The writing loops have exploded with news that literary agencies are opening up self-publishing businesses for their clients as well as other writers.  While these folks may have the best of intentions, this violates the law of agency—if the agent is both the agent and the publisher.

Yeah, I know ‘violates’ is a tough word. Here’s a definition of agency law:  The law of agency is an area of contract law when a person, called the agent, is authorized to act on behalf of another (the author in this case) to create a legal relationship with a third party(the publisher in this case).  The term “third party” pretty much shows us what’s wrong with a literary agent also acting as a publisher. 

(Note:  An agent assisting an author with self-publishing is different from an agent opening up a publishing business.)

So, when an agent negotiates with a publisher for a deal—how in the world does an agent
negotiate with herself for the deal?  Can’t be done.  No matter how honorable and good intentioned the agent (and I truly believe these folks are both), it is physically impossible to sit on opposite sides of a table at the same time.  We only have one butt, and it has to be in one chair.

An agent owes a fiduciary duty to his/her client—and the agent’s goal can never be counter-productive or opposite to the client’s.  There’s no way an agent can fight hard for her client—when she’s fighting with herself and her bottom line.  No matter how nice the agent.

So, is there a conflict of interest?  Yep.  Anything that isn’t directly in the client’s interest…is a conflict. 

This has nothing to do with trust, loyalty or track record.  Agency law is…agency law.  It’s quite simple.

CYA Disclaimer:  This is not legal advice.  If you need legal advice, hire a lawyer.  Especially if you’re in Colorado, Utah, or Wyoming.  Those guys need to buy skis every year — and boy are those expensive.  The opinions expressed, while brilliant, are mine and you should get your own.  In fact, there are so many lawyers out there right now, law schools are cutting down on admissions.  We only want to tempt fate so much.

1) Romance readers have some serious depth.  I spent several emails with one fan about the philosophy of good vs. evil and whether the Kurjans even had a chance to be good.  Loved it!

2)    Any jackass can leave a review on goodreads or amazon.  My favorite was the gal who sent people to buy her book instead.  Classy.

3)    Readers like the heartwarming stuff…even in a sexy book.  I’ve had more comments about how cute the big, bad, vamps are with little Janie. 

4)    People who tell you the ‘sex is too much’ in book one…have already preordered book 2.  Yeah.  You know who you are.  🙂

5)    If someone tells me how wonderful the “world building” was…the sex may have been too much for them.

6)    Getting stressed about aspiring authors dropping your name to your editor or agent is just silly…they’re used to it.

7)    It’s a high-low profession.  One day a national magazine recommends your
book…the next day another national magazine doesn’t like your characters.  Keep it steady by remembering…it’s all about the story.  Forget the rest.

8)    Promotion and social media are a must.  But writing the story should always come first.

9)    Your editor is on your side—completely.  Anyone who thinks it’s a battle between the author and the editor…probably doesn’t have an editor yet.

10)  It’s okay to say ‘no’…even if you’re a nice person and really do want to help people.  Unfortunately, there’s only so much time in the day, and hopefully you have a life too.  Protect that.

UPDATE:  I used random.org to draw numbers corresponding to the names of people commenting on this blog, FaceBook and Twitter–and the two winners are:   Kylie Rae and Asa Maria Bradley!  CONGRATULATIONS to both of you — I’ll be sending you an email to see where to send these.  Thank you to everyone who entered–I’ll do another giveaway on the Brava Blog on August 5th.

The magnificent Megan sent me CLAIMED ARC’s, and I’d love to give TWO away.  So, here’s the deal.  Leave a comment below for one chance to win.  The comment can be about anything–just say hi.  For another chance, follow me on twitter and tweet about the chance to win.  You can retweet my tweet about the contest, or you can create your own.  Remember to put @rebeccazanetti in it so you get counted.  For a third and final chance to win an ARC, like me on my facebook author page, and leave a comment on my wall.  THREE chances to win…and you don’t have to do them all if you don’t want.  (Contests that make you do all three drive me crazy.)

I will use random.org to draw a name after midnight, PST on Wednesday–so the contest is open until that time.  I’ll send ARC’s anywhere in the world, no geographical limitations.  Also, if you win, I’d really appreciate it if you put up a couple reviews – at book sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, etc.  Thanks and good luck!

So, have you seen an ARC up close?  Do you like the orange?  What do you have planned this week? 

I’ve been a bit quiet lately…under deadline.  This is what happened:  When I was in New York, I talked to Caitlin about maybe writing an e-book novella for the Dark Protector series to be released between HUNTED (book 3) and book 4.  Now, we haven’t negotiated for books 4-6 yet, so I was being optimistic.  Early August is when we start talking the next deal.

Well…Caitlin talked to Megan, who liked the idea of a novella and would like to publish it in April, the month before HUNTED is released.  This is very exciting…but…Megan needs the novella by the end of August.  So, after several emails back and forth with Caitlin, I decided the novella should be about Max, who is Janie’s bodyguard.  He is in both FATED and CLAIMED, so seemed like a good choice.

Max is actually a rather funny guy, originally from Russia.  Yeah, who knew?  His love, Sarah Pringle, is a teacher who, ah, just escaped from a mental institution.  Really. 

Anyway, this is why I’ve been away from the blog a bit.  I’ll do better.  🙂

Hi there!  I haven’t even seen these yet…but my editor is on Twitter today giving away an ARC of CLAIMED.  If you’re on twitter, tweet  #zanettiarc   to @meganrecords  for a chance to win!  (And let me know what they look like).  🙂