Another Reason For Having An Agent

On Tuesday, an article came out describing how author James Crawford reported losing royalties for 5,104 books from the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing platform. This author found out that Amazon had slashed the price of his book without his permission. I don't want to discuss so much the issue of whether or not Amazon should have done what they did, or for that matter why the change happened. The real issue here is what we often talk about when it comes to self-publishing. You are simply on your own.

There has been a lot of talk about whether or not the role of agents will disappear with programs such as the Amason KDP program. I honestly have to say, that situations like this will increase the demand for having that extra person on your team as a writer. It will also likely lead to a shift of how agents will run their businesses. No, this does not mean they will take more and more things, but who they sell their projects to and the commissions they take will certainly be different. They won't be on your team for free you know.

I am sorry to hear about the situation James Crawford had to deal with. It is what it is. But I do wonder if he would have found himself in the situation had an agent been there to cover his back. Of course, with that said, if Mr. Crawford does have an agent, where is he or she in the whole mix of things.

Best of luck to Mr. Crawford to work through this situation. Along the same lines, best of luck to all of you writers that are taking this new approach and want to do it on your own. And in the words from HILL STREET BLUES "Be careful out there."

Scott