Parity and Professionalism in 2010 and Beyond

[bccreations]

An agent expects me to write well. I expect an agent to represent me well. This is the foundation of the author/agent relationship. It the the foundation but not the extent of that relationship. An agent has other expectations to

Comments

[elizabethpoole]

I think it's a wise decision to know exactly what you want from your agent.

I just finished The Career Novelist by Donald Maass. Even though it was written in the nineties, most of his advice is still pertinent. He has two chapters devoted to agents. He said too many new writers sign with the first agent who agrees to represent them.

Then, said agent doesn't do a good job of selling their novel, and if a publisher buys it, it can hurt your novel sales.

Which is the worse thing ever. It's actually better to be a first time author than an author with bad sales figures.

The chapter has all sorts of questions you want to consider as a novelist. And the book is available for a free download! So you don't have to feel like you're wasting money on an outdated writing manual. I read the entire thing in one day. Good stuff.

Here's the link:
http://www.maassagency.com/books.html