The Great Agent Hunt

Bethany recently asked me if I was still giddy and excited whenever I said the words, "my agent". I have to be honest and say that the question kind of threw me when she asked it. I've been hesitant to talk about my agent because I didn't want to come across as a know-it-all - I'm not, and I don't want people to think that. However, several people have asked about my experience and how I finally landed an agent, so I thought I'd share that here.

The truth is Bethany's question isn't so easy to answer. Those of you who know me know it took me a long time to find an agent who loves my work. Two years almost to the day. Three manuscripts (which, by the way, were manuscripts 3, 4 and 5 in my manuscript history) - one I shopped for a year with several bites but ultimate rejections; one I sent to only five agents for a variety of reasons, but which netted me personal R's with great feedback, but R's nonetheless; and the third, which ended up snagging my agent. I am by no means an expert when it comes to the great agent hunt, and I don't pretend to be. I'm still somewhat in the honeymoon phase. So take what I say here with a grain of salt. However, I've learned a fair amount along the way, and I know hearing other writers' experiences helped me when it came time for me to look for an agent.

If you want to write single title and be pubbed by New York, you need to find an agent. Most of the NY houses will not even look at manuscripts from unagented writers. There are exceptions, and writers have sold to the big houses without an agent (I know of several) - but it's rare. It also takes longer. If a house accepts unagented queries, it has to be a kick-ass query to get a request. Then your requested manuscript will go into the slush pile, and you could wait months - even years, I've heard in some instances - to get a response. Agents get your work in front of editors faster, a lot of times they have personal relationships with editors and know which editors are looking for what stories, they know the tastes and personalities of certain editors and know who would like your books, and unless you're a lawyer (like Bethany) they understand contracts way better than you ever will.

I knew I wanted an agent, which is why my focus centered around the agent search instead of querying editors. I'm sure you've heard writers say it's harder to land an agent these days than it is to land an editor. I don't know if that's true because I never really went after any editors on my own, but I do know agents are busy people and the competition for their attention is fierce. Editors use agents as first readers, thereby weeding out the unpublishable material and reducing the number of manuscripts they're sent. And popular agents receive hundreds of queries per month. If you look at the odds of attracting attention from an agent, it can be depressing. I never thought about the odds of getting an agent or getting pubbed. And I still don't. It depresses me too much. All I can really control is the writing, so that's where I expend most of my energy.

So after all of my hardwork, years of waiting and endless frustrations, why wasn't I thrilled to finally have found an agent who loves my writing? Simple. Choosing an agent was the hardest thing I've done so far in my writing career. I was deathly afraid of making the wrong choice. Alice and Lisa and Becky can attest to that fact. The week after I received the offer for representation, I was a wreck. Over and over I'd heard a bad agent is worse than no agent at all. That a dream agent to one person might be a nightmare agent to the next. I was worried that only one agent would be interested, and I'd have no choice as to who to go with. Scared, that deep inside, I'd feel desperate and take the first offer that came along without even researching.

I happened to be lucky. Both of my critique partners signed with agents a full year before I did. I watched them both go through the honeymoon stage, through the working stage, through the frustration stage and everything in between. One of my CPs is still with the same agent and hasn't sold yet. The other was let go by her agent about eight months after she signed. Watching both of my friends was a learning experience for me. It showed me there were things I - as an unpubbed author - needed from my first agent. They might be different from a pubbed author, they might be different from my CPs, but they were things that were important to me, and things I didn't want to gloss over.

For me, the things that mattered most were:

1. That the agent had a proven sales record,
2. That he/she was currently making sales,
3. That he/she had a good reputation in the business,
4. That his/her business practices (ie, contract) were standard and consistent - nothing glaring,
5. That he/she was easy to communicate with,
6. That I felt comfortable asking newbie questions,
7. That he/she would offer editorial input and suggestions when asked,
8. That our personalities meshed,
and finally...
9. That he/she LOVED my work and would, therefore, be more apt to push it

One of the most difficult parts about choosing an agent is that you can ask all the questions you can think of upfront, but you'll never know how you and that agent will get along until you work together. That was my biggest fear. That I'd find a great agent, but then a month later it would all fall apart.

