How Much Should You Pay a Literary Agent?

I'm writing this on a Monday evening, the first day after starting a new job. I've also just received and replied to the edits of OCTOPUS RULES. Much writing, and much thinking about a life spent trying to make a decent wage from writing.

If the series of posts I did for Writers' & Artists' taught me anything, it's that I have forgotten what it's like to be truly starting out for the first time - to not know about agents and publishers and to not be worrying at all about the finer poi...