BLAIR NORTHEN WILLIAMSON
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Should I hire a Literary Lawyer or get an agent?

7/21/2021

1 Comment

 
In the beginning of this, I kind of thought I wanted to try and get published and submit manuscripts all on my own, without an agent. I found out pretty quickly that a lot of publishers don't even allow unsolicited submissions; that you only get a chance to publish with these houses if you have an agent or a referral to submit your work. I wasn't afraid of the rejections I knew I would get, so I wanted to do the work myself and figure it out. Now I'm in a bit of a pickle. If you get an offer from a publisher without an agent, you need an agent or a literary lawyer to help comb through the details and negotiate for you, unless, of course, you know what you should be looking for in these 20+ page contracts. 

For whatever reason, the publishing houses are responding to my queries, which is great! However, I have ZERO background in literary law, and I am now moving to the negotiating stages of my contracts, without an agent or a lawyer. So, that’s my next step in this process: get an expert on my side.

I have written offers on two different stories with two different publishing houses. One house has a third story in acquisition and another house has requested a revision and resubmit on a 4th story. Things are getting pretty complicated and I will be making some pretty big decisions here in the next few weeks about which way to go. The two written contracts I have right now expire in mid-August, which is rapidly approaching.

If you have any leads or advice on Literary Lawyers, please reach out to me! In the meantime, I'm channeling as much positive energy as possible from Figure 8. I have a few leads on amazing agents who might want to take a chance on me but there are no guarantees at all. If there is one more thing to say to whoever wants to bet on me and be on my team, it is this, "I will NOT let you down!" 

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1 Comment
Brad Lucas link
4/1/2023 04:05:21 am

Hi Blair,
I am a published author. My name is Brad Lucas. I am the author of Feel Better Live Better Short Topics to Change your Lifestyle. Even though my book has done very well I have the
same question as you do.I wonder wether it is best to
hire a literary agent first or a literary lawyer but I do have
some advice that may be helpfull. I was in a be a published
author. I submitted my manuscipt to Xlibris which is a major
self publisher. I now feel I should have been patient and
not done so.I invested $48200.00 and havent receceived
any royalties at all despite the fact if you search "Feel Better
Live Better Brad Lucas you will see a very favorable review
of from The US Review of Books and is out of stock at
Walmart.com, BiggerBook. etc. Also it is out of print on Amazon
which means the same as out of stock.I was refunded all
my $48,200 but it took a year. I cancelled my contracts. I own the copywrite and am in the same situation. I will look for
either a literary agent or a literary lawyer. So my advice is to
not submit your manuscipt to a self publisher without
representantiion.I will post comment in the future. I just
found a book which maybe can help it is a book on Amazon
I did the search"a guide to new publishers" So I will read that
book and see if I can be of help to you in any way.
Thanks for reading Brad .

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    Blair has travelled extensively all over the world. She and her husband enjoy taking their kids on big adventures together. Blair writes children's picture books for all ages! Most of her stories are inspired by life events. They feature kid’s curiosity, love of the environment, laughter, and fantasy.
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