It allows you to take control of your publishing destiny. You have the option of listing your titles with one of the many epublishers in cyberspace. Approaching publishers direct or via an agent. On the one hand, agents are an important asset to gaining publication. Most major publishers and a growing number of smaller houses will not even look at your manuscript unless it has been sent to them by an agent.
Agents offer 'the best of both worlds' for writers and publishers.
They will generally offer advice on how the book can be improved and they essentially act as a buffer for publishers, sifting the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. For the writer, the agent can generally find the 'right' publisher and negotiate the best deal for you. They can also offer services, such as marketing and book doctoring, sometimes at an additional, up-front cost. On the other hand, the problem for new writers is that you can invest as much time securing an agent as you can gaining a publishing deal direct. This gets back to my original point.