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?
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, sometimes
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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