Do authors need agents?

Gallycat posted a rather inflammatory opinion piece implying that in this brave new Kindle world authors no longer need agents. I’m sure they no longer need editors, cover artists or qualities stories either. Okay, so that’s going to an extreme (and extreme that can be seen in the self publishing world, where there are no gatekeepers and what could be a fantastic tool is seen as inferior trash.)

You can find lots of author and agent responses if you look. But here’s mine.

I know a man that I consider a friend who is what I consider a successful writer. He had plenty of work, makes a living off his writing and has a very loyal fan base. He doesn’t have an agent, and you can tell. I can tell. I know other authors who are also hard working, wonderful people and wonderful storytellers and they get down and frustrated by the industry, but they have someone they can talk to. They have someone to fight for them. They have someone with insider knowledge of how to get things done.

My friend with no agent gets burned out, which is terrible because he’s also a fantastic storyteller. He has people to talk to about he feelings. He has people who care for him and support him and people who buy everything he puts out. But he gets worn down by fighting to survive. It affects his writing because I NEVER see this man on vacation. I never see him with time to rest and rejuvenate between projects. (Not saying he doesn’t because I am not privy to his personal life. Just that he always seems to be working one something.) I just see him shaving off more of himself trying to keep his name and work out there.

It seems to me that if he had an a person whose job it was not to write, but just to see his writing published as well as it possibly could be, he might be doing better. Now, it’s true that he might not be doing as well. The method he’s taking does seem to be working for him and maybe I’m just projecting myself into his shoes.

And I don’t know if he doesn’t want an agent, or has been dismissed by agents because he seems to be doing well enough without them, or because he writes almost entirely horror and agents aren’t eager to play in that particular pond.

I’m seeking an agent because I don’t like the constant demoralizing submission process. I don’t want to have to fight for every crumb. And I know that the evidence heavily suggests that agented authors make double the advances.

And yeah, because I need a fan. I need someone who will and can fight for me and what’s best for me.