Literary Agency Reacts To Concerns About E-Services ‘Conflict Of Interest’

When literary agency Dystel & Goderich announced June 27 that it would be providing e-book services to its authors, it stressed that it has “no intention of becoming [an] e-publisher” (as a few other literary agencies have done) and that it would not “muddy the waters” by competing with traditional publishers. Now, the agency’s Miriam Goderich responded to more concerns about a conflict of interest.

“If we don't offer [e-book services], our clients will either miss out on the opportunity, go it alone (which some may do, but many will not want to), or be forced to seek out another company that might not have their best interests at heart, as we know we do,” Goderich writes on the company’s website, adding, “We will also not be forcing any of our clients who want to self-publish to work with us on it, and if they do choose to, we will not be forcing them to choose our cover designers, copyeditors, etc.”