THE CAREER NOVELIST
is to find an agent who will say yes, and as soon as they do the
search is over. Who can blame them? New writers feel, with some
justification, that they are not choosing but being chosen.
You would think midcareer writers would be more savvy. They
have been published. The pressure is off. What they should be after
is a better agent.
Amazingly, though, writers in this position often give themselves
no more choice than beginners. Again, the reasons are not difficult
to understand. If midcareer writers are thinking of a switch, it is
probably because things are not going well. They feel neglected.
Perhaps their last book did not get sufficient publicity. Maybe they
see lesser talents getting more advance money.
Midcareer writers in this situation are looking for a boost.
Consequently, they may automatically narrow their choices to one:
the agent who appears to have the most "clout." Again, who can
blame them?
Especially when the agent in question has a star client, the mid-
career writer, feeling insecure, will often convince himself that the
star's success will rub off on him, too. Why? Because they write sim-
ilar books? Because they have similar styles? No, because they will
share an agent. Seen objectively such reasoning is flawed, but writ-
ers in crisis are not necessarily rational.
Well-established writers do not often search for a new agent.
They have long since learned their needs and have usually settled
down with the agent that best suits them. Anything wrong with
that?
Perhaps not, but the comfortable old marriage of author and
agent can have its drawbacks. We tend to believe that well-estab-
lished authors are successful, if not rich, but many are not. With
their big books behind them, their careers have begun to slide. Their
advances are declining. Their reviews are mixed. No doubt you can
think of several authors in this unhappy situation.
While the fault is sometimes the author's, it is sometimes the
agent's, especially if that agent does not stay abreast of industry
changes. Career management is an evolving art. Strategies that
worked ten years ago—or even two—may not work today. An agent
who is not on top of things may drag his clients down.