Question from a writer - Happy with a publisher, but do I need an agent?

I have a quick question about agents. I am already published with a really good small publisher that I don?t want to change... what benefit can an agent give to someone like me? I would like to do more speaking engagements and I would want to explore film opportunities, but is that enough to attract a good agent? Or is there more an agent can do for me that I am not aware of? Thanks

Thanks for the question.

If you are currently happy with the publisher you are working with, then there might not be much more the agent can do to help you with that side of the business. In other words, if the contract is pretty much set in stone, which is often the case with many small publishers, then the agent probably cannot do much there. If you wanted to expand your writing to other publishers, then an agent could probably help you manage the work between the two publishers.

As far as speaking engagements, this is something a PR person would take care of and not so much the agent. Sure, every now and then we stumble across a potential speaking engagement for our authors and we get the connections between the organization and the writer set up, but that is about it.

In terms of the film opportunities, this is an area you might want to have the agent for. You would certainly want someone with the connections to the film industry. Not all agents specialize in this, so you will want to really do some research before you start contacting agents. In this case, the agent might be able to set up arrangements with your future projects with your current publisher to insure you have the movie and film rights so that he or she can sell it to those that might be interested in the project.

Hope that helps!

Sctt