X-Ftn-To: acdouglas 

"acdouglas"  wrote:
>In any case, the very first -- and absolutely necessary -- step for you if
>you're looking to get published in America:  Get an American agent!
>
>For better or worse, that's the way the game is played today.

Actually, you are completely wrong. This is how the things were
_before_ print-on-demand came into play. Now, at this point, I don't
need an agent, he couldn't contribute to what I already have, in any
way. I could have used one a year ago, but now, I have printing and
distribution handled already - I can completely bypass the
conventional publishers. However, I need a specialized marketing
agency in order to promote the book, and this is what I'm looking for
now. This is the only major edge that the big houses have over me:
they dedicate a part of their budget to promotion, which means big
money; I don't have big money. 
And, contrary to the public opinion, quality doesn't make a book sell:
promotion does, at least at first. Quality starts making a difference
only after enough people have read the book to create the word of
mouth phenomenon.

-- 
Homepage: http://www.danijel.org