Kind of a paranoid question...but how do I know an agent won't steal my work

Position:Home>Books & Authors> Kind of a paranoid question...but how do I know an agent won't steal my work

Question:

It seems kind of unreliable!. I mean, you send your manuscript off to someone, and they could either represent you, and get 10% of the profits, or pretend it's their own, and get 100% of the profits!.!.!.Even if they're well-known agents, there's still absolutely no proof that YOU wrote it!.!.!.

Kind of paranoid, I know, but how do writers know that agents won't claim they wrote it, or even that their friend wrote it!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

To put it shortly, stealing a writer's work is a horrible idea for everyone concerned!.

First of all: the government has massive penalties for copyright infringement!. An agent or a publishing company can be literally wiped out by a successful infringement suit, and their reputation can be ruined by even a hint of suspicion of theft!.

Second of all: Royalties paid to authors are a tiny fragment of a percent of the expense of making and selling a book!. While it's a lot of money to YOU, to the agent, the publisher, and the editor, the money that you make is negligible at best!. The only people who really make enough money to be worth stealing from are people like Stephen King or J!.K!. Rowling, and no agent will ever get away with ripping those guys off!.

Finally: It's a bad idea!. Agents make a lot more money with successful authors than with successful books!. If they like your work enough to want to steal it, then they would make more money by aligning with YOU permanently rather than stealing only one work that you produce!. Imagine if J!.K!. Rowling's agent stole Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone off of her!. That book made a lot of money, yes, but it didn't make as much as the entire series combined, and no agent would throw away a profitable writer like that just to steal one manuscript!.

In short, you have nothing to worry about, as long as you stay with reputable agents!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Go for an agent who has a good reputation!. There are lots of places to check on their rep, but you can start with Preditors & Editors: http://anotherealm!.com/prededitors/

Choose an agent who has had recent sales!. This is a pretty good indication that they're selling the manuscripts they accept for the authors they represent and not just phishing for suckers!.

If you pick agents who have excellent reputations and who are members of AAR you really shouldn't worry!. Agents are agents because in most cases their talents lie in selling books!. There is good money to be made in it if they do it well!. There is no reason to believe that a reputable agent would want to destroy their reputation by inviting scandal!.

I guess you just have to trust that the industry self-regulates to a certain point, and it does!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

trust, my friend!. It is all in trust!.

I had the same question when I wanted to publish some of my poetry!. You just have to go around asking other authors about recommended agents and use your judgment!.

Good Luck! :)Www@QuestionHome@Com