Authors today need literary agents

The time is right for promotion of agent services in China's literary circle, says an article in Beijing Evening News. Excerpts:

It may be common for entertainment and sports stars in China to have agents. But a literary agent still sounds like an alien term to many Chinese, as was apparent when Nobel Literature Prize winner Mo Yan announced that he was authorizing his daughter to represent him in copyright talks and other negotiations.

There are signs, though, that authors are feeling the need for literary agents as they become increasingly aware of protecting their copyrights and other interests.

After becoming famous, authors find it difficult to handle affairs like business cooperation and copyright because they have to concentrate on their writing. Almost all top authors in the West have literary agents to help them deal with things other than writing, but not all famous Chinese writers do so partly because they earn relatively little and are not aware of the advantages of having an agent.

For example, after winning the Nobel Prize, Mo Yan is estimated to receive royalties worth 20 million yuan ($3.215 million) for his books. Add to that his royalties for films, and TV and digital works and the urgent need for him to have a professional agent to handle his financial affairs becomes clear. A writer may be world-class but he/she needs an agent to let his talents be better known.

Beijing-based editor Yang Wenxuan has said the greatest benefit of having a literary agent is establishing a clearer division of labor in the publishing industry.

Overseas experience shows that cooperation between writers and agents is win-win arrangement. As a good writer creates immortal works, a good agent helps make them well known across the world.