Ask Not What Your Agent Can Do For You...

...but what you can do for your agent.

Originally posted on Work in Progress on July 13, 2006

[Disclaimer: all literary agents/agencies have different policies and personalities, so your mileage will vary. Pay attention to the generalities, feel free to laugh at my idiosyncrasies, and most of all, remember that agents are people too. And on occasion, if you’re a very lucky, very good little author, they can be so much more…]


A good literary agent can do wonders for both a writer's career and her sanity. But what about the other side of that proverbial coin? What can a good writer do to make her agent’s job easier?

First of all, meet your deadlines. You’ll get a little input on due dates for your books/proposals, and you should be honest about how soon you can have your work finished. Be sure to allow for time for your CPs/beta readers to read the book and give you the valued opinions you’re counting on them for. And make sure to give yourself time to do some serious editing and rewriting, because once a deadline is set, you’ll be expected to stick to it, and it can be really embarrassing to have to admit later that you’re going to need more time.

How does this affect your agent? Well, it will be much easier for her to get you want you want, both in terms of your contracts and any number of other minor things that come up, if you’re known for being prepared and punctual. People are more willing to make occasional allowances for those who are professional and easy to work with than for those who are late and unprepared.

Polish your work. Even after you’re published. So you’ve sold a book or two. Or maybe three. If anything, the bar has been raised, not lowered. You’re now expected to be professional, without that buffer of newbie shine. Your work should be skillfully edited and polished before your agent sees it, to cut down on the revisions she’ll suggest, and to make her first read-through go quickly.

You want your agent to be itching to see your new book. You want her to crave it. To rip it open as soon as it arrives, and devour it in a single sitting. The last thing you want is for your agent to dread reading your latest manuscript, even if she knows it’ll be fantastic, because she also knows it’ll take a lot of work to get rid of the typos, grammatical mistakes, and plot holes.

Expect revisions, and accept criticism. Your agent and editor both have a lot riding on the success of your career, and they’re probably both going to have some ideas to make your manuscript better. These suggestions will all be intended to improve your story or the strength of your writing, and to ultimately make more money for you all, and lengthen your career. Keep this in mind.

Revisions say nothing about you as a person. They’re not personal. They’re the very core of a professional writing career. Revisions are concrete proof that both your agent and your editor are watching your back. That they’re in your corner. They’re dotting your Is, crossing your Ts, and finishing your incomplete sentences. They’re filing plot holes, fixing inconsistencies, and trimming up those dangling participles. And no writer is perfect. We all need a fresh set of professionally trained eyes catching the things we miss. So don’t be offended. Be grateful for your agent's time, flattered that she's spending it on you, and open to making some changes.

(This next one is the one I struggle with the most...)

Calm down and be patient. Seriously. Yes, emergencies sometimes happen. Yes, normal problems sometimes seem like emergencies. Yes, phone calls/contracts/edits/covers are sometimes late. But it’s not the end of the world. It’s not the end of your career. It’s probably not even the end of your contract. And I promise that calling your agent every hour, on the hour, will not speed things up. In fact, it will likely slow them down, because while she’s on the phone assuring you that the publisher still does want your book, and they haven’t changed their minds, and you really can write, she can’t be out there working on your behalf. Or that of any of her other clients. And let’s not forget, you’re not the only one. Not by a long shot.

When your agent has news, she will let you know. If it’s big news, she’ll call. If it’s minor news, she’ll probably email you. But either way, she will keep you in the loop. There’s no reason to call every day to see if she’s heard anything new. Calling with questions is fine. Even expected. It really is. But calling with the same question every day is not. So take a deep breath, put down the phone, and think calm, confident thoughts. Because that’s how you want to appear. Calm and confident.

And, last of all, and possibly most important, thank your agent. I may go overboard on this one. The verdict isn’t in yet, so I’m not sure. But I am very thankful for my agent and all the things she does on my behalf, especially considering that until that first check came in, she was working on my behalf for free. Because she believed in my work. That’s a huge compliment. And I like to return the favor. I tell everyone I know how fabulous she is. I tell her the same thing, every time she does something else on my behalf, which happens all the time. In fact, I probably say it too often. But I want to make sure she knows.

Chocolate, birthday and holiday cards, small gifts--those are all optional, and will depend largely on the kind of relationship that develops between you and your agent. But like manners, thank-yous are never optional. Ever. Don't forget.


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