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The Missing Agent
by Stephen Blake Mettee
Dear Steve,
I was
delighted when an agent offered to represent me, but now I can’t get
her to return any of my phone calls or e-mails. I did talk to her
once a few weeks after I signed the contract, and she told me she
had my book out to four publishers but hadn’t yet heard anything.
That was three months ago. Am I wrong to expect some feedback?
--Sullen in Sarasota
Dear
Sullen,
Agents
are like doctors, some are wonderful and some are quacks. It’s
possible you teamed up with one of the latter. In most instances,
editors take 30 days or less to respond to agents so your agent
should have some news for you by now, even if it is all bad.
Snail-mail her a polite letter mentioning that you have left
messages and sent e-mails and would like to hear from her. If, in
two or three weeks, she remains incommunicado, send a slightly
stronger worded letter asking that she contact you as soon as
possible.
If there
is still no response, send her a notice of termination. Most
contracts have a clause that allows an author to terminate the
contract with 30 to 60 days written notice. This might spark a
response, but if it doesn’t or you don’t like the response, move on.
How do
you avoid signing on with a incompetent or unethical agent in the
first place? One way is to look for agents that are members of the
Association of Authors’ Representatives. The AAR holds its members
to a high ethical and business practices standard. Not all reputable
agents are members, and I suppose, not all AAR members are
reputable, but the chances of an agent being competent and
principled increase with membership.
For the
protection of authors, the AAR publishes a list of questions they
suggest an author ask an agent after the agent has offered to
represent him. Here is a sampling of the 22 questions and my
thoughts on what the answers should be.
How long
have you been in business? New agents are not necessarily a bad
choice, often they will have fewer clients and be able to pay more
attention to your projects, but, unless they have been working in
the publishing industry in another capacity, they are unlikely to
have personal connections with editors.
Do you
represent authors in my area of interest? An agent with a track
record of selling books in your subject area is your best bet for a
quick sale.
How do
you keep clients informed of your activities on their behalf?
You should receive regular reports of all activity on your project
including submission lists and copies of rejection letters.
Do you
consult with your clients on any and all offers? You should have
the right to review any offer before the agent accepts or declines
it.
If an
agent declines to answer the AAR’s list of questions for any reason,
including that she is too busy, look for another agent. You can find
the AAR list here.
************
Stephen Blake Mettee,
publisher, Quill Driver Books/Word Dancer Press, Inc. is the editor
of
The Portable Writers’ Conference, a Writer’s Digest Book
Club Selection, and the author of
The
Fast-Track Course on How to Write a Nonfiction Book Proposal. |
