No Agent for Me

Just because I love fanning the flames, or throwing a grenade into the room, I just gotta go there.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch has yet another awesome post about the current state of publishing, and in this case, agents.

Allow me to say: yeah, told you so.  Not that I really told you so, but I’ve made several posts, most notably my recent rant, on this subject.  I cannot fathom how anyone with a brain in his/her head would sign up with a literary agent in this day and age.  Even before the things the Kris is talking about came to light, from everything I’d learned from her husband’s Sacred Cow posts and from hearing literally dozens of agent horror stories from other writers, I long ago came to the conclusion that I neither wanted nor needed an agent.

But holy cow, I guess I may be a rarity.

I don’t spend a whole lot of time on the Kindle Boards.  I made an account and said high a month or two ago, but haven’t hung out much.  I guess I didn’t really see the point.  Or rather, I guess I preferred to write and to do research in other places.  But today I went by, and I found this post, where all sorts of high-selling indie authors are crowing about getting signed by agents based on their ebooks sales.  And other people on the boards are cheering and congratulating them, as though they’d won some great prize or something.

I didn’t post a reply, because I didn’t want to start a flame war.  But in my head, I was shouting, “ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?”  Dear God, you’re selling multi-thousands of ebooks a month on your own.  What in THE HELL do you want an agent for?  And for that matter, why in the hell are all these indie-authors congratulating you as though you’d just found Willy Wonka’s golden ticket?  Really???  Is the agent myth REALLY that deeply ingrained?

I guess it is, even among those who call themselves indies.  I’m stunned, frankly.  How you could shoot yourself in the foot like these folks are, while convincing yourself you’ve hooked yourself up, is beyond me.  These folks in this thread are right: publishers are looking for successful indie authors.  That means if you’re a successful indie author, you MORE THAN ANYONE don’t need an agent.  Holy God, you’ve already got an established sales record.  You’ve got something to stand on.  Why….  Nevermind.

Maybe I’m just a dummy.  I’m certainly a Philistine.

Well whatever.  I’m hitting the rack.  I’ve got an early flight.