| Books published by New York publishing houses | | | | interviewed got their first book published |
| tend to garner a higher degree of respect | | | | before an agent accepted them as a client. |
| than those published outside of the Big | | | | |
| Apple. Authors with New York books often find | | | | Getting an agent requires an audition process |
| it easier to get media attention than those | | | | as well. An author must pitch the agent,show |
| using other methods, such as small presses or | | | | them their book proposal before the agent |
| print-on-demand publishers. | | | | determines whether or not she can sell the |
| | | | book to a publisher. Thus retaining an agent |
| Unfortunately, the road from completed book | | | | is no guarantee that the book will be |
| manuscript to publication through traditional | | | | published by a New York house. |
| channels is a long one with numerous | | | | |
| challenges. A first-time author must first | | | | When signing a book contract with a |
| create a formal book proposal which will take | | | | traditional New York Publisher, the author |
| weeks of work. Next, the writer goes through | | | | loses control of the book's content and cover |
| the process of submitting it to publishers | | | | design, as well as the rights to the book. |
| and/or agents. | | | | The author typically earns less than 10 per |
| | | | cent of the sale, which translates to less |
| Agent and Author Terry Burns interviewed over | | | | than one dollar per book sold. If the author |
| 600 multi-published authors and foundthat it | | | | hires an agent, the profit margin is less, |
| took them an average of 6 years to see their | | | | because the agent's fee is 10 (and sometimes |
| first completed book in print. He also | | | | 15) per cent of the author's share of the |
| learned that 87 per cent of the authors he | | | | profit. |