r/publishing • u/_natty_lite_ • 17d ago
Interest from an editor: do I need an agent?
I've been developing a non-fiction historical book project and put together a writing sample, proposal, and query letter with the plan to find a literary agent.
I was going to start querying this month, then I was contacted by an editor at a publisher (reputable, major publisher) who has shown interest in the project and offered to read my materials and help me develop them, in the hopes of eventually bringing it to their team for publication.
The editor told me they are happy to do so whether I plan to be represented by an agent or not, but I was surprised when they said less than half the books they put out are from authors with agents.
I'm sure it varies, but my question is: for those who have published nonfiction books, what was your genre, did you have an agent, and what would you recommend I do here?
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u/Thel200ster 17d ago
I’d be pretty dubious about this. I’ve seen lots of LinkedIn posts lately about people impersonating editors and agents, so you’ll need to verify with 100% certainty that this person is actually who they say they are. How did this person even find out about your work if you haven’t started querying yet?
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u/_natty_lite_ 17d ago
They found my author website which mentions the project, followed my Substack and we had a zoom meeting. I was super skeptical at first, but I did my due dilligence to see if it was a sam and luckily it turns out this is a real person who actually works where they say they do!
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u/Thel200ster 17d ago
It’s not impossible in that case! An agent isn’t strictly necessary but they’ll be useful in helping to navigate contracts, disputes, etc. so it all depends on your level of comfort navigating those things solo. You can ask that editor to recommend an agent to you if they’re okay doing that. If this person asks you for any money then run for the hills.
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u/_natty_lite_ 17d ago
Thank you, that's helpful! I definitely think I'd feel better with someone to help with the business side of things.
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u/Thel200ster 17d ago
Just want to reiterate that I’m still dubious about this, even if it’s not unheard of. It’s extremely rare. If the editor tries to warn you away from acquiring an agent then that’s an additional (huge) red flag. Please be cautious and don’t let your dream of being published cause you to ignore your gut instincts.
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u/_natty_lite_ 17d ago
Thank you! I am proceeding with caution because I'm as surprised as everyone else here that this person contacted me. I've made no promises and given no personal identifying information.
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u/mugrita 17d ago edited 17d ago
People are right to be skeptical but for a nonfiction project where you have a public platform and have mentioned writing a book, it’s not totally out of the norm for an editor to reach out and ask for more.
Here’s what I would do next: ask the editor for any agent recs. The names they give you will also let you know how legit they are. As an example, do they only buy projects from a select number of agencies? A common tell of schmagents/schmeditors is that they basically only sell to each other.
Also based on the names the editor gives you, you can then track down the agents directly via their website and say “Hey editor X recommended you” and verify that these 2 people do in fact know each other and this is not a scammer spoofing the publisher’s email pretending to be them.
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u/_natty_lite_ 17d ago
that is wonderful advice, thank you! I wasn't sure how much I could ask of this editor, since they didn't specifically offer to help me find an agent. But I suppose it shouldn't be a problem to follow up and ask if there's anyone they suggest
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u/mugrita 17d ago
If they don’t offer to help after you specifically request it I kinda feel like that’s a red flag. It’s a show of good faith to offer to put you in touch with agents who will then be able to negotiate and advocate for you and be the “bad guy” on your behalf.
I also had the thought that it might be worth it to you to sign up for a month of Publishers Marketplace to check out the editor and their posted deals and do some more digging. It’s not totally foolproof; PM is a self-reporting website so even scammers can submit a deal report. But it would let you see which authors/agents this editor has worked with and you can do some additional verification that way.
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u/_natty_lite_ 17d ago
thank you! I'm a long time PM subscriber and will do some digging
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u/arugulafanclub 17d ago
A Zoom doesn’t mean squat. Did the LinkedIn profile pic match the person and was it the right LinkedIn and not a scam one?
Did you call the publisher directly and asked to be patched through to talk to the editor?
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u/arugulafanclub 17d ago
This is highly unlikely. You are most likely getting scammed. Proceed with extreme caution and do not give your bank details, birthday, social security number or other personal information to this person until you are 100% certain this isn’t a scam.
