Literary Agents

[kazzaasks]

Has anybody any experiance of trying to find a literary agent or contacting publishers?  It seems to be a hard field to crack and I do not really trust those who require a fee to read your work? Also do you have to copywrite your work before sending it off?

Thanks

[Hgrove]

Years ago my husband tried to find a literary agent but I think he gave up, or least he never spoke about it again.  I know he also tried one of these critics who charge a fee to give you an opinion on your work, and he said it was useless.  As for copyrighting your work:  it would be more useful to get the agent to sign a confidentiality agreement - if they are prepared to do so.  (They call the shots).  "Copyight" is not something you do/register/apply for/obtain.  Once you have committed your book to paper, your intellectual property right to the work is protected by copyright without further ado. (Berne Convention).  You could write on the front page the (c) symbol with your name and date: this will assert your copyright under the Universal Copyright Convention.  Problem is, plagiarists will not be easily put off.  If someone copies your idea, copyright is ineffective.  If someone reproduces a whole paragraph, you would have the trouble and expense of suing in copyright and an uncertain outcome.  If you can, sell your copyright, so if someone breaches it, it will be the purchaser's problem to defend it, not yours.  After selling the copyright, you will retain, as author, certain moral rights over the integrity of your work.

[maxi29]

I would suggest that if you can't spell 'copyright' then you're probably wasting your time trying to get something published. Publishers have shedloads of manuscripts to wade through and ones with glaring spelling errors are not going to be a high priority.

[kazzaasks]

Wit woo, get you!  I take it you either know a lot about this field and:
a) You are very bitter for having no imagination and never been published or
b) 2) You are just naturally an angry individual – happy question answering!

Thanks

[Trillipse]

oh dear maxi.

surely the error wasn't in essence one of spelling.

now was it. . .

"coppyright" would be a spelling error, if you're (as you show every sign of being) intent on being nastily pedantic for the sake of it.

in this case it was more of a conceptual category mistake. so why by an ugly character?

i only say this to protect the vulnerable.

and the moral congruence of the site.

[Trillipse]

[why "be" an ugly character] - another "type" of mistake altogether! whirr sertunnly lurning here!!