Industry Changes: Jenny Bent Weighs in on the Good and Bad

Agent Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency looks back on some of the things that have changed in the 20 years she has been in the industry.  I thought you would find it interesting.  You can see that I started with number four, so I have provided the link to read the whole post at the bottom.  Susan Hawk, also, from the Jenny Bent Agency is coming to the NJSCBWI Conference.  All her critiques and lunch tables are booked, but there still is one pitch left for Susan.  Of course, she will be talking to attendees throughout the conference.

Here is Jenny:

For the Better:

4. Authors are so much better informed. I used to have to basically reinvent the wheel with each new author, breaking the bad news to them one thing at a time. Yes, it will take a year for your book to be published. Yes, you will only get a royalty statement twice a year and it will be for the period ending three months prior. Now, authors know so much more about the process. Via social media they’re able to connect with published author friends and really learn the ropes before getting tossed in. It’s one of my favorite things about the way technology has changed the business.

5. A corollary to #4: Authors who query now have access to so much more information. The only resources about agents really used to be Jeff Herman’s guide and the LMP (who remembers the LMP?). Now, there are almost infinite sources of information about agents. Beyond just access to sales (which I think is so important) authors can get a real sense of the agent’s personality via twitter, blogs and facebook. It’s a wonderful way of figuring out who might be a great agent match.

For the Worse:

1. Payouts. Don’t get me started. An author’s advance payment almost always used to be half and half–half on signing, half on delivery and acceptance. Now it’s thirds or even fourths–1/4 on signing, 1/4 on d &a, 1/4 on hardcover pub and 1/4 on paperback pub. Sigh. Authors have to write a lot faster these days to make money on the same kind of schedule that they used to.

Read the Rest: http://jennybent.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-how-things-have-changed-jenny-weighs.html

Would love to hear from any editors, agents, art directors, artist reps, or authors.  I am sure you have other things that you could contribute.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy