Royalties or Screwed Royally?

So you’ve written the book, you’ve fought your way through slush to get an agent, you’ve gotten your book deal, you’ve broken your back to promote it and so now it’s royalty time. Finally you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Oops. Not so fast.
Royalty checks go to your agent first not to you and technically they’re suppose to give you your money within thirty days but some take longer. (I’ve been waiting 40 days on one of my checks.) Essentially authors are floating their agents interest free loans when this happens.

I had one agent who changed agencies four times so I have to hunt down checks and royalty statements from his former agencies because they don’t automatically send them to me. I almost always have to ask, especially if it’s just a statement, but I’ve had to shake an agency down for a check (one that was in the five figures.) Twice a year I go through this dance, and yes, these are very respected agencies; one is huge.

I would love to for the publisher to simply issue two checks and two statements. I know it would be a pain in the butt but how fair is it for the author to have to wait around for their money for thirty days of more? Why should an agent, whose cut is only 15 percent get preferential treatment over the author?