Choosing an agentthis need to escape signify? Is he just daydreaming? Is he tem-
porarily burned out, or does he have chronic career problems?
If agents' specialties are not obvious from their client lists, ask
each of your prospects what he or she has sold in recent years.
Listen carefully to the answers. Your candidates may sound enthu-
siastic about your work, but their record may reveal that other types
of books hold a stronger appeal for them. If so, don't be surprised if
later you feel like a second-class client.
Suppose you sign up with, say, a top-notch romance specialist,
but then one day you have an idea for a biography. Should you
worry? Switch agents? Probably not, unless your change of direction
is permanent. A reputable specialist always keeps one eye on the
rest of the market. If so, she will know what is selling where and
what other agents are getting for books like yours.
Finally, if you should come across a superspecialist—an agent
who handles a large list of technothriller writers, for instance—think
twice before signing up, even if technothrillers are your thing. While
such an agent might be right for you, sometimes the competition
among an agent's own clients can cause mistrust. That you definite-
ly do not need.
Big Shops vs. Small Independents. You are a human being, not a
number. Naturally, then, you expect a high level of personal service
from your agent, something small independent agencies can sure-
ly provide.
But don't large agencies have more clout? And how about sub-
rights? Large agencies have marketing breadth, true, but aren't
independent agents less likely to let small deals slip through the
cracks?
Without a doubt, mistakes happen in big bureaucracies, but being
big does not necessarily mean that an agency will be inefficient.
Plenty of small agents have sloppy sub-rights records, too.
A more telling complaint one hears about the mega-agencies is
that their various departments—literary, film, TV, talent, or whatev-
er—are run like fiefdoms. Agents in one area, the lament goes, lav-
ish attention on their own projects and neglect—even disdain—
projects brought to them by agents in other departments. So much
for the benefits of an agency with broad-based exposure!