Comments on: Leadership Tactic #77: You Are Your Own Gatekeeper

By: Amy Miles

Amy Miles — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 12:26:44 +0000

Jen,

It is refreshing to hear your take on the literary agent standpoint. I wholeheartedly agree that even though you may be new to the industry that you don’t want to take just any author. Even authors with great potential need time to grow into their skin and discover their own voice.

Congrats on starting this new endeavor. Best of luck

By: Start Something, Start Anything | penumbraliterary

Start Something, Start Anything | penumbraliterary — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 06:19:59 +0000

[...] advantage of channels that were previously closed to them, such as self-publishing. As my friend Jamey Stegmaier’s stated in his excellent blog post: “The only gatekeeper left is YOU. That may seem like a good thing–it is–but it’s also a [...]

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 05:30:48 +0000

Sorry for the duplicate post, feel free to delete the earlier one where I found a typo

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 05:29:29 +0000

Jamey, I really enjoyed this post and how positive it was. Thank you also for mentioning me and my literary agency. It did take courage to make the leap but I also realized that I felt comfortable enough with my background and experiences in publishing to make such a leap. Also, a nice agent told me that there’s really no school to learn how to be agent, it comes by experience.

I came across an interesting forum post on Nathan Bransford’s blog about new versus more experienced agents. Since I’m a new agent I’m very eager to build my client list but that doesn’t mean I’ll just take any writer that comes along. I also realize that the client chooses to work with me also, it’s a two-way street and I think having that respect as the foundation for the agent-writer relationship, or any relationship really, is so important.

Things are changing in the publishing industry but maybe not fast enough for the big six, where the majority 90% authors are represented by an agent. Because of the sheer volume of requests some of the big six publishers and imprints get, they just cannot, out of pragmatism, accept un-agented queries. But an agent is and should be so much more than a gatekeeper; she should be a sounding board, she should know the market well enough so you, the writer, can focus on writing, she should help you build a career as a writer. An agent’s ultimate goal is to sell the manuscript but there is a lot more to the relationship, or at least I believe there should be, than that. Just my two cents!

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 05:28:24 +0000

Things are changing in the publishing industry but maybe not fast enough for the big six where the majority 90% authors are represented by an agent. Because of the sheer volume of requests some of the big six publishers and imprints get, they just cannot, out of pragmatism, accept un-agented queries. But an agent is so much more than a gatekeeper hopefully, she should be a sounding board, she should know the market well enough so you, the writer, can focus on writing. An agent’s ultimate goal is to sell the manuscript but there is a lot more to the relationship, or at leaset I believe there should be, than that. Just my two cents!

By: Amy Miles

Amy Miles — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 13:05:57 +0000

You are so right, Jamey. I am a firm believer that the only one stopping you from your dream is YOU. So what if 300 agents turn you do. Go back, improve your writing, and try again. And again. If you give up, it’s on no one but yourself.
Great blog post! Thanks for adding me

By: Emma

Emma — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:49:03 +0000

Thanks Jamey I just started a second laughter club, so I’m going strong at 2 per week and I led a mini session for 300 people during a Pecha Kucha night! As a friend of mine said recently, a great thing about St. Louis is that if you want to be something, you can almost literally say you are that thing and you are.

There may be some gatekeepers left here and there but I think the fear of them is rightfully disappearing. Carpe diem!

By: Orianna

Orianna — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 06:44:38 +0000

I agree to a point but as you imply, you have to be prepared. The whole Twilight fever is a perfect example. Timing is key. Things happen in cycles in the biz. I am the first to admit that I would never have predicted vampires coming back the way they did. And, gatekeepers may also be influencers. They aren’t exclusive. If someone says, “doing this will help,” it wouldn’t hurt to listen. Then make a decision.