On Agents

December 23rd, 2008 · 1 Comment
by Kassia Krozser

In a “hey, the sky isn’t falling, so let’s get on with the business of books” post, the always fashionable and always brilliant Janet Reid slips in a bit of agenty credo before telling the publishing business to man up:

My job isn’t to sell work to hardcover publishers. My job is to represent authors for the sale of their work. Format changes, production changes won’t put me out of a job. Someone needs to be there to make sure the contracts don’t give the licensee the rights to your kidney, your kid or your next five novels. Someone needs to be there to make sure the royalty statements are right.

File Under: Quote of the Week

1 response so far ↓

  • Perry Brass // Dec 29, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    I keep hoping we’ll (somehow) have a return to (somewhat) educated people who understand the power of words; that is, that language is the software of the brain and that every single thing we do in life depends on it, in fact, every cell in our bodies uses language in some way. Their way. Now that we have got rid of the Bushites (for the time being), maybe words have a chance again, as opposed to, say, the huge garbage-flow of uncommented images that flood us every day, confusing most people and making them less able to communicate in even the most basic way.
    Publishing as a big ticket, big corp-activity, was hooked on the garbage-flow of images (one picture being worth no words), and is now in its late-dinosaur period. So we will see what lasts next.
    Or, as they say, “Words are cheap.” That is why it’s going to take this trillion dollar war in Iraq-Afghanistan to result in a good half hour of talk.

    Perry Brass,
    author of Carnal Sacraments, A Historical Novel of the Future.