I found my first agent by selling my first SF novel, then going after an agent I thought I wanted. Nice person, good agent for friends, but ultimately did not go anywhere for me. (Probably should have kept the agent and dumped the spouse, but in hindsight, I think they both would have gone.)
I think this is why I have a growing ambivalence about getting an agent via a first sale. For me, the most important component of my relationship with the current agent is his confidence in my work -- and that's something that I couldn't have known he would have going in blind.
Today, as a FTN, I think I'd research those agents I wanted while the book was being considered. Then, when HE called, I'd say "I've been working on getting an agent, can I get back to you later on this week?" HE will probably say yes, because this means dealing with a pro, not a neo--
THEN you call agent #1 and leave a message saying "I've just been offered a contract by ABD Publishers, it's my first SF novel, and would you be interested in representing me on this contract and talking about an extended relationship?"
This, up until recently, and my ruminations on agents, has been my advice -- but the research doesn't always give you enough tangible evidence of what the working relationship with the work itself -- as opposed to this particular contract -- is. So I'm wavering in ways I haven't for a while.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2004-09-16 11:14 pm (UTC)I think this is why I have a growing ambivalence about getting an agent via a first sale. For me, the most important component of my relationship with the current agent is his confidence in my work -- and that's something that I couldn't have known he would have going in blind.
Today, as a FTN, I think I'd research those agents I wanted while the book was being considered. Then, when HE called, I'd say "I've been working on getting an agent, can I get back to you later on this week?" HE will probably say yes, because this means dealing with a pro, not a neo--
THEN you call agent #1 and leave a message saying "I've just been offered a contract by ABD Publishers, it's my first SF novel, and would you be interested in representing me on this contract and talking about an extended relationship?"
This, up until recently, and my ruminations on agents, has been my advice -- but the research doesn't always give you enough tangible evidence of what the working relationship with the work itself -- as opposed to this particular contract -- is. So I'm wavering in ways I haven't for a while.
And chewing on it.