Lessons from a Literary Agent

We had another author day on Tuesday, which dealt with a new book about how brands should create partnerships with consumers who are now armed with technology to influence customer opinions and choices more than ever before.

After the author lunch, the interns were able to speak with a literary agent named Andy Ross. He owned the iconic Berkley bookstore called Cody's since the 70s and two years ago became a literary agent. Andy shared his insight about the retail side of the book business, which he is not too optimistic about. He basically suggested that the invention of e-readers and online bookstores will be the downfall of physical independent bookstores. However, he then provided one possible way bookstores could stick around. He referenced the book, The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More by Barry Schwartz saying that online stores provide seemingly infinite choice, resulting in people tending to buy a limited filtered selection that is promoted through mainstream media. Specialty bookstores can actually give the perception of offering a more diverse selection. Perhaps this is the tactic independents should play up and hopefully some will survive.

The second part of our discussion was about the role of literary agent. Andy told us that being an agent has some of the same responsibilities as editors. He has to find talented authors like an acquisitions editor at a publishing house. He often has to edit the book proposals before they are sent out to the publishers. He mentioned that getting fiction published is like winning the lottery. That was a bit surprising at first but then I realized how risky that could be for a publisher. Andy also said that his retail experience is both an advantage and a disadvantage. While he knows book buyers and local independent publishers better than most other agents, he lacks some understanding of the publishing process. He is happy to be in the business finding talent and helping to get them published. In our meeting, Andy mentioned that one of his most prestigious authors is Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers. I saw Ellsberg that same night on The Colbert Report talking about WikiLeaks editor, Julian Assange. What a coincidence!