Ramblings of a YA writer

No, I’m not here to talk about the military and that stupid-ass policy. Rather, I want to discuss an issue that was brought to my attention by a member of my online writing group. She sent me an off-board message asking if I thought being digitally published hurt my chances of signing with an agent. The short answer was “no”.

She went on to say that there seemed to be a stigma associated with e-publishing, especially by “older” (since it’s an online writing group, I’m not sure of her age, and in fact I may be old by her description, but I digress) agents. She mentioned one who had specifically said not to mention being e-published if you queried her because it would be a mark against you.

Here’s the thing. I am totally okay with agents rejecting authors for whatever reasons they want.

Yes, you heard me right.

An agent is one of the people an author will work most closely with through their career with New York publishing, so an author shouldn’t want someone who doesn’t mesh with their way of thinking. I’m not saying an agent and author have to agree on everything in order to work together, but they should be on the same page regarding some basics of the publishing industry.

Therefore, if an agent wants to reject my manuscript because I’ve been e-published, that’s okay because we probably wouldn’t have been a good match. In my opinion, an author who has experience with digital publishing is a good thing. For starters, it means they’ve had to work with editors and deadlines. They’re used to revising on a time-table for someone else’s specifications. That’s a big plus. In addition, “Speshul Snowflake Syndrome”? That kind of gets slapped out of you in e-publishing. The digital world is huge. No matter how good you think you are, you are a very small fish jumping into that particular pond.

Plus, e-publishing has come a long way in the last couple years. With both Harlequin and Avon starting digital imprints (Carina Press and Impulse, respectively), e-publishing is gaining a higher level of respectability. Add to that the number of New York authors who are also e-published, it’s hard to argue that e-publishing is by definition “bad” or “less”.

Having said all that, the best thing about e-publishers is that they’re more able/willing to take risks than the big New York houses. So those books that agented authors have shelved because they didn’t “fit” with traditional publishing? There’s probably a place for them in the digital world.

And that’s the most important bit for me. I don’t write stories with the thought of “this will make me millions of dollars when I sell to NY and someone options the film rights.” I write stories that I love and that I think readers will love. If e-publishing is the best way for me to get some of those stories out there, then so be it.

Will I still see if agents and traditional publishers are interested in my new stories? Of course. Regardless of how many people are reading digitally now, the big houses still have the biggest reach, and if my goal is to reach readers that’s the way to go. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to hide that I’m digitally published or let my work rot on my hard drive in any case. I will always put my work out there.

And then I’ll write something else. Because that’s just what I do.