Agents

As I begin the process of finding a publisher, I’ve been trying to put myself in the shoes of agents and editors. The more I think about it, the more I decide I’m not cut out to be an agent. They must have phenomenal time management and self discipline skills. Literary agencies receive approximately 40,000 to 100,000 submissions a year, depending on their size. I visualize agents minimized by piles of manuscripts all over their office, their email boxes at max capacity. Ewe. I’m crabby just thinking about it. I’m the type who can’t stand it when the counter is cluttered, I need clear spaces to function.

I’m guessing, as a survival mechanism, they have to keep their counters clear, too. They must force themselves to wade through manuscripts quickly, so as not to be overwhelmed by the continuous onslaught of more submissions. No matter how fast a reader they are, no agent can represent their existing projects, and at the same time, read 40,000 new books in a year. Obviously, they don’t have time to read much of most of the works coming their way. They’re like prospectors looking for gold, sifting through tons of muck -- not quite ready, not quite marketable --manuscripts, in the hopes of detecting a few particles of gold -- publication quality works. While they’re sifting, they must keep asking themselves. Do I read further? Is there potential here? I don’t envy them dealing with that kind of quick decision making pressure.

Funny thing is, I’m getting a taste of how it feels to be an agent myself as I try and find an agent. There are hundreds of them out there, with varying tastes and editorial contacts. As I filter through them, I’m overwhelmed by the number of choices.

In my search, I found a new website called webook, http://www.webook.com/literary-agents/writers.aspx. It screens manuscripts before it turns them over to agents. It will send the query back to the writer if it’s not agent ready. What a great idea! That way a writer can get their query looking it’s best before they send it off. It says the service is free now, but they may start charging writers later. I’ve also heard some published writers critique manuscripts for a fee, helping a novice writer polish their work before they send it out to agents. It used to be writers had a direct line to publishers, then agents came in between, now it seems like there are opportunities to have helpers before you get to the agent level.

The whole, finding an agent, phase is complicated. Once a manuscript is represented by an agent, things seem more straightforward. Agents hand-feed editors publication ready manuscripts that complement their product line. Publishers and editors still have lots of choices to sort through, but at least everything they receive is of professional quality. Whether you’re an agent, an editor or a publisher I imagine the best part is the opportunity to fine tune the manuscript and become part of the creative process.

Of course, writers are the luckiest of all, they get to be involved with the project from the idea phase all the way through to the book signings. :)

A good agent will help edit your book, get it into the hands of receptive editors, and make sure that you get the best possible deal. Ginny Wiehardt