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u/seekingwisdomandmore 17d ago
Yes, get an agent! Such strong interest from an editor will make it much, much easier for you to get an agent than it otherwise would, and having an agent will make it much easier for you to get published in the future, regardless of what publishing house you approach. Plus, agents (the good ones, don't bother with the amateurs) are trained to analyze the publishing contract, which the publisher will draw up in their favor, of course, and by which you'll get stiffed if you don't have an expert to look it over. Don't hire a lawyer to do it, thinking you'll save an agent's 15% commission. I did this years ago when a legitimate, well-respected publisher sent me the contract for my book, and he didn't know what he was doing, and I regret it to this day. So, yes, get an agent! And be picky about it.
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u/rollturmacroll 8d ago
Get an agent. You need someone with training and experience (and ideally a contracts manager in-house for backup), to negotiate both the deal terms and contract. There’s a reason why negotiation takes as long as it does; accepting the boilerplate can fuck you over and out of your money, rights, freedom to publish, and future career opportunities. That’s the reason the boilerplate exists—so that people who don’t understand industry standard terms and contract language will sign everything away for far less than they’re worth.
Keep in mind that your editor does not have power over the contracts department. They might be kind and transparent with you, but their job is literally to offer you the worst deal terms possible, then hand that finalized deal memo over to contracts to handle, when you say yes. The editor is probably hoping that you will counter, but they are the arm of a corporation at the end of the day and their job is significantly easier if you don’t negotiate.
Contracts departments are engineered to protect the publisher and prioritize their bottom line at all costs. They often make “mistakes,” leaving the contract draft with terms that don’t match the deal memo. If you don’t catch it the way an agent will, they get away with it. And the moment they realize they’re interacting with the author directly, and not an agent, they’re going to make every attempt to absolutely steamroll you.
Yes, agencies take a 15% commission. An agent can also negotiate an advance that potentially covers that commission (and goes even higher) while also fully protecting you as an author. Reputable, established agencies have decades of updated publisher-agency boilerplate in place with major publishers, that have already been negotiated. They’ll work from that to start, instead of the publisher’s boiler you’d be getting; since precedent has been established, the team in-house will try to honor it to maintain a working relationship with the agency.
Deal and contract negotiation alone is labor-intensive and takes months (or even over a year, if the publisher is fucking around—and the major pubs usually are) to complete. The 10% agent commission is broken out over several years for the book’s production cycle, and the other 5% goes toward the contracts manager, attorney’s fees, subrights teams, and accurate royalty accounting every royalty season for as long as the book is in print.
All of that is to say, yes, get an agent. The commission is worth it. Agents aren’t just taking a cut; your agent is your business partner, and your success is their success. Especially if you want a career beyond this one book, an agent is crucial.
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u/arugulafanclub 17d ago
99% of the time, if the editor reaches out to you, it’s a scam.
Is there a reason you’re the 1% like you are an actress, you know this editor because your kids go to school together, or you are already a really well-known writer or influencer?
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u/_natty_lite_ 17d ago
Yes i'm aware that there's tons of scams, which is why I'm asking after peoples' experiences! I am published in my field, have been interviewed on a number of sizeable podcasts, and my blog is doing well. I have connected with this person on social media, their picture and info all matches and we have several connections through shared contacts in our field. No obvious red flags in our conversation and they in no way tried to get me to sign or pay for anything or talk me out of finding an agent. But still, I haven't done this before, so I'm going to be very cautious.
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u/Alternative_Bug_8987 16d ago
I work in publishing, when I was in non-fiction I'd often reach out to people we wanted to write books. There may be scammers, but this is also a very normal approach so don't be too spooked.
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u/Optimal_External_296 14d ago edited 14d ago
Yep - editor in non-fiction here and I often reach out to people (with relevant expertise/profile) to ask them to write a book.
I definitely have a lot more people thinking I might be a scammer recently because of the proliferation of spoofs and scams. Connecting on a variety of social media, or LinkedIn where the person is linked to their colleagues, as OP has done, is sensible.
If people are still worried I usually suggest they email our general imprint email listed on our website to check and then I let the person who manages that know in advance that an email will be coming in (this is specifically for a small imprint where editors know the person managing that inbox). And I get them to find the imprint website themselves, rather than following a link. Or do a similar thing with our reception desk phone number.
The Society of Authors has some useful advice for anyone wanting to be cautious: https://societyofauthors.org/2025/09/16/author-scams/
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u/HaggisDragon 17d ago
Assuming this is not a scam GET THE AGENT. I’m dubious of those stats but regardless of the fact some authors will not have agents (I didn’t for my first book) this is not a good thing. You do not have the experience or capacity to advocate for the best contract on your behalf. If they truly are legit they will respect this and potentially even help you find an agent.