The Author/Agent Relationship
An agent has many roles in your journey to becoming a published author and every agent/author relationship will be different – but in general:
An agent helps develop your work editorially, strategizes with you to build the career you want, answers your questions about the industry and publishing process, maintains industry contacts to find the best editor and publishing house for your book, negotiates the publishing deal, helps maintain the relationship between you and your editor, seeks opportunities for your book to be published internationally and to be developed for film or TV, is a sounding board for ideas for your next book, helps navigate the publishing process, will keep abreast of industry issues and market trends to help steer their advice to you…
An agent only earns money when they get you a publishing deal and you should never be charged reading fees.
If you find yourself in the position where you have more than one agent offering representation – talk to them all, in person if that’s possible, but on video call if not.
Ask them about their editorial thoughts on your book (you want to make sure you share the same vision for where your book sits in the market and what work needs to be done).
Think about what you need from the agent/author relationship – ask them how they like to work and see if you think you’d be compatible.
The most important thing in this relationship will be trust – do you feel comfortable enough with them to ask the questions that might feel stupid (they aren’t)? Could you tell them if they did something that upset you? Could you take it if they told you that you’d behaved in a way that wasn’t helpful to your career
A lot comes down to your gut instinct about who you think you’re going to work best with – trust that.
I will never pressure an author to make a speedy decision about my offer of representation – I want my clients to be certain they’ve made the right choice for them and explored all of their options.