Agent Panel: Moving From DIY to Traditional Publishers

The room is full of great energy for the agent panel assembled to discuss “Moving From DIY to Traditional Publishers,” featuring these all-star literary reps:

--Jenny Dunham, of Dunham Literary
--Jenny Bent, who just left Trident Media and founded her own agency, which you can learn more about at www.thebentagency.com (and who expressly invites everyone to follow her on Twitter!)
--Miriam Kriss, of the Irene Goodman Agency
--Diane Freed, of Fine Print Literary Management

Jenny Bent kicks off the panel with a great success story: One of her clients started out as an aspiring author who spent seven years collecting agent and editor rejections before deciding to self-publish her chick-lit novel. After self-publishing with some success, she decided to submit to agents again, and landed representation from Jenny, who sold the book to Random House. The previously self-published book debuted at Number 7 on The New York Times bestseller list.

All agents acknowledge this level of success is not typical. What does Jenny say was the author’s key to success?

Timing.

Seven years after the author wrote her book, it happened to hit shelves at the height of the chick lit boom and became an “overnight success.” Would the response have been the same at any other time? Probably not.

POSTED BY JESSICA STRAWSER, Editor, WD magazine