Ever been Desperate?

Desperate to make it in the writing industry? I checked out a couple of articles about publishing and agents recently. You should check these out too. Basically, Ann Voss Peterson guest posted on Joe Konrath's blog about not being able to afford to publish with Harlequin anymore because her royalty was just eaten away by various clauses in the publishing contract.
Well, this post inspired an agent to blast authors for "complaining" and "whining" when they signed a contract. He felt one should not sign a contract if one had any reservations. This led to quite a backlash due to the fact of an author's agent taking the side of a publisher. Aren't agents supposed to be looking out for the author? He has since deleted his post so I don't have that link for you. However, I do have the original post by Ann Peterson and another post that focused on the agent in question at The Passive Guy (love the blog). Her post really lays it all out and is very interesting for writers and readers alike.  

Joe Konrath

http://jakonrath.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/harlequin-fail.html?m=1

The Passive Guy

 http://www.thepassivevoice.com/05/2012/many-authors-are-able-to-make-a-living-with-their-writing-with-harlequin/

Unfortunately, many authors rely on the agent to tell them if they are making a good deal or not. And many feel they "have" to sign if they are going to "make" it in the industry at all. Just remember that ultimately:

"Necessity never made a good bargain." --Ben Franklin