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Looking for an agent?
Dec. 26th, 2008 06:02 pmIn case you missed this over at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
writerunboxed I can highly recommend this agent's roundtable featured at Poets and Writers Magazine. It's long, but well worth the trek.
As the roundtable continues and the wine continues to flow, they get more and more candid. I thought pages 3 and 4 were especially interesting, as was the page 5 "Agents Anonymous" where they agreed to be extra frank as long as none of the comments were attributed. If you're in the agent-hunting game, this is useful information.
Excerpt from the Agents Anonymous section:
What are the dumbest mistakes that writers can make in terms of dealing with their editor or agent?
Saying bad things about them. Ever.
Sending seventeen e-mails about seventeen different things in one day. I mean, put it all together in one e-mail and think about whether you really need to be asking these questions. Think about how busy your editor is.
Going over your editor's head unnecessarily.
When they don't tell you about their next project. For example, they've written a great thriller that you sell, and then they write a horror novel. They say, "Guess what? I just wrote a horror novel." You're standing there with this horror novel and thinking, "What am I going to do with this?" They have to communicate about what they're thinking about doing next.
Be very careful about what you blog. Not just talking about the publisher once you're being published, but even before that. If I am submitting your book to publishers and an editor wants to buy it, they're probably going to Google you before they even call me. And if they find things out there that are curious or disturbing? Just know that whatever you're putting online is going to influence their perception of you.
If you take my rejection letter and post it on your Web site, there are few other agents who are going to be willing to put anything in writing to you. We look upon those writers in a bad way.
writerunboxed I can highly recommend this agent's roundtable featured at Poets and Writers Magazine. It's long, but well worth the trek.As the roundtable continues and the wine continues to flow, they get more and more candid. I thought pages 3 and 4 were especially interesting, as was the page 5 "Agents Anonymous" where they agreed to be extra frank as long as none of the comments were attributed. If you're in the agent-hunting game, this is useful information.
Excerpt from the Agents Anonymous section:
What are the dumbest mistakes that writers can make in terms of dealing with their editor or agent?
Saying bad things about them. Ever.
Sending seventeen e-mails about seventeen different things in one day. I mean, put it all together in one e-mail and think about whether you really need to be asking these questions. Think about how busy your editor is.
Going over your editor's head unnecessarily.
When they don't tell you about their next project. For example, they've written a great thriller that you sell, and then they write a horror novel. They say, "Guess what? I just wrote a horror novel." You're standing there with this horror novel and thinking, "What am I going to do with this?" They have to communicate about what they're thinking about doing next.
Be very careful about what you blog. Not just talking about the publisher once you're being published, but even before that. If I am submitting your book to publishers and an editor wants to buy it, they're probably going to Google you before they even call me. And if they find things out there that are curious or disturbing? Just know that whatever you're putting online is going to influence their perception of you.
If you take my rejection letter and post it on your Web site, there are few other agents who are going to be willing to put anything in writing to you. We look upon those writers in a bad way.