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Agents: Are They Hard to Find and Do You Need One?
By David Pereda
The answer to both questions is no. I had three agents in
2008 alone.
Lucky you, you may be thinking, with perhaps a dose of envy.
Please don’t.
My first two agents were duds. Our brief relationships don’t
even merit using a full sentence to describe: a waste of
my time. My first agent enthused about my talent as a writer
and then sent my manuscript to three of the top publishers
in the business – Ballantine, Bantam, and Berkley. After
three nice rejection letters, he dumped me with the following
words: “All have passed. No one seems to want to take on new
voices. I'm going to suggest to you that you, too, find a
smaller publishing house for your work and that you do it on
your own. You don't need an agent for this type of submission.”
Need I say I was stunned?
Ah, but hope springs eternal in the hearts of writers. I sent
out a flurry of query letters; and within a couple of weeks,
I had found another agent. This one claimed to have
considerable experience in the business with writing credits
to her name. She absolutely adored my writing and wanted
exclusivity for all my manuscripts. I was flattered by her
comments and thrilled that she wanted to represent my work.
Against my wife’s advice, who wanted to check the agent’s
background, I said yes.
Can you blame me? After the disappointment of my last agent,
and the doubts gnawing at the inside lining of my stomach, I
was like a lovesick teenager on the rebound.
My first agent had been at least pragmatic. He had a plan,
albeit a lousy one. I understood his approach better when he
told me he loved baseball. He sent my manuscript to bat,
hoping for a home run or at least an extra-base. I got three
strikes. I was out.
I could understand him.
My second agent had no plan at all. Whenever we talked on
the telephone, our conversation invariably gravitated toward
what she was doing instead of what she was doing for me. Months
went by and nothing happened. When I started inquiring about
what she was doing on my behalf and where she was sending my
manuscripts, she became defensive.
“I never tell my authors where I send their manuscripts,”
she said.
“Why?” I said.
“Because most authors are crazy and will contact the
publisher directly,” she said with a voice as warm as an
Alaskan blizzard. “Of course, not you.”
After nine months of repeated requests from me to reveal
where she was sending my manuscripts, and continuous refusals
from her to tell me, I questioned whether she was actually
sending my work out.
That was the last straw. She dumped me.
This time I was disappointed with myself for not having
seen the truck coming.
Undeterred, I prepared another batch of agent queries to
send out, but not before I did two things: (1) I analyzed
my previous two experiences to see what I could learn from
them, and (2) I wrote on a piece of paper what I wanted in
an agent. Here’s the list:
· Good communication. I wanted someone who understood the
importance of picking up the phone and having a conversation.
· Responsiveness to my needs. While an agent’s personal
literary ambitions are wonderful, and I will support them,
I’m not hiring a writer but an agent to sell my work in
the marketplace.
· Regular reports. A good agent should be able to give
me regular reports where my manuscript has been and what
comments she/he received.
· Time for me. Top agents are so busy with Grisham and
Patterson that they have no time for me, so I chose to
pursue a less established agent with a willingness to grow
with me.
· Contacts. If an agent has no contacts in the marketplace
what good is he/she to me?
· Reputation. Here I was more lenient: The agent could have
a growing or an established reputation.
· Advice. I wanted a professional who was plugged into the
industry and can tell me what’s selling and what isn’t.
Several agents showed interest, but this time I took my time
in making a decision – and I’m glad I did. My current agent
and I have a great, and open, relationship; we talk and e-mail
each other on a regular basis. She sends me regular reports
where my manuscript has been and the results. We discuss
future steps, and she gives me good advice.
What did I learn from my 2008 experience? I learned you
don’t need an agent. What you do need is the agent that
satisfies your needs.
BIO
DAVID PEREDA is an award-winning author of thrillers and
mainstream novels. His latest thriller, Havana Top Secret,
published by Eternal Press, will be available in May 2009
as an ebook and in print. To find out more about Pereda or
his writing, please access his website:
www.davidpereda.com.
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