Helen Lacey and the Author/Agent Relationship

Please welcome the lovely Helen Lacey back to the blog today! Her new book Once Upon a Bride is a lot of fun! I enjoyed the plot, and the characters were complex and intriguing. If you're looking for an enjoyable romance set Down Under, look no further!

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It’s no secret that the publishing landscape is evolving and shifting at a mind boggling rate. For years there was kind of status quo in publishing – the author wrote the book, sent it to their agent if they were lucky enough to have one or sent it directly to a publisher to languish in the slush pile. Now, with the surge in self publishing and the rise of small boutique publishers, it’s an author’s market. We no longer have to wait for rejection letters or hope for a contract. We can do what we like, when we like, and as much as we like.

I was recently at the Romance Writers of Australia’s annual conference and it struck me that through all the hype and talk about indie publishing and how so many authors, including myself, were now what has been coined hybrid, I was still being asked the same question over and over – why do I have an agent? Why would I give a portion of my earnings away when I could do it myself?

I signed with my agent about six months before I got published. I’d wanted to be published with Harlequin for a long time prior to getting the call in 2010…it was over two decades of submitting and eighteen rejections from this one publisher before I sold my first book to Harlequin Special Edition. I’d had a book in submission with them for over a year when I signed with my agent, and within months on signing I was offered my first contract. True, you don’t need an agent to sell to Harlequin, but in late 2009 I realized I wanted one. Why? Well, writing is mostly a solitary occupation and as a writer who is most defiantly a pantser, and one who just wants to write and has no interest in talking or negotiating contracts, getting agent was right for me.

And that’s what I always stress when asked the question – having an agent is purely a personal choice based mostly on my personality. My agent talks contracts and deadlines with my editor while I get to talk storylines and characters and simply write my books – which is what I love to do most.

I work a day job and have to fit my writing around that, family, friends, pets and general life stuff…having an agent makes the writing part smoother and much less stressful. The important thing is to work with someone who is your advocate. Someone you trust. Someone who shares your work ethic and understands how important your stories are to you. Someone who will work at getting the best from your books and contracts, and also someone who will support your endeavours into indie publishing if you wish to go down the hybrid road. I know an author who has been with her agent for fifteen years, I also know another author who has had three different agents in eighteen months. Not every author/agent relationship will be the right fit. Sometimes you have to try one another on and see if you work.

Is having an agent for everyone? Probably not. But think about what you want…and then what you need and you’ll quickly work out if having an agent is for you and your career as an author.

Connect with Helen:

Website    Blog      Facebook    Twitter     Goodreads 

 

Helen Lacey’s latest release is ONCE UPON A BRIDE

Happily ever after…?

When Gabe Vitali escapes to a fresh start in Crystal Point, Australia, the former physician isn't looking for a storybook ending. For the first time he's living in the moment. His new five-year plan does not include serious relationships. But he doesn't anticipate his unavoidable next-door neighbor…and an undeniable attraction.

Bridal consultant Lauren Jakowski wants marriage. She's just sworn off love and sex! To avoid getting burned again, she's looking for safe and forever-after. But they're not Gabe's to give–for reasons he can't share with anyone, least of all this pretty complication.

Gabe and Lauren don't figure on a fairy tale. But fate has other plans…

For Kindle: Once Upon A Bride

Paperback: Once Upon A Bride

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Thanks Helen! Agents can certainly be wonderful assets for writers! 

It's an interesting time for writers and making the agent/self-publishing/hybrid/small publisher with no agent decision is an important one!

Helen Lacey & Looking for an Agent

Please welcome the lovely Helen Lacey back to the blog again. I've just finished reading Date with Destiny and it is awesome!! Grace and Cameron are terrific characters and the plot has lots of great twists and turns - a fabulous story!

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What to look for in an agent….

Thank you for having me here today.

