So lately I have be trying to decide whether to agent or not to agent? I have one childrens story published in a collection and have been working hard, though unsuccessfully to get a second and third literary short storys published. Granted I have only even recieved 4 responses out of many more submissions than that but I feel with an agent I might have better luck. Is an agent neccessary or even helpful in getting published or does it rest on the merit of the writing alone? And is it worth sharing royaltys? What are your thoughts?
Agents are hugely worthwhile. Very few presses are interested in unsolicited manuscripts. Having an agent to solicit for you keeps your work out of the slush pile and makes it far more likely it'll actually end up on an editor's desk. Which is a plus.
Agents also watch your back for you, or at least good ones do. They help make sure you don't get screwed over by a publisher, which is always nice. You're a writer, not a lawyer or business person, and an agent can help take care of the lawyery and businessy aspects.
To answer your questions more directly, an agent isn't completely necessary, if you're willing to do the work and find the presses that will look at unsolicited manuscripts, but an agent is most definitely helpful. Since agents work by commission, it's in their best interest to make sure you sell as many copies as possible--which means more income for you in the end. It's usually between a 10 and 15% commission.
Read those. And if you do query to agents, remember a few basic principles:
1. Make sure your work is polished and then some before querying. 2. Always check the specific agent's website and make sure they are accepting new clients and are interested in your genre. 3. Double, triple, quadruple proof your query letter. Also make sure that you're complying with the agent's query requirements. Some want just the query, others query and first chapters, others query and synopsis, others a mix of all those. 4. If an agent wants money ahead of time, THAT IS A BAD SIGN. Legit agents don't get paid until you do, so if they want payment in advance, that's a scam waiting to happen. 5. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Agents and editors will often put down a manuscript for what might seem like small, insignificant errors to you. The last thing you want is your manuscript to be rejected because you spelled "short stories" as "short storys" or left out a comma.
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It sounds like you're talking short stories rather than novels (Rachael's advice is spot on for novels).
Short fiction is rarely agented, unless you've got a book-length collection you're looking to get out there. Literary magazines & journals - even the fairly prestigious ones - will accept unsolicited short stories. The ones a new, emerging writer will have a chance to publish in, at least, will definitely accept unsolicited short stories. It's all a matter of hitting the right ones; the ones that are looking for fiction like the fiction you write.
In line with Rachael's advice, you still have to be sure your work is completely polished before you even think of submitting. In most short story markets, editors will not often do more edits than spelling & grammar edits (if they don't like something about story construction, they'll reject it. They won't hold your hand as you fix it for them). For the best chance of getting a story accepted, make sure it's as close to perfect as you can manage (without going crazy!). Also make sure the journal you're looking at is legit, and be sure your query letter holds up to all standards expected by the journal you're submitting to. Again, legit journals aren't going to expect money from you in order to publish your work.
The best way to get short stories published is to submit everywhere. Grab a copy of Writer's Market (or Short Stories Writers Market for more specific info) or get on Duotrope.com and search their listings of literary journals and magazines. Find magazines that publish work that is like the work you write (it may involve getting ahold of a copy and reading the work for yourself). Then just submit to 10, 15, even 20 of them. Eventually, someone will want your work and once you begin to build a resume of published work it will become easier and easier to get more things published.
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