What are the ways a writer can work with a literary agency? Utsudo lists four: first, catalog the rights status of all your works so the agency can assess and release them, for example as e-books; second, find business leads yourself and hand those contacts to the agency to handle contracts; third, take on work initiated or referred by the agency, such as 《阿爾發八號》 with Kadokawa and speaking invitations; fourth, write synopses and outlines and refine them with the agency’s in-house team, aiming for film and TV adaptation.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

This is about how I work with my agency.

Honestly, maybe I shouldn’t discuss this in public, but I think sharing some recent thoughts is fine, and it may give you some ideas if you’re thinking of joining an agency in the future.

Method 1: Catalog your works for assessment and release

There are mainly four ways I work with my agency.

The first is how things worked when I first joined. They give you an Excel sheet to lay out the status of all the works you currently have, making it easier for them to assess and match them. You also nominate a few works you think are strongest, so they can discuss them in internal meetings and plan matching and submissions. Then you wait.

I have a lot of works—even excluding those already published, there are plenty—so I think they spent quite some time reviewing them. Plus, as my contracts gradually expired, even more works became available. But previously published works seem to have less “commercial value,” so they’re probably prioritized for release as e-books. That’s currently how 《御宅魔法師》 is being handled.

I once asked them whether e-books would get covers drawn by an illustrator. The answer was no. They probably have someone in-house for design or a stock image library, but if you want more, you may have to pay an illustrator for the cover out of your own pocket.

That puzzled me a bit. Isn’t the cover a crucial part of marketing? They seem reluctant to pay costs before there’s any revenue. Maybe there are internal considerations, or maybe they assessed that my work might not recoup the cost QQ

Luckily, 《御宅魔法師》, 《廢棄樂園的歐菈公主》 and 《封筆之作》 (which will become an audio drama) were done in collaboration with the illustrator 紅妻, so there’s artwork to use for further production, and they won’t be stuck with stock images.

Method 2: Find leads yourself, then hand them to the agency

The second approach: develop business on my own, then pass those contacts to the agency to handle.

For example, my collaboration with Studio Nine started through my own connections, though later collaborations were negotiated by them directly. Likewise, when I found a manga artist and manga studio interested in adapting my work, I handed them to the agency to negotiate contracts and offer other matching advice.

Negotiating contracts is a bit of a hassle, but it’s good to hear professional advice, and having someone handle the contract with the manga artist was a huge help.

Method 3: Work initiated or referred by the agency

The third approach: job opportunities initiated or referred by the agency.

《阿爾發八號》 is a collaboration between me, five other authors and Kadokawa. Besides that, my 2023 summer teaching gig with 東默農 and a talk at Shu-Te University were referred to me by them too. The exposure wasn’t as big as I’d imagined, but these were definitely opportunities I couldn’t have landed on my own.

Method 4: Refine outlines with the in-house team

The fourth approach: write synopses and outlines, then work them out with the agency’s in-house team. I only recently learned this was possible. I was so used to creating independently that I forgot I could rely on them—it took me over a year after joining to find out, which was quite a waste of time QQ

Trying it for the first time, having my work vetted by professionals so it’s more likely to be adapted for film and TV is great. But the detailed outlines have to be discussed in internal meetings, which means waiting a while for feedback. I’m not quite used to that, so I just have to do other things to take my mind off it.

Having someone vet your work might save you some detours, but it also means someone will have a hand in your creation. If you’re used to going solo, it may feel restrictive, but for the sake of a good work coming into the world, it’s acceptable.

These are the approaches I can think of for now. So far, working with my agency hasn’t produced standout results—that depends on our future collaboration. I hope we can create even better works together and let more people see me!

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #228: My Print Book Deal Fell Through
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.