No, there is no need to have a literary agent if you want to be an author. However, this does come with an asterisk. For the most part, this question is dependent on what you want from a career. So firstly, we’ll go through the instances where you don’t need a literary agent.
If you want to be self-published, then there is no need for an agent. The ease of which writers can now publish a book online with platforms like Amazon is astounding. And many people make superb careers out of doing so. Self-publishing also allows you to create physical copies of your book which you may be able to get into stores.
On the other side of the aisle, there’s traditional publishing. This is where you work with a mainstream publisher and they handle things like the printing, creative and distribution of your book. Even with self-publishing on the rise, the majority of authors you see in bookstores are traditionally published, especially successful ones. There are two ways to go about traditional publishing.
The first is to go directly to the publisher and submit your manuscript to them. The issue is that most of the major publishing houses don’t accept such submissions. If you want to go down the traditional publishing route without an agent, then you will have to figure out which publishers are a match.
And then we come to the holy grail. The Big Cheese. Traditional publishing with a literary agent. Many people still maintain that if you want a long and successful traditional publishing career, you need an agent. They have many different functions and will act as your business partner throughout your career.
There is no one right answer as to whether you should get a literary agent or not, but it is clear that you don’t have to have one.
Comments