Author: Wonky
Date:   02-29-08 00:05

What % agented books sell? Anyone got the stats?

Author: Sasha Wasley
Date:   02-29-08 02:31

Excellent question. I just did a short google and most of the questions asked seem to be how, why and where to get an agent. I couldn't find anything to suggest that you're more likely to sell a book with an agent. I suppose the only way to do the maths is to count the publishers who accepted unsolicited MS's vs those who only accept those from agents, then add them together to find out how your chances increase with an agent. But probability maths is not my strong point! (or any maths, for that matter). I'd be surprised if anyone's ever actually calculated it.

Author: Carmel C
Date:   02-29-08 08:34

I'd be surprised if any but writers would have motive to calculate it.

It's an excellent question Wonky. Maybe someone will know the answer, but I'd have an eyebrow raised if the stats came from an agent.

Author: Robert Brown
Date:   02-29-08 08:52

Wonky, that is an excellent question and one that I'm sure not only writers would like to know but also agents. This would be some valuable information, given the competitive nature of this business.

From my own experience, I'd say it depends on the agent, his or her connections and his or her ability to pick good reads that are highly marketable. One important thing to remember is that anyone can sell a great book. What makes an agency great is its ability to attract great writers. Size and location mean nothing. Everything hinges on writer's perception and from most of what I read here, that perception is kind of slanted in one direction. One thing I will add is that just because a writer goes to a big agency does not mean that he or she will get a big agent. Most popular agents have filled client lists, so when you go to a big agency, you might be dealing with someone who is new to agenting and who might not have that many contact. Agents are very competitive so the new agent at the big agency might or might not be able to get contacts or advice from others at his parent agency. Again, this all hinges on the agency.

To answer your question directly. I don't think anyone publicizes those kind of stats--not in this business.

Author: June Casagrande
Date:   02-29-08 11:46

Wonky: I heard somewhere (I forget where, might have been my own agent) that it's about half. Don't know if that's true.

Author: Sapphire Savvy
Date:   02-29-08 16:34

God. That's not very optimistic.

Author: Ce Ce
Date:   02-29-08 16:35

I have no idea.

Author: Wonky
Date:   02-29-08 17:31

I read somewhere that something like only 2% of MS's can get agents, and from that, only 5% sell...I don't remember where I read this though. It's probably wrong.

In other news, I'm sending out another full today.

Author: Joshie !
Date:   02-29-08 17:33

Congrats Wonky. I'm still impatiently waiting for a reply.

:(

The Grammatically Challenged,
Joshie!

Author: Lily
Date:   03-01-08 20:47

About fifty-percent. So even with a good agent the odds are not that great. Here are some more stats:

Only 1 in 5,000 manuscripts is accepted for publication.
Only 21 per cent of books sell more than 99 copies.
Only about .04% sell more than 100,000 copies.
Most authors never earn more than their advance.
Industry average returns on books 30 to 40%.

Also, you've got to watch agents. For instance, they may be pitching your story to publishers who accept unagented submissions. I'd exhaust all the publishing options before trying to find an agent.

Author: Ce Ce
Date:   03-01-08 21:50

Only 21 per cent of books sell more than 99 copies.
Only about .04% sell more than 100,000 copies.

Take out self-pubbed and vanity-pubbed titles, and I'm reasonably sure those "statistics" would change. Drastically.

I earned out my advances plus, for more than twenty years, as did most of my friends, so I'd question that "most."

And returns in mass market average closer to 50% these days.

Author: Mya Bell
Date:   03-05-08 03:31

I asked six agents this very question two years ago.

These were very good agents with decades of experience, so they don't represent agents as a whole (some are beginners, some are part-time, some aren't well-connected, etc., so averages are undoubtedly less for other agents), but most of them said about 65 percent.

So, if you do a little math, and assume that agents pick up about one in every two hundred submissions and a little more than half of those sell, then you can guestimate a one-in-four-hundred chance of getting a sale *if* you submit to and are accepted by one of these top agents.

With less successful agents, your mileage will vary.

--- Mya Bell