Are Literary Agents Necessary?

It seems like there are as many opinions on literary agents as there are agents. I've heard so many different things: self-publish and take care of it yourself. Self-publish and get an agent once you need help with contracts. Even in traditional publishing, its best to just submit directly to editors yourself even if they say no unagented submissions. Then of course the classic, use an agent to get in the traditional publishing door.

I know this could be opening a pandoras box, but what is your opinion/advice? Those with more experience, what has worked best for you? Obviously each writer has to make their own decisions that works best for their individual careers, but I think we could all use some help.

My opinion and plan is this. Yes, people have had bad experiences with agents, and there are risks signing contracts with anyone. So of course I'll be careful, but as of now, I want to try for the traditional route. Yes, writers are keeping less and less and getting more and more jipped, but its still the best way to get your work out there and reach the most people, which is my goal for right now. I'll go with that at first, see how that works, and then maybe self-publish once I'm out there a bit.

What are your ideas?

Sarah Allen