I'VE seen lots of discussion of this, with contradictory opinions expressed. I've also attended writers' groups and events where the same question arises. It's hard sometimes to know who to believe. 

So when I asked for challenges to address here, it was no surprise that this  was one of the first raised, from blogger and former production director CoffeeCurls. 

Is it a better idea to pitch your book idea to an agent or a publisher?

My experience

My view has always been that for fiction you should pitch an agent, while with non-fiction you may want to talk directly to a publisher. Guidance I latched on to was if you are an unknown writer, there may not be enough money to be made in non-fiction by an agent working on your behalf -- the publisher could offer a tiny advance and/or royalties. This is definitely the case with small presses responsible for many non-fiction titles.

I am happy to have had two non-fiction books published, albeit by tiny publishers with little or no budget or know-how for and in marketing. Hang on - that sounds ridiculous! But they have brought me more credibility in other areas of work -- feature writing, training and consultancy, which is very much worthwhile. I don't consider that a naive position to take (well I wouldn't) but I do recognise there's potentially a lot more money to be made working with an agent and getting a bigger, richer publisher on board.

So, to give CoffeeCurls a better answer, I wanted to include input from two experts -- more widely published authors whom I know to have worked with agents, Keris Stainton and Jane Alexander.

Expert advice

Here's what I asked them, with their answers - plus the odd comment from me:

If you are an aspiring author of fiction should you pitch an agent or a publisher direct?

Keris: I would say you should always pitch to an agent first.

Publishers are much more likely to look at submissions from an agent than from an author. In fact, lots of publishers won't even consider direct submissions. Plus the agent will work with you on your novel to get it in the best shape before submitting it to a publisher, they'll know which publishers are looking for work like yours, and they'll have personal relationships with editors, meaning the editor is more likely to consider your work.

 

Jane: You should pitch to an agent first. There are no legal or financial reasons why you need an agent but pretty well all the major publishing house will refuse to look at unagented manuscripts. It’s purely a question of time for them – they receive so much material that an agent functions as the first screen. An agent not only introduces you to the right editors and acts as your champion but he or she will deal with the financial and legal aspects of being published. This leaves you, as the author, free to concentrate on writing.

 

Should you approach an agent one at a time or more than one at a time?

Jane: The old etiquette was that you should approach only one agent at a time. Given an agent can take up to six months to read (and possibly reject) your manuscript this could end up a time-consuming operation. In recent years it has become more acceptable to submit to several agents at the same time. However you should make it clear in your submission that you have done this. Believe it or not, agents do talk to one another – and subterfuge won’t endear you.

 

Keris: I think the general wisdom is to approach one at a time, but I took no notice. Publishing is incredibly slow. Agents will often take at least three months to respond and I've even heard of agents responding after a year. Pitch one at a time and you're on a very long road to (possible) publication.

 

Where would you find an agent?

Keris: I did it differently than is usually recommended. I googled. I wanted an agent who was familiar with the internet so looked at websites and discounted any that didn't seem web-friendly (this was a few years ago, I assume they must surely all have fabulous websites now). Bear in mind that just because an agent says they don't accept online submissions doesn't mean they don't accept online queries. I emailed with a paragraph about my book and a paragraph about me and asked if they were interested. A couple asked for three chapters by post, but others (who had stated they didn't accept online submissions) asked for more by email. Much quicker, cheaper and easier.

 

Jane: The best source is the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook - This gives a comprehensive list of agents and publishers. Make sure you read the blurb carefully – find an agent who represents authors in the same field as you. Check how they like to receive submissions and, indeed, that they are considering new clients right now. Agents are always stunned at authors who don’t read the guidelines and send them, say, romance when they have stated clearly they only deal with science fiction and fantasy.