Choosing an agentmarket and stalwartly buy and sell stocks based on their "fundamen-
tal" merits, such as the company's outlook, earnings, or cash value.
Literary agents have similar characteristics. Some believe in
meeting the market's needs. They closely track the movement of edi-
tors from publisher to publisher, monitor genre trends, glean tips
over lunch, and work (sometimes at lightning speed) to get their
clients' proposals on an editor's desk at the right moment to make a
sale. These are the market-timers, the ultrahustlers among agents.
Fundamentalist literary agents are not concerned with jumping
onto bandwagons. Their clients follow their own stars, writing the sto-
ries that they must write, even though that can sometimes mean being
out of fashion. Fundamentalists believe in their clients' destinies. They
are patient. They devise strategies and stick with their clients through
thick and thin.
Obviously, this dichotomy is a bit exaggerated. Most agents bal-
ance market-timing with fundamental, long-term planning. Even so,
a given agent is likely to lean one way more than another, and it is
worth finding out about an agent's proclivity before signing on.
How do you know what mix you need in an agent? Here are some
questions to ask yourself: Do I need to know what's "hot"? Do I comb
through the market reports in trade magazines, and study lists of
recent sales? Do I need work-for-hire contracts to round out my
income? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, then you prob-
ably need an agent with a healthy dose of the market-timer in him.
Now ask yourself, Do I ignore trends and write books that I have
no choice but to write? Do I see my market more as readers than as
editors? Am I loyal to my publisher, even though bigger advances
might be had elsewhere? If your answers to any of these questions is
yes, then your agent should probably be a die-hard fundamentalist.
If you are agent shopping you may need to be crafty in order to
discover what sorts of agents you are talking to. Agents, being sales-
people, are very good at finding out what you want to hear and
telling it to you. Here are some useful questions: "What is your posi-
tion on writing for packagers?" "What is hot right now?" "How many
books a year do you think I should write?"
The tone of the answers will tell you a lot about your prospects.
Trust your instincts. It pays to make the right match.