I’m back in California after a productive, if apocalypty, trip to NYC. Never thought I’d need to return to California to avoid the wildfires.
As more and more authors post about their submissions experiences on social media and there’s much discussion of “dream” agents, I wanted to riff on something editor Kristen Weber shared on Twitter a few weeks back:
She’s exactly right. If an agent rejected you, by definition they weren’t your dream agent.
As you research literary agents, an agent may well jump out at you as being a perfect fit, whether because you love their list, their personality, the extent of their clout, or a combination.
Definitely prioritize submitting to those agents. But it’s really important to recognize them as the equivalent of a crush and not the love of your life.
If they say no to you, it’s not true love. And there are, as they say, plenty of agents in the sea.
But how do you know?
In my consultation calls with authors, sometimes they will ask me to weigh in hypothetically on which kind of agent they should choose, all things being equal.
Should they go with the experienced agent with the full list or the young hungry agent? Should they go with the agent at the big agency or the one who just really gets their work?
It just doesn’t really work that way, because all things are never equal.
Think of looking for an agent as a process for assembling as much information as possible. When you’re searching agent databases and social media profiles, you get one layer. When you feedback from agents, you get another layer. When you get an offer or offer(s) of representation, you get another layer.
If someone offers you representation, ask them good questions and pay attention to how you feel. Make sure you feel like they “get” you and your book.
Ultimately, you’ll just have to absorb all that info, trust your gut, and, if you have more than one offer, make a call on how it all shakes out.
There’s no way to stamp out uncertainty in this process and you’re inevitably going to need to make a decision knowing it might not turn out precisely as you’d hoped. All the more reason to shed the idea of a “dream” agent.
There are no fairy godmothers in publishing
Above all, particularly as everyone should have learned in the last few weeks, it’s important not to feel overly dependent on any one person as a kind of publishing fairy godmother who is going to make all your writerly dreams come true.
A good, solid, professional author/agent relationship is indeed wonderful and can work wonders. Everyone wanting to pursue traditional publishing should all aspire to it.
But your agent might not be able to sell your book. Your agent might leave the business. You might have creative differences on one of your projects and you need to find a new home.
It’s better to think of your agent as a partner on a business venture that happens to be a new book than someone you’re idealizing and placing undue hopes on. And as your career evolves, so too may your relationship with your agent.
There are lots of things to love about the publishing process. And a great agent is a wonderful thing to have in your corner. But this isn’t a time to believe in magic.
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Art: Jeunes Filles lisant – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
“But it’s really important to recognize them as the equivalent of a crush and not the love of your life.”
LOVE THIS
My dream agent is one who loves my book and appreciates the random dirty jokes I might throw out there.
If an agent ever wants to represent me I know I’m dreaming.
I’m waiting for this from an agent, “I’ll represent you only if you send me a different book than this one and promise to never send it to me again!”
I’m feeling a bit playful tonight.
“Rejection is ALWAYS protection.”
My experience if if someone doesn’t want to work with me, my project, etc. they are doing me a big favor. If someone says they are not a fit – they’re right. A project just needs a few “partners.”
My study of the biographies of artists and scientists, and my business experience, suggests to me that all projects need folks, just a few, who are generous. That is behavior I look for. For a beautiful case study see below.
“Some will, most won’t, who cares, who’s next.”
The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem
by Matthew Hollis
I have had 17 books published that have solrd over 1,100,000 copies worldwide. My books have been published in 22 languages in 29 countries.
For the few publishing Agreements I have with US publishers, I have had no agent.
For the 120 plus Agreements that I have with foreign publishers, I have been my own dream agent. I have not used any North American foreign rights agent. I have connected with several agents in South Korea, China, and Japan, however, to get my books published in the respective countries.