And the industry is changing...

... in more ways than just E-books. See this post by Kristine Kathryn Rusch -- and other related posts she has made of late. Short form: in at least some cases -- and apparently far more widespread than initially thought -- the business models have shifted to the point that many agents are not performing the original and primary duty as author's defenders, contract watchdogs, and hardass negotiators. As that's the primary POINT of having an agent, this means that -- if true -- these agents have essentially BECOME exactly what the worst naysayers used to SAY they were, just leeches taking 15% for nothing more than making you sign a publisher's contract.

She doesn't say that *ALL* agents are like this, of course, but she does paint a very, VERY disturbing picture of how the industry has become more self-contained, less accommodating, and how the agencies and publishers have become more intertwined with each other. If even 20% of the agents end up in this category, it calls into question whether it's worthwhile to look for an agent -- since you have a significant chance of choosing one that is genuinely NOT acting in your interest, but in the interest of the PUBLISHER. In point of fact, Ms. Rusch answered that question point-blank and said, flat out, that I was in fact wasting my time looking for an agent and had best do it all myself.

I have NEVER had an experienced long-time writer in the business say that before; it has been the UNIVERSAL advice until this point that you not only should have an agent, you NEED an agent to do well.

This is... game-changing news, if it's at all true.

Writer's Block: Cinco de Mayo

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Yes. But not in the sense of the actuality of the country at the moment, in the sense of believing in the best of the ideals of the America of my heart, the America I see in my head when I think of the word. And I try to remember that ideal, and as much as I can live it within the limits of my own life.

Being a true American patriot doesn't mean blindly following whatever the country does. It means believing in what America SHOULD be, what its ideals imply it COULD be, and not accepting what it SHOULDN'T be. How much of this each of us is capable of varies -- with time, with money, with "spoons" of attention that might be available. Sometimes it just means doing the best in your life that you can FOR yourself and those around you.