pick a hat, any hat...
It strikes me that many people might not know exactly what an agent does all day, and it's been a while since I talked about it. Oh, yes, you know we read manuscripts, hopefully sign on clients, and sell books to publishing houses. But really, there are so many little tasks that make up this job. It's part of what I love about it, other than the fact that I get to read for a living, of course. I'm part reader, part editor, part writer, part sales person, but also accountant, therapist, marketing guru, friend, and juggler.
To give you an idea, here are just a few of the things I did today, in no particular order:
~spoke with an editor regarding delivery of a client's next contracted book
~emailed with an editor about the sudden change in the release date of a client's book (two months earlier!)
~forwarded new pub date info to the author, along with contact info for internal publicist who has been assigned to the project
~read and reviewed a contract, making notes about what needs to be changed and what I'd like to be changed
~emailed the author questions regarding the contract, and about a proposal for the next contracted project that is due shortly
~spoke with Deidre on the phone about a couple of projects under consideration, and also about above mentioned contract
~spoke with Julie Ramsey (our marketing queen) about changes for the agency web site
~spoke with a client about a novella that's currently with an editor for consideration
~picked up agency mail and logged in manuscripts received
~made an appointment for a business lunch tomorrow
~glanced through newly received email submissions and flagged according to importance (unsolicited versus requested etc.)
~started making notes on a manuscript for a newly signed client
~drafted rejection letters for the manuscripts I finished considering over the weekend
I'm missing things. Lots of things. It all tends to blur together by the end of the day. I know what I did that got checked off on my list, but then there are always the details that come up and get handled before there's time to make a note of them. But you get the idea. Tomorrow I'll be running around doing more of the same, plus dashing out for my lunch meeting, and who knows what else. I'm kind of hoping to squeeze in a trip to the gym, but it probably won't happen until Wednesday. Maybe... I rationalize it by taking manuscripts with me. I'm getting pretty good at reading while I'm on the treadmill, as long as I keep it to a fast walk.
To give you an idea, here are just a few of the things I did today, in no particular order:
~spoke with an editor regarding delivery of a client's next contracted book
~emailed with an editor about the sudden change in the release date of a client's book (two months earlier!)
~forwarded new pub date info to the author, along with contact info for internal publicist who has been assigned to the project
~read and reviewed a contract, making notes about what needs to be changed and what I'd like to be changed
~emailed the author questions regarding the contract, and about a proposal for the next contracted project that is due shortly
~spoke with Deidre on the phone about a couple of projects under consideration, and also about above mentioned contract
~spoke with Julie Ramsey (our marketing queen) about changes for the agency web site
~spoke with a client about a novella that's currently with an editor for consideration
~picked up agency mail and logged in manuscripts received
~made an appointment for a business lunch tomorrow
~glanced through newly received email submissions and flagged according to importance (unsolicited versus requested etc.)
~started making notes on a manuscript for a newly signed client
~drafted rejection letters for the manuscripts I finished considering over the weekend
I'm missing things. Lots of things. It all tends to blur together by the end of the day. I know what I did that got checked off on my list, but then there are always the details that come up and get handled before there's time to make a note of them. But you get the idea. Tomorrow I'll be running around doing more of the same, plus dashing out for my lunch meeting, and who knows what else. I'm kind of hoping to squeeze in a trip to the gym, but it probably won't happen until Wednesday. Maybe... I rationalize it by taking manuscripts with me. I'm getting pretty good at reading while I'm on the treadmill, as long as I keep it to a fast walk.