Do I need an agent?
The juvenile area is one of the few places left where many publishers will look at material that doesn’t come from an agent. A few publishers will look only at agented submissions (or submissions from published authors). You can find out which will look at unagented or unsolicited material by regularly consulting the members list at the Children’s Book Council web site. Opinions vary on whether an unpublished author should seek an agent. Some say that the effort to find an agent could be just as well spent trying to market the manuscript. Others believe that a good agent has a much better feel for the market. Bottom line: you do not need an agent. However, a good agent can help you in many ways. A bad agent can hurt you.You can get a list of agents and information on how to get one from the Authors Guild. The Guild does not offer recommendations on particular agents, but suggests you get references from the agent you are interested in.
No. You can submit your work to journals and small publishing houses on your own. In fact, very few poets ever work with agents. However, the big publishing houses — the ones whose books you see in every bookstore — publish very little poetry at all, and almost exclusively through the mediation of agents. Many good agents, meanwhile, won’t even return your call unless you’ve already published a book.
