Agents work on commission - or at least they should. If they don't sell your work, they don't (and shouldn't) get paid a dime.

The fact is, the net has changed the publishing business just as much as it's changed the music business. Anyone can publish their own stuff now, or go with a print-on-demand outfit like PublishAmerica, or, if you prefer, it costs like next to nothing to start your own e-book publishing business. The publishing industry is scrambling to figure out how to function these days.

If you're any good at all, you should be able to get published in e-book format at least. I mean, if I have a publishing company, what does it cost me to publish you? I don't pay you anything up front, you just sign a contract guaranteeing a cut of sales. I don't have to pay to have your book set in type and ptinted and distributed, I just have to rent space on a server to store the text file, which is basically free. My only outlay is the $50 or so I pay some freelance editor to go over your manuscript and correct the more grievous spelling errors, and a couple bucks for some stock cover photo, and for my $50, I take 50-60% of all sales.

In that kind of business, I don't even have to advertise. If they buy your book, great. If not, it's really no skin off my nose.