No Agent is Better than a Bad Agent by Allie Burton

 

Everybody has regrets. When it comes to your career it can set you back for a long time. Or it can push you in a different direction completely.

Over a dozen years ago, I was unpublished and submitting manuscripts to agent after agent after agent. I received positive rejections, where the emails said something like we like your writing but this isn’t right for me or I have something similar I’m pitching from a different author. Many of the agents looked at several of my manuscripts. The problem is, when you’re a newbie you have to complete the manuscript before submitting even when they only ask for a partial.

So I had many, many completed manuscripts. In fact, I had three books in one series alone.

An agent attending a local conference heard I won the young adult category in a contest. She immediately offered me representation. She was new and hungry, and I believed we would be a great fit.

Unfortunately, she’d taken on way too many clients to handle. It took her over six months to just read my first manuscript and that was after I followed up several times. We’d chat and she’d ask what I was working on, and then she’d ask for that manuscript too. After a year had passed, and she hadn’t submitted my manuscript to any publishers or given me edits to work on, I knew it was time to move on.

The publishing world was changing and independent publishing had become viable and respected. I was sitting on my hands waiting on an agent who didn’t have time to read or comment on her current clients’ manuscripts. And even once she submitted there was no guarantee I’d receive a contract.

I decided I’d waited long enough and broke my agent contract. Maybe I was impatient or my expectations were too high, but I couldn’t sit still any longer. I took the first 3 books in my first series, hired an editor, and published them independently.

I never would’ve done this without the time waiting for my agent to respond. I wouldn’t have written as many books or had time to research independent publishing. I love the freedom of writing the books I want on my own deadlines. I love having input on the covers and getting a higher royalty rate than I would if I’d gone traditional. Currently, I have over 23 books published in the 10 years since I made the decision to independently published.

My regret has turned into independence.

Allie Burton is the author of several young adult fantasy books including A Glass Slipper Adventure, Lost Daughters of Atlantis, and Warrior Academy. You can find out more about her at www.allieburton.com.

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