Sorry my post is late going up. I had internet troubles last night, but here it is.
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you. ~Ray Bradbury
Agents are an important component to your career. Last summer I parted ways with my first agent. It was extremely hard to do because I truly liked and respected her. However, it had become obvious to us both that I needed something she wasn’t comfortable giving me. That meant she was no longer the right agent for me – and having the right agent is a key factor in building a lasting career.
Knowing this, I then proceeded to do a lot of thinking on what is right for me. Because I tend to do things in an all or nothing type of way, I took time off from most things writing to think. By most things I mean, I stopped writing, stopped trying to think of new story/project ideas, and didn’t bother to submit option materials to any of my publishers. I was still doing copy edits and galleys on my June 2009 release, but I wasn’t working on anything new. I deliberately let myself become ‘out of contract’ with my publishers so that I could think about what I really wanted for myself.
It might sound silly, but knowing what you want is important to getting it. So for any of you out there who are also going on an agent hunt, I thought I’d share MY thought process with you.
Here’s a list of things that are important to ME in an agent.
Respect, Good Communication, and similar Goals. These things may sound simple, but when you look closely, they’re not.
RESPECT: Of course you want an agent who is respected in the industry, but more importantly, I want one who respects me, and my opinions.
COMMUNICATION: I’m not the most patient person in the world, and I admit I’m not the most formal either, so I want an agent who I feel comfortable talking to. If most of our communication is going to be through an assistant, then I want to talk to the assistant before I agree to sign on with said agent.
GOALS: We both need to want to see me succeed.
Sounds simple, but it isn’t always. One common complaint I’ve heard among authors who have parted ways with their agent is that they felt their agent was more loyal to their publisher than to them.
This person is to be an advocate for me and my work, I want them to believe in that. Yes, I want them to think they can make money with me, I want that too – but above and beyond that I want them to believe that looking after my interests is more important than looking after the publishers.
I’ve done my thinking, and created a list of agents who I think have these qualities, and am now hunting for an agent. It’s been three months of solid searching, and I still don’t have an agent yet. I’ve spoken to a few, gotten offers from a couple, but I’m still searching for the right one. There’s promise, and then it feels like that promise disappears. It’s tough because I really want to be writing right now, and I feel unsure of what I should be writing. It’s a new feeling for me because everything went so fast the first time around. But I keep telling myself, everything went fast before, but if I want to get to the next level of my career, I need to take the right steps to make that happen.
I’m unsure of how much to push the agents I speak to – as in, how long do I give them to respond to a query or proposal before I figure, “Okay, No news is not Good news in this business.” My first agent always responded to me within 24 hours. Even when it came to reading a proposal. However, there are reasons I parted ways with that first agent, and maybe an agent who is slower and more methodical is what I need. So do I push? Or try to relax? Or assume that said agent has lost interest?
Normally I would assume that I just needed to be patient, but in the past months of searching I’ve learned that there are several agents out there who feel that no response is the same as a rejection. I’m not talking about ones who state in their submission guidelines that if you don’t hear from them in a month, then assume they’re not interested. I’m talking about agents who I’ve communicated with several times, and felt that things were moving in a positive direction, and that they might be the right one for me… only to suddenly never hear from them again. This has happened to me twice. I’m starting to wonder if it’s about to happen to me a third time. *sigh*
I’m not going to share my thoughts on that just yet because I don’t think I can be objective. Knowing yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses is also important when looking for an agent. With that in mind, I admit that I can be impatient and rash at times, so I need to calm down. Which means that right now I’m praying to God to give me patience…and to send it Fast! 
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I’ve read many times about authors in such a hurry to get published, they took the first agent’s offer and ended up regretting it. Either that agent never tried to sell them, or the agent was new, inexperienced, unmotivated…whatever the reason. Sometimes we spend more time picking out the new wall color for our bathroom than we do really learning about the agent who wants to rep us, or who we’d like to have.
I’m still subbing, still looking for my first agent. When the time comes that someone wants to take on my books, I want to know that we’ll both be working together for the same goal. (working being the operative word, I think)
Great post! Don’t see enough of this kind, just the disastrous choices others have made, but with no solution as to how they’ll go about the next agent search.
Thanks!
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Hi Theo,
Glad you enjoyed the post. I should make it clear that by no means would I describe my first agent as a disaster. She was the right choice for me at that time (not to mention that I really didn’t know anything about agents, or publishing at the time). But my goals, and needs, have grown and changed. I sort of fell into my sales without even really looking for them, (long story, but suffice to say I was very lucky) and I had no real goals at that time, other than to sell. Which is why I think it’s so important to know what YOU want before you get an agent. I didn’t really know. I was just sort of along for the ride, content to write and sell. But as time went on and I learned more about the business of publishing, and what it takes to build a solid career as an author, my plans changed.
Good Luck with your submitions. If you’ve patience, then you’re already a step ahead of me.
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ARGH! *headdesk* I didn’t mean to sound like your agent was anything less than what you needed when you started out. I’m sorry. I used the worst case scenario as to what I see people posting. Most agents work hard for their clients and it’s just finding the right fit. There are some out there who seem to ‘collect’ authors, from what I read, and that’s not the kind of agent I want. They are few and far between, but it’s important to try to make a good fit and I think some are in such a hurry, they jump at the first offer without thinking about the next book.
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No Worries. I wasn’t sure if you were referring to me and my post, or in general, so I just wanted to be clear. LOL I’ve also heard things like what you’re talking about. In fact I’ve had friends who’ve jumped too soon, which is maybe why I’m very aware of being careful, even though the slow factor is slowly killing my interest in continuing with this career choice.
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Very solid thinking, Sasha. And I agree, respect, communication, and looking after the author’s interests are hugely important in an agent. I’m sure you will end up with a good fit for the new direction you want to take.
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Thanks, Charli. I’m hopeful.
Comment · May 7th, 2009 at 5:46 pm · Link
Oh! No, no, no, no! You can’t stop now! Nothing wrong with a bit of a break and some patience. At my age, I don’t worry so much anymore, but when I was younger, I had no patience at all. The few times I exercised it, it paid off. Yours will too!
Comment · May 7th, 2009 at 5:53 pm · Link
LOL. The last year was spent trying to decide if I wanted to move on to something else or keep writing. It’s by no means a sudden thought.
Unfortunately, in knowing myself, I know that I’m someone who needs a constant challenge, and a deadline or responsibility to keep me going. I wish I could just write for writing sake, but it’s not in me to do that. Although, I also know that my goals and wishes change often. So thinking about stopping now could just as easily change into 150% motivation to kick ass tomorrow, with the right incentive. LOL
Right now I’m just frustrated because I have a few things going on, but everything seems to be in a holding pattern – and I’m not good when in a holding pattern. I lose interest to quickly.