Yesterday, I signed an agreement with a literary agency to market my paranormal suspense series. Even as I affixed my signature, I relished the opportunities opening up for me.

I don't know about you, but I have trouble keeping track of what publishers want and when they're open for submissions. Like most authors, I prefer to spend my days writing. For me, the Internet research to keep up-to-date is exhausting. Writing is a lot less stressful on my system than hopping about on websites. Now, I'll have someone else to do this research.

Although I worked for over 20 years with lawyers, I don't find keeping up on the latest in contract clauses to be fun. Don't get me wrong, I love to read contracts when they’re for my own books. At those times, umpteen pages of single-spaced, complex text won't daunt me. But with an agent, I'll know that a cool pair of eyes studied the contract and compared the terms against industry norms before submitting the contract to me. Hallelujah!

Then, too, there’s the editorial support. A professional who has worked with a variety of authors and marketed various genres can provide editorial insight that critique partners cannot. Us authors can also learn how our writing voice stacks up against the best-selling authors in our genre, giving us the opportunity to refine and strengthen our voices.

Then there are the trends. Who among us writers has the time to study changing trends when what we really want to do is keep our nose in our Work In Progress?

And I can't forget the New York houses. Without an agent, I’d be lucky to get my little toe in the door. Now, the door will open and I can walk through it as a published author with a lot of successful marketing experience.

Oh happy day, that day when an author signs with an agent.

 JoAnn

www.joannsmithainsworth.com