Comments on: Do you have an agent? http://bluecollarwriter.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/do-you-have-an-agent/ Not everyone gets the big advance... Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:38:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: N. J. Lindquist http://bluecollarwriter.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/do-you-have-an-agent/#comment-7 N. J. Lindquist Mon, 14 May 2007 03:42:00 +0000 http://bluecollarwriter.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/do-you-have-an-agent/#comment-7 Sorry, I didn't mean to disparage the lady who asked for the name of my agent. I was simply trying to use that situation as a jumping of point to let people know why authors might be reluctant to tell people the name of their agents. <br/><br/>I actually sympathized very much with the lady. I certainly didn't mean to imply that she was creepy in any way. I'm sure she was a very nice person. But she was so focused on what she thought was the solution to her problem that she didn't hear anything I said. <br/><br/>I've been there, where you are aching to get into the door and get your work published. But the way to do it isn't by asking a complete stranger for the name of his or her agent. <br/><br/>I was willing to give her advice about getting published. She only wanted a name. Sorry, I didn’t mean to disparage the lady who asked for the name of my agent. I was simply trying to use that situation as a jumping of point to let people know why authors might be reluctant to tell people the name of their agents.

I actually sympathized very much with the lady. I certainly didn’t mean to imply that she was creepy in any way. I’m sure she was a very nice person. But she was so focused on what she thought was the solution to her problem that she didn’t hear anything I said.

I’ve been there, where you are aching to get into the door and get your work published. But the way to do it isn’t by asking a complete stranger for the name of his or her agent.

I was willing to give her advice about getting published. She only wanted a name.

]]> By: Anonymous http://bluecollarwriter.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/do-you-have-an-agent/#comment-6 Anonymous Sat, 12 May 2007 13:14:00 +0000 http://bluecollarwriter.wordpress.com/2007/05/11/do-you-have-an-agent/#comment-6 I have asked the few authors I know who their agents are, just as a matter of course of learning about the process of getting an agent. I found out that one of them has had four agents, I got a lot of tips from that story. The other one just "lucked out" with her one and only agent. Again, a different perspective. If you got a creepy vibe from one lady, why not tell that one lady "you mustn't say I referred you to him/her, because I haven't read your mss," and follow that up with an email to your agent saying someone pestered you for the name. Why make so many unflattering assumptions about someone who I assume was a fan of yours (came to your reading/signing) and may write on a similar topic or in a similar style, thereby making her much more likely to be interesting to your agent? I mean, if she was completely creepy, okay. But what if you could have made a friend and you blew it? I don't get the negative attitude about agents. It is your business, sure. But agents are presumably in the business of finding new authors. If an author wouldn't give me the name of his/her agent, I'd assume it was a crappy agent of whom the writer was ashamed. Or that the writer didn't have an agent at all & was lying. I have asked the few authors I know who their agents are, just as a matter of course of learning about the process of getting an agent. I found out that one of them has had four agents, I got a lot of tips from that story. The other one just “lucked out” with her one and only agent. Again, a different perspective. If you got a creepy vibe from one lady, why not tell that one lady “you mustn’t say I referred you to him/her, because I haven’t read your mss,” and follow that up with an email to your agent saying someone pestered you for the name. Why make so many unflattering assumptions about someone who I assume was a fan of yours (came to your reading/signing) and may write on a similar topic or in a similar style, thereby making her much more likely to be interesting to your agent? I mean, if she was completely creepy, okay. But what if you could have made a friend and you blew it? I don’t get the negative attitude about agents. It is your business, sure. But agents are presumably in the business of finding new authors. If an author wouldn’t give me the name of his/her agent, I’d assume it was a crappy agent of whom the writer was ashamed. Or that the writer didn’t have an agent at all & was lying.

]]>