Early Arrival Or Late To The Party

It's not unlike the British Invasion of the 1960's that revolutionized rock music.

This time around, it's literary agents acting as publishers.

The latest to hop on the e-book bandwagon? BookEnds LLC, a respected literary agency. They're joining the likes of Ed Victor and Shiel Land, UK-based agencies that took that big leap into the unknown.

Literary agents are supposed to be coasting above the shark-infested publishing waters, guiding their clients through the door of the major houses. The ease of putting out an e-book has changed the game.

In England, it's been largely a case of an author's backlist being re-packaged and refreshed in electronic form by the literary agent acting as their publisher. The book's been through its purchasing cycle, and rather than have it fall into obscurity, the agent does the publishing job and gets the book back into circulation.

Dystel & Goderich, an American agency of some repute, have gone a step further with plans to become publishers of works that they believe in, but the major publishers don't.

The blockbuster mentality has taken hold and publishers aren't much interested in the little gems. They want the next big thing that will sell millions, which means the reading public is losing out.  If you're a fan of anything but thrillers, mysteries or romances, you know how hard it can be to find something to read.

Those who don't write all of the above won't be left out in the cold if they're a client of Dystel & Goderich. The agency begun to experiment with e-book publishing, helping an author through the morass so that the author can focus more on writing than mastering Adobe PDF.

Newest guest at the self-publishing party is BookEnds, LLC. They've set up a side business for the express purpose of helping their clients e-publish.

There is growing concern that the line between publisher and agent has become blurred, and in a way that is to the author's detriment. After all, why should an agent kill herself trying to get a traditional publisher to take on an author's second or third book when she can do it herself, get her 15%, and call it a day?

On the other hand, an author might be frustrated with the process and ready to go independent, but they like having their agent at their back, handling the edits and cover design and distribution. Assuming that the process hasn't been skewed by the literary agent's new role as e-publisher, of course.

The problem is, there are no rules yet because it's too new a game. Is it a violation of ethics to offer an e-publishing option, or is it a smart, forward-looking business practice?

Only time will tell. BookEnds and Dystel & Goderich might be cutting edge. They just might be ahead of the curve, assuming the curve continues in the direction they've taken and doesn't veer off on a tangent somewhere.