It’s a little mind boggling how much publishing is evolving into different platforms and opportunities at the moment. Five years ago, even two years ago the landscape looked very different. Go five years further back again and the big print publishing houses had a grip on what books got into reader’s hands and only a few authors I knew had an agent. Thankfully that’s become something of an obsolete model and now authors have every opportunity to drive their career down several different paths.

Of course these changes, these opportunities, bring about more questions and one of the most common questions I get from other authors, both published and aspiring is “Do I need and agent and how do I get one…” . My answer is usually the same – it depends on you.

Let’s imagine that you've decided you do want an agent…remember the old WIFM acronym (What’s in It For Me). That’s important. What will having an agent mean for you? Will it mean instant publication with one of the big houses? Not necessarily. Will it mean a bidding war and a multi-book deal? Probably not. What it will mean, if you have the right agent, is you now have an advocate for your work and someone who believes in your book. That’s the optimum scenario, of course. I do know authors who have signed with an agent simply because they were offered representation, and not because this particular agent would have been the best ‘fit’ for them. My advice is always, do your research.

I signed with my agent before I was published. I had a book that had done well on the contest circuit and was with an editor and had been there for about a year. The day after I signed my agent made contact with the editor (who is actually now my editor at Harlequin) and a few months later I sold my first book after 23 yrs of submitting and eighteen rejections. So why this agent? There were a few things that felt ‘right’ with this agency when I was researching agents. Firstly, I wanted to work with a small agency and one that focuses on romance. I narrowed my list down to three and considered my options. Then I spent a month or so following their blogs/websites and also researched who they represented. When I saw my agent was judging a contest I entered and from there got a request for the full manuscript and then an offer for representation. There were things more important to me than just signing with a big agency – I wanted to be with someone who understood the changing face of the publishing industry and knew the romance genre.

So, do your homework…don’t sign with an agency simply because they ‘offer’ you representation. You are the creative arm of the author/agent relationship and you should be with an agency that encourages your creativity and truly believes in your stories.

To celebrate the release of my August Harlequin Special Edition Date With Destiny, I have a copy to give away to one commenter.

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Helen Lacey grew up reading Black Beauty, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on The Prairie. These childhood classics inspired her to write her first book when she was seven years old, a story about a girl and her horse. Although, it wasn’t until the age of eleven when she read her first Mills & Boon, that she knew writing romances was what she wanted to do with her life. Her parents’ love of travel meant she saw much of the world in those early years and she feels fortunate to have had a diverse and interesting education over several continents.

She continued to write into her teens and twenties with the dream of one day being a published author. A few years and careers later, including motel operator, florist, strapper, dog washer, and retail manager, she got the call from Harlequin Special Edition. She loves writing about tortured heroes, both cowboys and CEO’s, and heroines who finally get the love of the man of their dreams. She now works part time in her sister’s bridal shop, where she gets to meet fascinating people, some of whom might one day end up being in one of her books.

From Welsh parents and a large family, she lives on the east coast of Australia in a small seaside town at the southern most point of The Great Barrier Reef, with her wonderfully supportive husband, many horses and three spoiled dogs.

Connect with Helen:

Website    Blog      Facebook    Twitter     Goodreads 

Date With Destiny

 

Financier Grace Preston did fourteen-hour days in New York City. She didn't do small towns in Australia. Not since she'd fled almost twenty years ago. But when a personal trauma sent her home-with a secret she couldn't reveal-the last person she needed was her first love.

Local cop Cameron Jakowski had loved Grace for most of his life. But he wanted marriage and family and she didn't. He was small town, while she was big city-and lived half a world away. But for now she was right here-a walking, talking temptation. One he managed to avoid...until he made one mistake. He kissed her. And reawakened the passion that could change their lives...forever.

Read Reviews

Buy Links
Mills & Boon UK     Harlequin US     Amazon     Amazon UK

B&N     Powell's Books     BAM      indieBound

  

Link to Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc-e0dyN1So

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Good advice, Helen! Anything to add  to her list for agent shopping?

(I'll be out of town when this posts with spotty/non-existent internet coverage so I'll catch up when I'm back!)