Choosing an agentis in five figures—not bad. Most are happy, except when they write
out of genre. The Career Builder has a spotty record with main-
stream novels. His sub-rights record is weak, too. What he most
loves to do is edit.
The Start-Up. A new agent, this former real estate saleswoman
knows how to hustle. Though her clients' average income is low, she
makes "deals, deals, deals." Her proudest moment was selling lunch-
box rights to The Valley Girls' Book of Lists. Because she has more clients
than she can handle, she is constantly frazzled and apologetic. Her
commission is high, too: 15 percent plus all expenses. Most editors
in the business consider her "up and coming."
The Part-Timer. This former English professor lives in the Midwest.
Looking for a part-time career to keep himself busy in retirement, he
decided to become an agent. His list is small; less than a dozen
clients. Needless to say, he is easy to get on the phone. One of his
clients is successful; the rest have not sold. He travels to New York
twice a year to meet editors and'see Broadway shows. The rest of
the year he mails manuscripts with a "selling" cover letter.
The Mail Drop. This former actor has been an agent for three
decades. Indiscriminate in picking clients, he is famous among edi-
tors for the low quality of his submissions. Even more amazing, he
fails to market 40 percent of the material his clients send him.
(When asked, he tells them he is "testing the market.") Even so,
there is one area in which his record is superior: the sale of movie
rights. His name often appears in Paul Nathan's column "Rights" in
Publishers Weekly. He travels annually to the Cannes Film Festival.
I could go on, but you get the picture. When you sign on with an
agent you are not getting a fixed commodity. You are not even
guaranteed a minimum standard of performance. Remember, the
literary agency business is unlicensed and unregulated. Agents'
training varies.
When you get an agent, what you are getting is a person with
strong points and weak points. Those strengths and weaknesses will
drastically affect the course of your writing career—and I am not
talking only about income. They will affect the books you write (or
do not), how well you write them, and how smoothly (or not) your
career goes.