Publisher or Literary Agents?

[Raymond Creed]

Sometime during the autumn I hope to be marketing three theological books (two of which are already on Lulu). Before commencing this undertaking, I would like to know what are the respective advantages and disadvantages of: -
1) Going directly to publishers
2) Going first to literary agents
I would also be grateful if anyone could provide me with a list of reputable literary agents as I wish to avoid all the con merchants who abound in this field.

My intention is to employ Lulu as a stepping stone to market my non-fiction works for the mainstream publishing sector.

Any feedback will be very welcome.

[Gravity]

Check Christian Writers Market Guide 2008, by Sally Stuart (I think it only applies to ones in the States, though). It's chock-a-block with info on agents, houses, who's taking on who, how to approach, how much they pay, and so on. As with anything though, any agent or house you find, vet carefully; sad to say, it's still a caveat emptor world. Hope this helps!

[Raymond Creed]

Thanks for your feedback.

[michaelsnyder]

Every situation is different. But personally, I approached agents and acquisitions editors simultaneously, not in any sort of heavy-handed way. I'm a firm believer in going to conferences and meeting with publishers face-to-face and starting a real relationship with them. As such, I was 'selling' my books all the time. However, I let my agent do the actual submissions of proposals, etc. I guess my point is that it doesn't have to be either/or, but maybe both!

Mike

[Raymond Creed]

Again thank you for the feedback. Keep it coming folks.

[kriswrite]

With nonfiction books it's not absolutely necessary to have an agent...as long as you've studied up on how to properly market your work with query letters and book proposals. I would not self publish first. There is no benefit, as far as later selling your book to a traditional publisher. In fact, some traditional publishers frown on republishing previously self published works.

Kristina

[Raymond Creed]

The question is Kris is how does one write an arresting query letter for three already completed books?

[kriswrite]

If you don't know how to write a good query letter (which you'll need to do for either an agent or a publisher), I suggest you check out this page with recommended books: http://www.kristinaseleshanko.com/WritingBooksYouMustRead.htm

It's not that hard. Really. :D

Kristina

[Raymond Creed]

What I'm after is a publisher who will publish my work on an International basis rather than just for the narrow and declining UK theological market. Would Americans better in helping secure this goal?

[kriswrite]

American publishers, you mean? Possibly. But how this usually works is an American publisher distributes the books in the U.S. Overseas distribution is usually limited, although the bigger houses (like Zondervan) are more active overseas.

If you are really wanting wide distribution, you might consider holding on to foreign rights and selling them separately, to foreign publishers. Usually, changes must be made in the manuscript, anyway. For example, some spelling is different in the U.K. than in the U.S., phrases might not make sense to a foreign market, etc.

Kristina