Below you’ll find my Q & A with Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown Ltd. If any of her answers bring up more questions, just send them to me or drop them into a comment and I’ll get them to her. I make no promises, but I’ll try to get you an answer.
John Scalzi just wrote about a friend of his becoming an agent. I don’t know anything about her (other than what I read on her blog), but I have researched her agency in the past. If you’re in search of agent, then your choices are bountiful. But again, I caution you to do your homework. A misstep can not only cost you money, but it can cost you time. LOTS of time. That you can’t get back. Believe me, I know.
This brings me to a subject that I know I’ve covered before, but it bears repeating. When you’re searching for an agent, it pays to do your homework. Sure, you want a reputable agent that works for a good house, but you need to dig deeper. You need to ask a lot of tough questions that will give you an idea of the agent’s working style and personality. Because of my previous experiences, I grilled Ginger with a lot of questions. I also sent questions to several of her clients. Bless her heart and theirs, they answered all my questions candidly. But I didn’t just do homework on Ginger, I looked over the agency and examined me. What do I mean by the latter? I took a good long look at what I needed from an author/agent relationship. I also really dug deep to figure out where I saw myself in a few years down the road. Did I see myself writing in the same genres? Were my tastes changing? Did I plan to write in genres the agent I was querying wouldn’t be interested in representing? All the answers to these questions played into my decision to go with Ginger. She represents very specific genres.
So when you’re considering various agents, take a good hard look at yourself first. It’ll pay off in the end.
February 12th, 2008
Excellent advice Jordan. The time researching prospective agents is well worth the effort.
by Sarah McCarty February 12th, 2008 at 11:04 amThanks Sarah! I think a lot of writers forget to look at themselves first. It’s just as important. Maybe more so.
by Jordan February 12th, 2008 at 11:35 amSo when you’re considering various agents, take a good hard look at yourself first.
(Raine, slinking deep back into lurking mode…)
by raine February 12th, 2008 at 8:59 pmGood tips, Jordan, and I vow to follow them as soon as I have more than zero agents to choose from.
I do at least get the genre right.
by BernardL February 13th, 2008 at 7:38 amRaine, I know that sounds scary, but it’s important. Reaching out to stop you from going into deep lurk.
by Jordan February 13th, 2008 at 12:04 pmBernard, LOL! You crack me up. *ggg* Well that’s a start.
by Jordan February 13th, 2008 at 12:05 pm