The first installment of our new weekly “Five Quick Questions” series is an interview that Cave Henricks Communications President Barbara Henricks conducted with James Levine, Principal and Founder of Levine Greenberg Agency:

The publishing industry is the midst of massive change.  As the physical book gives way to a virtual entity that can be read on a variety of platforms and ices, questions are surfacing about the impact of the digital world.   How much profit is there is a product that is released with two price tags, one for the physical book and one for the Nook, Kindle or iPad version?  How much is a book worth in this new marketplace?

We will be oting our blog to these questions in the coming weeks, asking the key tastemakers and various big players in the industry to get their thoughts on what the changes mean from their various seats at the table.

We are starting with James Levine, Principal and Founder of Levine Greenberg Agency.  Levine has been agenting great business authors for more than 20 years, including Geoffrey Moore, Dan Ariely, Patrick Lencioni and Richard Florida, and is himself the author of a number of books on fatherhood.

Here are five fast questions for Jim:

Q: What is selling right now in this environment where publishers are wary and advances appear to be declining?

The doom and gloom people have been hearing is greatly exaggerated. Publishers are undoubtedly more cautious these days but are still willing to pay sizable advances for books that hedge their risk, which usually means the next book by an established author or the first book by an author with a huge platform.  And they are still looking for books with a fresh or contrarian approach to a persisting problem.  In both cases, these cut across all sub-categories of business books, so we’re selling steadily and strongly in leadership, strategy, entrepreneurship, marketing, and social media.

Q:   What exactly has the digital platform done to the way a book is packaged and sold to a publisher?

First, it’s amplified the need to articulate the digital media strategy for each book – what the author can and will do beyond the print and broadcast media to drive sales in both pBook and eBook format.  Just how to do so is explained in great detail in the 480-page The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published: How to Write It, Sell It, and Market It . . . Successfully, by my colleague Arielle Eckstut and her husband, David Henry Sterry, which Workman will publish in early November.

Second, it’s created opportunities to test the market for a book before it is sold to a publisher.  We’re working with authors who are eloping their audience via blogs and some who are eloping it via the sale of eBooks before we go to a publisher.

Third, it’s created unprecedented opportunities to self-publish and get to market more quickly than is often possible with a traditional publisher.  We’re working with authors in this area too.

Q: What should authors be looking for as they choose an agent to represent them?

I think the choice of an agent depends upon each author’s needs and goals, so before an author asks an agent “what can you do for me,” it is helpful if the author asks him/herself “what would success look like to me – for my book, my career, and my relationship with my agent?” At our agency, we’re always trying to make sure we understand each client’s goals – and, when necessary, help them articulate their goals – to make sure we’re the right fit.

Q:  Your enthusiasm for the iPad, which I witnessed during a recent meeting in New York, was so infectious that I literally went home and ordered one.   So it is obvious you like the digital platform.  Tell me your favorite thing about what digital brings to a book.

My favorite thing is the “anytime/anywhere” convenience.  I’m a voracious reader and the iPad has made it easier than any gadget I have ever owned to access and read any of the multiple books I’ve got via the Kindle App, as well as client manuscripts, submissions, five newspapers a day, and all the blogs and Internet sites I follow about publishing, technology, science, and business.  But beyond that, and this warrants a longer discussion, is the way the digital platform is transforming and redefining the very nature of the book – the books I read and the ones we are eloping – to include multimedia elements.

Q:  Is there anything authors can or should be doing as they elop their ideas for new books that would boost their chance for finding both an agent and a publisher?

The more an author can do to establish and prove there is an audience for their book, the better their chance of finding an agent and publisher.  Audience here doesn’t mean the friends and family who are saying “that’s a great idea,” but people who are willing to spend time and/or money to listen to what the author has to say.  That could be the audience for a blog, a newsletter, a series of speeches, or a set of services; in each case, real people with an interest or need that is being met by the author.

You can learn more about the Levine Greenberg Agency by visiting their website: http://levinegreenberg.com.