Six Questions for an Agent

1. What should a client expect from you as an agent?

• That I will work hard.
• That I will keep on top of the ever changing marketplace.
• That I will maintain my integrity as a businessman of honor and honesty.
• That I will protect your interests.
• That I will tell you the truth, about the industry, about your writing, about your ideas.

2. What would you expect from a client of yours?

• Work hard.
• Measure expectations against reality.
• Attempt to understand the publishing process.
• Develop a thick skin.
• Learn patience.

3. What will you NOT do as their agent?

I won’t lend you money. 
I won’t lie or cheat for you.

4. In today’s economy, how difficult is it for a writer to succeed without an agent? Do you think every writer needs an agent?

Without question. The industry is a labyrinth of nuances. If you try to go it alone it is likely you will be sorry for signing a document or partnering with the wrong publisher. One agent friend of mine likes to put it this way, “They are taking a chance at getting hosed.”

5. What is a newbie’s chance of getting you as an agent? What are you looking for?

Blow me away with an amazing novel or develop a platform that will make a publisher’s eyes water. Then you’ve got a fighting chance.

6. What should a writer send you for your consideration of them as a client?

PLEASE follow the guidelines on our web site. They are there for a reason. Break those guidelines with impunity and all you’ll do is annoy me. Would you work with someone who annoys you?
(Just remember they are guidelines, not rules.)

The above six questions were asked by Rebecca Barlow Jordan, one of my clients, for her blog. I asked if I could repeat the exchange here since it works as a follow up to last week’s Ten Commandments post.