An Agent Is Still An Agent Right? - Writers Forum

dotcom · 03-24-2006, 12:52 PM

Hi!

This question is hypothetical.

We all know that established agents are usually the ones who get their authors accepted by big name publishers. But what if I landed a new agent, someone new in the industry, would this still count as an agent. Would respected publishers look at my work? When a publisher sees a MS on his desk represented by a name he's never heard about, DOES that help make the decision to reject or accept the MS regardless of its merit?

This question is only hypothetical.

mammamaia · 03-25-2006, 02:19 AM

'connections' are the lifeblood of an agency... a good agent will develop relationships with various editors at the publishing houses and that will help get your ms read...

a new agent won't have those connections, so instead of your work being on the top of an editor's pile, it'll be lower down, under the submissions sent in by agents s/he knows...

however, often new agents will, like 'avis' does, 'try harder' and, as a new writer, you stand a much better chance of hooking a new or small agency than you do with the biggies...

Mike C · 03-27-2006, 06:59 AM

What Maia said. There are agents and agents. Some, like Jeff Kleinman, everyone's heard of and when - as happened recently - he launched his own agency ( http://www.foliolit.com ), everyone sat up and took notice. there was even a small piece about him in the Wall St Journal. In the middle ground there are many well connected agents who will work just as hard on your behalf, but Jeff has a fearsome reputation because of his connections.

Lower down... if you're not connected, you can't be an agent. It's like the mafia, in a sense - without connections you're nothing. So unless you have a background in publishing, you'll likely never make it as an agent. If you're contacting someone new, find out who they are, where they came from, what they've done, and who else they're representing.

Alternatively - and the better route - set your targets high. Aim for a top of the tree agent, if you think your work is good enough. And if you don't, why are you looking for an agent at all?