Is a book/literary agent REALLY necessary?

Question

I mean, why will I need one when I'm trying to get my book published? What do book/literary agents really do? Do they find publishers which might be interested in publishing my book? I've found a book agency which is perfect for my kind of book (I haven't written to them yet), but I'm not really sure whether or not I'll really need one.

Answer 1

Literary agents try to promote your book to various publishers by representing it with their good name. It's like if you have a friend who ALWAYS recommends you movies that you end up loving. You're much more likely to watch a movie they recommend to you, right? So if a well-known literary agent says they loved your new book, publishers are likely to want it.

It's not absolutely necessary to have an agent. The main perk of NOT having one is that you won't have to split your profits with anybody. But if you're just a Really Good writer instead of an Absolutely Brilliant writer, your novel may fall through the cracks if you send it to a publisher. An agent will just help you get your foot in the door more easily.

Answer 2

Agents do a lot more than just finding interested publishers. They have contacts in the publishing industry and if they ask a publisher to look at a manuscript you have a higher chance of it being accepted than going it alone. They also negotiate to get the author a better contract. And they are the only way to get into a company that doesn't accept unsolicited manuscripts.

They're not necessary, but they are extremely useful. However if you do decide to go it alone then you should know that if you have queried a publisher, then get a agent, the agent won't be able to query them. So you risk losing out on a publisher that your agent might have been able to get you a contract with.  

Answer 3

There are a large number of publishing houses which no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts & the roll of the agent has become more important because they can get manuscripts to publishers who wouldn't otherwise look at them.