Do publishing credits actual help or do they hurt you? I had the opportunity to talk with an agent at a small conference recently. She didn’t represent what I wrote, but I was able to ask some great basic questions on the industry.
Some days I say, flip a coin to decide what to do next.
Do you want an agent someday? If you answered yes, read on. If you answered no, good luck on your mission.
From the agent’s mouth:
The agent I had the opportunity to “chat up” was very polite. She asked me questions about my writing, to be nice I assume. In the end she told me that if I want to be agented someday, and I do more then short stories at a small publisher, the number of books sold will be scrutinized. They will want to know how big the publisher is. They will want to know the avenues of sale used. Although agents will understand that most small publishers will not be at physical stores, your sales better be good online.
All that being said, she still seemed to be interested to know that I was trying. That I had found someone who appreciates my work. She liked the idea that I was learning the business and building a platform. Did any of those facts change her statement that she would require any sale info on books that I write independently? No. But she had nothing negative to say about getting my feet wet.
That’s from the agents mouth.
From the writers mouth though, I say that going with a small publisher has been nothing short of awesome! I have changed the way I write. I have fewer “issues”. Am I perfect? No. Never will be. The lessons learned though, have been invaluable! I would tell anyone to start small. A few other authors I know have and are now agented or still independent, but doing well.
Long story short. Do you love to write? Then don’t give up and always attempt a few avenues. Just be aware of the risks that come along with each choice. I’ll post on that later.
Here it goes – flipping a coin on what to write next!
michelle ziegler 
Great post, even for me with two published books 🙂