There seems to be a bit of confusion about agents among writers, and some anxiety that’s cropped up because of a Wall Street Journal article that talks about the state of the publishing industry and their reluctance to look at any submissions coming in without an agent being the source. The article suggests that what this does is to move the cost and decision-making concerning new authors from the publishing houses to agents. Some folks are thinking that agents, as the new gatekeepers, are in business to exclude new talent from the marketplace.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Agents make money when writers make money—15% of domestic sales; 20% of foreign. This is why writers should never pay money to an agent to read a manuscript. The agent gets his cut out of your end of the business. Agents not only know what contract provisions are standard, but they also know what publishers have paid for work in the past—therefore they know how much publishers will pay now, and how much they can push them for on your behalf.

When I got my first agent, I explained the situation to my brother. He put it rather succinctly: “Better to have 85% of something than 100% of nothing.” Very true. Add into that the fact that agents will likely encourage the publisher to boost any offer, plus will retain for you rights (like foreign language rights) which the publisher won’t exploit correctly. What you’re getting 85% of will be much bigger, which is what the agent wants, since he gets his 15% out of your take.

In short, agents will take you on if they believe you can make them money. If they do not think you can sell in the market, they’re not going to take you on. That’s the same with publishers: if they don’t think you can sell, they will pass on the project. The shift from slush-pile readers to agents really chances the chances of your getting published very little and, oddly enough, it shifts them in your favor since your agent knows the market and knows where to sell your work.

So, how do you find an agent? It’s a two step process:

1) Finish your book. Give it to a half-dozen friends who read in the genre you’re writing in. Have them read it, then have them pretend they’re in the marketing department and fill-in the blanks in the following statement: “In the tradition of [author one] and [author two.]” You want them to use their expertise to identify the authors you write most like.

2) Once you have those lists, collate them. Go to a bookstore or the internet and do searches on the authors, starting from the most commonly listed on down. You want to collect the following data about those authors: publishers and agents. How can you find out who their agent is? Well, if it’s not listed on their websites, you can look at their dedication and acknowledgment pages in books. More often than not their agents are listed. Your research will produce a list of publishers that buy (and have a market for) books like yours; and you’ll have a list of agents who know how to represent that sort of work.

From there you can research the agents (if they don’t have a website and aren’t in New York City, put them on the bottom of your list). Shoot the agent a letter asking if they are accepting more clients. Find out how they would like to get submissions. If you see that they’re coming to a convention near you, head over there and talk with them. Remember, at all times, to comport yourself as a professional. This is a business relationship you’ll be starting.

While that Wall Street Journal article is illuminating, it’s not news. What it reports has been the way of the world since before the turn of the century. Fact is, purchasing practices are not the greatest bar to being published. Being of publishable quality is. Spend more time working on making your writing good than you do about worrying needing an agent, and you’ll get published.