As it turned out, I ended up with four big agents interested in my book. The one I signed with was the least well known of all four and had the smallest agency. That was her only drawback. However, big names don't always mean great agents, and I've heard horror stories about well-known agents who weren't doing the work for their clients. I spent a week doing my research, and everything else I discovered about my agent was exactly what I was looking for. Am I happy I signed with her? Yes. Absolutely. She's been a great sounding board for me so far, and I know I can ask her anything without feeling like a complete idiot. I know the other agents would have been great too, but for me, right now, this was the best fit. Time will tell if my book sells, but so far I've been happy with the partnership.

If you're in the market for an agent, there are a few things I'd advise you to do:

1. Make a list of your top ten agents. Query them. Don't assume you won't get them because they're so-and-so's agent or because they're so big. One of the agents interested in my book was a BIG NY agent I never in a hundred years thought I could entice.
2. Be open to other agents. My agent wasn't on my top ten list because I didn't know about her when I made that list, but I'm glad I decided to query her.
3. Make a list of what you want in your dream agent. Stick to it. Don't sign with someone just because they're the only one who's looking at you. Don't sign with them just because they're a big name. Be sure the agent you pick is going to be the one you want.
4. Find someone who loves your work. By loves, I mean LOVES your work. If they're only lukewarm on your writing, they aren't going to be working as hard for you as if they love it. I knew my agent loved my work because she emailed me at 1 AM the night she finished reading the ms, told me if it hadn't been the middle of the night she'd be on the phone with me right that minute. As it was, she was giving me a heads up she'd be calling me in the morning. She followed through and called at 8:30 AM. And her biggest fear was that I'd already signed with someone else. Knowing how much she loved my book tipped my decision in her favor.
5. DO YOUR RESEARCH. So important. Don't just sign because you're giddy and excited someone's finally offered representation. Subscribe to Publishers Marketplace and search the agent's sales, check Preditors and Editors for any warnings, talk to other writers on loops and in person about what they've heard about the agent in question. Contact clients of that agent and ask them how they like working with him/her. You'll learn a lot by doing your research.

If you're wondering what kinds of questions to ask an agent, you can find a list here. Charlotte Dillon also has a wealth of articles on finding and landing an agent on her website. Check it out.

Before I had an agent, I told my critique partner I often felt like I was standing outside on a sidewalk peering in the front window of a grand hotel. Inside were all my friends, milling around the lobby, drinking champagne, laughing and chatting as they waited for the elevator to take them upstairs. Several other friends were on the first floor balcony peering down. Others the second or third. And still others - like Alice - up on the thirty-third (or higher) floor with a smile on their faces. I wanted to be inside that hotel - anywhere inside - but no matter how many times I pounded on the glass, no one let me in.

It's easy to feel down when those R's are rolling in, and it's easy to think about giving up, that you'll never get to your goal. Rejections - from agents or editors - hurt, but it's a fact of life in this business. The best advice I can give you is to expect rejection, to open each self-addressed envelope with the thought that it's just another R, so that you aren't disappointed when it happens. Then when it turns out to be a request, it brightens your day. That's what I did, and it's how I got through the nearly 70-agent rejections I compiled over the years (I'm not actually sure how many I got, but I'm willing to bet that's close considering how thick my file is). When I received a rejection I immediately sent out another query. I always wanted to have at least five circulating to up my odds.

Do I have the perfect situation? No. I'm still learning, but I hope some of my experiences are helpful to you in your agent search. Do I expect to sell right away? No. Like finding an agent, it'll happen when it happens. Will I be with my agent a year from now? I have no idea. I hope so, but time will tell how we work together. Do I think I'll stay with the same agent for my career? No one knows. Most writers go through several. Some stay with their first. It all depends on your needs at different stages of your career.

If you have an agent experience - good or bad - I'd love to hear about it. Are you in the market for an agent? Why or why not? And if so, what do you expect out of an agent?