Accuracy of Publishers Marketplace sales

[Phyllo]

When I compare agency websites and Publishers Marketplace, I sometimes see a disconnect between the website claims (e.g. where an agent says he or she specializes in let's say, literary fiction, and PM shows no literary fiction sales by that agent).

So what I'm basically wondering is how accurate Publishers Marketplace is for sales information when researching agents.

I've read that not all agents report their sales to PM, or those that do might not report all their sales to PM. Why is that? It would seem that any agent/agency seeking new writers would have in their self-interest to publicize their sales.

And other than PM and finding books sold by that agent (via Google Books, Amazon, etc.) is there any other way to learn whether an agent has a solid sales record?

[Old Hack]

Reporting sales to PW doesn't necessarily provide good publicity: the delay between signing a deal and the book actually being published is considerable, and by the time the book is on the shelves any buzz generated by those sales is usually long-gone (unless the sale is exceptional in some way).

If you want to know about an agent's sales record, look at his or her clients. See how many books they have out there, and who has bought them. See how well they're doing. That should give you a very good idea of how good an agent is.

[Jennifer_Laughran]

Originally Posted by Phyllo

So what I'm basically wondering is how accurate Publishers Marketplace is for sales information when researching agents.

I've read that not all agents report their sales to PM, or those that do might not report all their sales to PM. Why is that? It would seem that any agent/agency seeking new writers would have in their self-interest to publicize their sales.

PM is not actually for "agents seeking new writers" - or for random publicity. The biggest reason agents post sales there is to bring the title to the attention of scouts and co-agents for foreign and film subrights. A nice bonus is, it makes the author feel special.

As far as, "but don't they need/want the exposure", the fact is, most established agents don't actually NEED huge numbers of new clients. Some, in fact, actively don't want huge numbers of new clients and pretty much only pick up new projects on referral.

Some agencies they think it is tacky to put their business on the internet, or they prefer to handle their subrights situation in a different way. Some only post huge deals. Some post everything. Some post nothing. Me personally, I probably post about 80% of what I sell.

When do I NOT post? Well, some books are weird situations where it is a Work for Hire, or the content of the book is guarded secret, or it is a contract that we haven't decided what the book will be yet, or the author has other publishers I don't want to make pissy, or the author doesn't want me to post, or the publisher doesn't want me to post, or I'm waiting to post, or I FORGET to post, or... who knows. It isn't really that big a deal.

The site is pretty much self-policing. Since random miniscule no-advance-paying "independent publishers" can say they are *cough* "ACQUIRING" and agents who seem to be fly-by-night nobodies can post as if they are wheeler-dealers, I would take stuff there with a grain of salt.

[Stacia Kane]

Dittoing everything Jennifer said--well, obviously she knows what she's talking about.

My agent only posted my deal because I asked him to (I was excited, lol, and wanted to be able to post the announcement on my blog).

[Phyllo]

Thanks everyone, that helps a lot. I was somehow expecting PM to be comprehensive (wishful thinking) and now have a much better picture.