Yesterday, I blogged about five clues that tell you that your agent just isn’t that into you. Some of them happened to me and some of them happened to friends. Today, I’m going to talk about five mistakes writers make, when they’re agent hunting.
1. They don’t research an agent.
2. They don’t know what their expectations are going into a deal with an agency.
3. They pick an agent based on their client list.
4. If they’ve (the writer) left an agency and haven’t immediately found another agent, they become desperate and pounce on the first agent that makes an offer.
5. They don’t interview the agent.
There is more to researching an agent than finding out if they are reputable. You also need to interview the agent’s clients. You’d be amazed how honest authors will be when asked about their representation.
A lot of authors don’t know what to expect from an agent. I think it’s important to really think about what’s important to you, what you’d like from the relationship (ie someone who edits your work, someone who submits immediately, read times, career thoughts, etc.), what kind of relationship you’d like with the agent, etc., BEFORE you agent hunt.
Picking an agent based on their client list isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but you do have to keep something in mind. If you are picking an agent because they seem to represent the ‘kind’ of books you write, then also pay attention to how MANY authors they have writing in that genre. You may end up on the bottom of the pile. It’s better to have an agent who has experience in selling several different genres or doesn’t have a heavy client list.
Giving in to desperation is the BIGGEST mistake a writer can make, when searching for an agent. I cannot repeat that enough times. For the sake of your career, hold strong and find the best agent for you.
I know that when I was starting out I didn’t have a lot of questions for agents. This was a newbie mistake on my part. Interviewing the agent before signing with the agency is one of the smartest things an author can do. Have a list of questions in front of you, when you speak to them on the phone. That way you won’t find yourself stammering. This also goes back to expectations. If you have an idea what you expect from the relationship, it’ll be easier to write out your questions. Never be afraid to walk away from an agent or an agency that does not meet your needs. I know it seems like you’ll never get another offer of representation, but that’s NOT true. It just may take some time. In the interim, you can shop your work yourself. You’d be amazed what a good query and first three chapters will do to get you in a door.
Once again, I’m opening the blog up for questions. Fire away.
October 17th, 2007
I’m going to make mistake #4 the moment I get the opportunity.
Seriously, how long is the average contract? Since agents normally take between two and three months to get back to an author on a submission, it would seem like they’d need a few years to get anything done.
Desperation and Unpublished Author go together like ham and eggs. They’re bad for you, but they sure are tasty.
by BernardL October 17th, 2007 at 2:15 pmBernard, LOL! But seriously, you really don’t want to make that mistake. It can do more harm than good to your career. I’d say the average contract lasts a year. Some contracts just say that you have to give a certain amount of notice once you fire the agent. I agree that desperation and unpublished author go together like ham and eggs, but it’s amazing how fast things can go from tasty to tasting like ash.
by Jordan October 17th, 2007 at 2:30 pmAn important thing to remember about an agency contract is, just with any other publishing contract, it is the opening of negotiations and not the end of them.
One big mind set mistakes I think many of us make when we are approached with an offer of representation or publication is to believe we have no power when we come to the table. As such, we tend to be grateful for anything that’s handed us but in reality the reason we’re at the table at all is the other party’s strong belief that an association with us will make them good money. That’s a pretty strong bartering chip.
IOW, we shouldn’t be nervous, but we should be reasonable and confident. Certainly confident enough to discuss aspects of a contract that just don’t work for us.
by Sarah McCarty October 18th, 2007 at 5:56 amOne other thing I thought of last night, Jordan: can you have more than one agent for different projects, if your main agent isn’t interested in your new project?
by BernardL October 18th, 2007 at 9:19 amI’d also like to add that a lot of writers think they want an agent who has several bestsellers on their client list, but I always caution people to think about it long and hard before signing on with that successful, “big dog” agent. I made that mistake my first time around, and found out that agents with bestselling clients tend to spend their time and energy on those clients. It makes sense, of course: that’s where their money is coming from. But the little guy (me) gets shuffled to the bottom of the stack, especially if they don’t sell right away. Different agents are different, of course, and the above isn’t true for every agent who handles bestselling clients. It’s just something else to consider, anyway.
by Catherine Morris October 18th, 2007 at 1:45 pmSarah, Good point. I forgot to mention that about agency contracts. They can (and probably should) be negotiated if there is anything in them that sounds ‘off’. Also a good point, contrary to the ‘feeling’ we are NOT powerless in these business dealings. Sometimes (as Sarah can attest to) being willing to walk away is the BEST thing you can do for yourself and your career.
by Jordan October 18th, 2007 at 3:23 pmBernard, There are occasions when you might work with two different agents (ie your first agent works exclusively with young adult novels and you’ve written an adult thriller), but it’s rare. Most agents prefer to handle ALL of your work.
If you have a project that they don’t like, then in all likelihood they will just toss the book back at you with a ‘thanks, but no thanks’ kind of note attached to it. At this point, you have to decide how important the new work is to you and your future (ie do you plan to write a ton more books in this genre or is this a one off situation). If it’s a one off and you really like your agent, then you have to decide if you can live with shelving the book. If it’s not a one off situation, then you are going to have to take a look at your agent and decide whether you’re going to stay or leave. You could always submit the work yourself (after speaking with your agent about it), but most agents don’t like for you to do that either.
I’ve been through this situation and it’s far from easy. :/
by Jordan October 18th, 2007 at 3:31 pmCatherine brings up a very good point. This goes back to having a lot of authors in similar genres too. Whether it’s bestselling authors or too many authors in the same genre, a newbie author/midlist author can be in the same neglected boat.
by Jordan October 18th, 2007 at 3:33 pmExcellent discussion Jordan. It’s not inconceivable that I would want to write something my agent wouldn’t want to represent. Unlikely, but not inconceivable. I’m not sure what direction I’d take with that. I’ll have to put that on my plan-ahead-for-any eventuality-to-do list. *G*
by Sarah McCarty October 18th, 2007 at 3:51 pmSarah (and Bernard), Thanks!
Love that list. 
*g* There is another thing that I touched upon that would work in this situation. If your agent is part of a larger agency, then in all likelihood you’ll have other agents who represent your new genre. So if your agent really isn’t into the new stuff, but they know agent so and so with the agency does rep these types of books, then they’d probably pass you over to that agent. This of course is dependent upon how big of an agency you sign with.
by Jordan October 18th, 2007 at 4:43 pm