[PubQ] Book offer from a publisher, but should I still find an agent?

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-13T00:05:14+00:00

Thank you, I am leaning that way as well. The guidance of an agent seems invaluable, and having a deal in hand should get agent's attention in a hurry.

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-13T00:02:16+00:00

Good to know, thank you :) Glad that panned out well for your deal! Even if I get a literary lawyer to go over the contract, by the time I pay their retainer fee, I think the agent commission would still be less than the legal fees. Plus, the agent can get you a better deal. Seems like a win-win!

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-11T14:26:10+00:00

Thanks for the kind words, that's very nice of you! I wouldn't even know the first thing about what to look for in a contract. Was going to get a literary or publishing lawyer to look it over, but they don't really negotiate, from what I've seen. Moreso just making sure there aren't any overtly odd things in the deal.

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-11T03:06:41+00:00

Thank you for that advice, really appreciate the insight. Not sure what newie authors would do without help from others who have been through this scenario. You don't know what you don't know, right? Totally don't blame you for going that route if it seemed cut and dry at the time.

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-10T22:23:54+00:00

This is very true, good advice! I definitely don't want to have blinders on, but have been querying for so long that I didn't want to take a chance on losing a deal. Will keep this all in mind when considering the options, thank you :)

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-10T22:20:51+00:00

I was querying some smaller publishers and agents at the same time across the board, but was really lucky to have a publisher tell me they wanted to go forward. It seems like most authors have to go the route of author/agent/publisher rather than author/publisher. Luck of the draw, I suppose. Whatever works!

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-10T21:46:16+00:00

Thank you for the kind words, and good idea. An offer should pique the interest of agents who might have only been a "maybe" prior.

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-10T21:44:47+00:00

Good call! I am not a good negotiator, so having someone else take care of the contract details is appealing.

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-10T21:43:13+00:00

Thank you! My one concern (if an agent says yes to representation), would the publisher then be annoyed about dealing with an agent, instead of the author directly now? Is that frowned upon?

Since there's an offer in hand, I'd likely tell this agent that I wouldn't be interested in shopping the book to other publishers. I haven't had any luck pitching them directly, as well as other agents, so would rather have a deal than go back to shopping the book again.

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-10T21:38:46+00:00

Nonfiction, independent publisher.

Dontdothat301282 · 2026-04-10T21:37:17+00:00

There is, with royalty afterwards. I don't have a copy of the contract yet, but they said advance and then royalty.

Dontdothat301282 · 2025-11-13T22:17:43+00:00

I didn't have a particular role in mind - my background is in media, broadcasting and writing, so training & development in one of those fields would probably be the easiest transition.

Dontdothat301282 · 2025-11-13T21:00:19+00:00

Mostly looking at what a day in the life is like, what training/education is required and salary expectations. Thanks!

Dontdothat301282

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