I have recently secured a book contract without an agent for my YA novel with a small press. I retain the film and foreign rights, which I believe should be left up to an agent. Will having a book contract provide me with more cachet to getting representation, or will my queries still be relegated to the "thanks but no thanks" pile?
First, you were smart to retain the rights your publisher is most likely not able to fully exploit.
Second, if you're querying for a novel that's already got a contract, your situation is a bit different than most. You'll want to query for your SECOND book, and mention that you retain the translation and film rights to the first book as well.
Most agents will not take on one book just for translation and film rights. There simply isn't enough money in it to justify the amount of work.
But, if you secure an agent for the second book, having your sub rights for the first book will be a bonus particularly for film.
