author of GOOD NIGHT OPPY, which is available now.

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Connect with BookEnds!

[melissamackinnon]

It’s great to know agents are able to help extend the reach of a self-published book. Thanks again for these gems of information.

[michelemilesgardiner]

Thank you for this video. I self-published my first book right before 2020, so I couldn't get out there as I was at first. I don't mind working hard at promotion, but I would rather write. I am now learning how to get a literary agent for my second book, a work-in-progress. I was worried being self-published would hinder me. I appreciate hearing what you both have to say. I'm now feeling optimistic.

[demiblaize]

This was a great video. These days, a lot of writers are self publishing as a means of ‘proving themselves’ to publishing houses and agents and end up loving the control they have over the process. Having an agent to help manage the expansion of the author brand is a great method of keeping that control while finding a wider reach. Can’t wait for the next video.

[kassieritman]

This is exactly, me! I do history (Arcadia) stuff traditionally, and then a self pubbed "storybook" title to create a dual release. The trad draws the placement opportunities, the self pubbed are how I make enough per copy to do the appearances and signings. But, taking the leap to fiction, I absolutely will NOT do anything but traditional. Novels are a fully different beast 🙃

[NonAnonD]

Can you do a video on standalones versus duologies versus trilogies from an agent and querying perspective? Pros and cons and what you like to see in your inbox and what editors like to see in theirs?

[jesbrimer]

Thank you for this video! I've been wondering if agents take authors who are self published. Of course manuscripts that have not been published

[rowan]

Sounds very intriguing trying to get someone to manage my self published books, but I still fear on going back that path since I only lost money and it effected my health too. I quit this path few years ago and still hope to find an agent soon for my other works to get traditionally published. Me living in Australia, the extra costs such as transfer rates and exchange rates add up tremendously and seeing hardly any sales, really takes away the fun of writing. To this day, I still haven't made a tenth of my money back I invested for my self published works.

When querying agents, I wish I could reverse time that I have never published books myself, because I fear that agents reject me when they ask if I have published books in the past and how many did I sell in the first year. Only to tell them that the sales are low, giving the impression I fail on capturing readers.

Hope Emily will like my latest work when I queried her in August.

[AuthorChristieAnderson]

Thank you for taking the time to make these videos. It's so insightful to receive information directly from agents in the industry. I was a little surprised by this one in particular. As a self-published author since 2011 I have always been given the impression that my sales numbers must reach mega best-seller status before an agent would consider offering to handle subsidiary rights on previously published works. Either that, or query a new manuscript and hope to be one of the lucky few to attract an agent, who might then, after success of the new work, be able to convince a publisher to look at expanding an author's back-list in some way. Would you say the industry is changing in that regard? Or, perhaps I am misinformed? Are agencies opening up to work with self-published authors who have reached more of a mid-list equivalent in sales numbers? For example, if an author's works have hit Amazon category best-seller lists but not the top 100 Amazon list, would that be attractive to an agent for repping subsidiary rights? Are there other parameters that agents are specifically looking for? I was always told that I would know when my self-published books have reached the necessary level of success to attract representation because agents would start reaching out to me, rather than the other way around. I would be happy to be wrong. Looking forward to further insight on the subject.

[NorenePaulson]

Great info! My question is what, if anything, can a person's agent do for their traditionally published client if that client decides to self-publish or hybrid publish a manuscript they believe strongly in but said agent has been unable to sell to a traditional publishing house?

[shorelinesoul]

Do you guys have any tips for trad authors who are writing their second book (not in a series, but just another book after their first)? Any unique/different approaches to submission the second time around?

[declanconner]

A fiction author has more chance of success with an agent and trad publishing in terms of earnings and the time invested in you choice of path, and I say this has someone who has self-published for more that 10 years.

As said, it's a different market with bookstores basically closed to the self-published. Same with the digital market where self-published appeal to readers with a lower price point for ebooks, so that market is split between the two on retail price (as well as quality of the end product). Self-publishing for most is a home for books rejected on the slush pile merry go around, rather than languishing on a hard drive.

The odds of success as a self-publisher are about the same as getting an agent, which is pretty damn poor. Whatever you choose, you have to be in it to win it.

[oldguyinstanton]

I'm writing an unconventional, debut, SF novel. It is far too long at an estimated final 220, 000 words, and it has an unconventional "framing/framed" plot structure.

Since (1) these points essentially makes it taboo with conventional publishers, and (2) I'm old and don't have the energy to do all the work myself, I'm thinking of simply publishing it on the Internet, on some site like Word Press. Depending on reader response, would this be a position from where I could eventually find an agent?

[rexkutzli]

Would an agent ever take the lead in a discussion of various types of publishing. Say for example, an agent is unable to sell a novel traditionally, would they ever approach the author they represent to, perhaps, consider a different kind of publishing if they thought the book had merit? Or, does such interest always need to come first from the author themselves?

[ALTZIMATE]

Oh crap! I watched this channel multiple times, and didn't realize her name was Jessica Faust!? She's one of the agents in my planned query list for women's fiction next month smh. I'm about to get rejected by a YouTuber I actually watch lol.... FML

[erinburgoon]

Thank you both for all the information that you freely give. If it wasn't for this channel, I wouldn't have known that I needed at least 4-5 complete picture books ready before staring my query process. I wish I had written my picture books earlier because I would have loved to send them to you, James. But unfortunately you are no longer accepting children's books.

[jeannemoore]

I'd prefer to go traditional publishing. But it just takes too long. It could take years to get an agent and a publisher.

[HanzoYang]

I couldn't get my first novel traditionally published because I already made it self published. It is a dark fantasy novel.
I have a sequel on the way, not self published or traditionally published at all. 
I was wondering can I get the sequel to get traditionally published even though it's connected to my first novel, which is part 1, that is already self-published?
Will literary agents and publishers be open to my sequel that is not self published at all? But the first book was. How will this affect my chances? Especially if I told them that it's connect to part 1 that is already self-published.
The 2nd book is connected to the first book, but I believe that most people can still get interested in it even if they don't get to read the first one that was self-published. How will literary agents view this, even If I told them this? 
Should I just start on something new like a standalone story instead?
Hopefully I'm making sense. 
What should I do? Because I don't want to waste my time giving my query letters of my sequel to literary agents when I should be working on a standalone book to pitch to a literary agent.
If you can give me some insight that would be nice.