Secrets to Finding a Great Agent, Part I
What to look for, what to avoid
What great agents do
It’s best if agents are artists, contract negotiators, and business/sales people.
Unfortunately, many agents really are not artists or literary types, and don’t care to rely on their own nose for talent. They rather go by what everyone else says about new talent. Have you won awards? Gotten good reviews?
A good, solid agent must be great at:
Bathing the author in good publicity
Ceaselessly seeking new opportunities, platforms and exposure for the author
Selling subsidiary rights
Have a nose for great work, be able to appreciate the author’s talent
Contract negotiations
But from what I’ve heard from authors, here’s what can happen with agents & how to remedy it:
Snootiness. “Publicists are very expense, you probably can’t afford one,” an agent actually told a well-known author! But the truth is that that might be true of a full-time, year-round publicist, but you can hire a publicist for just a month or two when the book launches, preferably one who can get you onto the national morning talk shows. And you should. You should also get a new agent.
Laziness. Beware the agent who has independent wealth or a wealthy spouse — if they really don’t need the money, you may find that they really don’t hustle for you as they should. If you happen to run into an anchor from CNN Español somewhere, for example, you just may find that your agent never pitched them anything at all, even though they would be very interested in featuring your new book in Spanish in one of their segments.
Gossip. Publishing is a small world. Try to find an agent who is not a gossip. Nothing’s worse than a gawker agent who thinks the talent is there for her personal entertainment.
Usually, though, they are good at contracts.
In other words, try to find an agent who’s an equal and has your interests at heart. Unfortunately, the stories thus far have all involved mediocre to bad Jewish agents hampering the careers of unsuspecting authors. Nothing racist here. That’s just how it is, or at least how it’s been in the literary, recording and film industries in the US-EU.
How did so many inferior people (often criminal, we are discovering!) of the same ethnic group all get control of the entertainment industry? That’s a story yet to be told.
Take your time in finding an agent that’s right for you, someone mature enough emotionally to be your biggest advocate and an equal partner in your success.
