What Do Children’s Agents Do to Earn Their 15%?

In Children's by Dennis Abrams

“How do you describe what you’ve done to earn your 15 percent?”

By Dennis Abrams

Peggy Intrator

Petty Intrator is Media and Publishing Consultant at Intrator Associates, a global consultancy with varied experience in launching, operating and consulting children’s publishers, educational publishers and digital media companies in the U.S. and abroad. Peggy is a skilled executive in both start-ups and corporate environments, specializing in creating well-researched workable business plans, successful marketing and sales strategies and market-driven content. Among her many clients are Scholastic, Egmont, Little Pim, Usborne and UL Publishing.

Prior to forming Intrator Associates, Peggy spent 12 years as a vice president/publisher at Scholastic, where she was part of the international management team, launched the reference publishing unit and headed foreign rights, among other roles. Her background also includes Global ELT at Oxford University Press, and years teaching English in Paris.

At this year’s Publishing Perspectives’ children’s book conference, Intrator will moderate the panel discussion entitled “Blockbusters, Bestsellers and Everything in Between: Agenting Children’s Books,” along with some of the best literary agents in the industry: Ken Wright (Writers House), Rosemary Stimola (Stimola Literary Studio) and Erica Rand Silverman (Sterling Lord Literistic). Among the possible topics up for discussion:

  1. What is the difference (if any) in managing a blockbuster now as opposed to ten years ago?
  2. The editor was traditionally seen as the curator or taste-maker, back when a list stood for something; as an agent, is that still the best way to approach a publisher?
  3. Agents seem to be becoming more involved in making sure books get the marketing/social media they require; how does that affect your relationship with the publisher?
  4. Are the ways of finding authors changing? Do you go through self-publishing lists instead of slush piles?
  5. How do you monetize? What if you have a client who wants to self-publish when you don’t think they should? How do you describe what you’ve done to earn your 15 percent?
About the Author

Dennis Abrams

Dennis Abrams is a contributing editor for Publishing Perspectives, responsible for news, children's publishing and media. He's also a restaurant critic, literary blogger, and the author of "The Play's The Thing," a complete YA guide to the plays of William Shakespeare published by Pentian, as well as more than 30 YA biographies and histories for Chelsea House publishers.