A Shout Out To My Agent – And All Literary Agents

 

On August 24, 2013, I will have been an agented author for three years. During that time, I’ve learned a boatload about the business of publishing and more about the process of writing well.  My agent is Jenny Savill and the agency is Andrew Nurnberg Associates in London. Jenny has a bunch of other clients besides yours truly, and there are times when I think she might want to bean me over the head with a cricket bat because, well, I ask a lot of questions. I vent. I revise. I seek input. I bounce ideas. I seek validation that I am not, in fact, the worst writer in recorded history.

Interesting factoid: in nearly three full years of exceptional representation, I’ve sent 394 emails to Jenny on everything from works-in-progress, to revisions to “hey, how’s it going”.

Think about that for a minute: Nearly 400 emails from me in a three year period. And Jenny represents at least 15 brilliantly talented authors, each with their own works-in-progress, venting, idea-bouncing and “just checking in” emails. Add to this the fact that Jenny receives metric tonnes of other emails from people dying to land her as an agent. She’s buried in email submissions, partials, queries … not to mention the correspondence she has to keep in the way of selling her client’s books. The mind absolutely boggles at the sheer volume of stuff that winds up in her inbox. I’ve been in her office. There’s a real, honest-to-goodness slush pile. A big one! (She rescued me from the slush pile. Miracle of miracles.)

And she has to read all this stuff!!

She has to reply to it. She has to review gajillions of queries and  partials and full manuscripts. She has to help people like me become better writers. She has to break bad news to people who she isn’t going to take on as a client.  She has to roll the dice on the ones where she’s going to invest her precious time and expertise.

And I don’t know if I’ve really thanked her enough for all of this incredibly hard work that would make the average person’s eyeballs bleed.

My agent is and really, all literary agents are:

Editors
Proofreaders
Publicists
Idea factories
Negotiators
Mediators
Counselors
Social workers
Marketing wizards
Ass kickers
Advocates
Analysts
Party organizers
Book launchers
Fixers
Reality checkers
Cheerleaders

And so much more …

When I consider that I’ve sent 394 emails and I’m just one of Jenny’s clients, well, I can’t even imagine how she’s able to be so super organized, professional, courteous and downright brilliant every day she comes to the office. I don’t think I’ve done a very good job of actually considering how much time and work she and her team have invested in me because we authors tend to think it’s all about us. And it isn’t. We write the books, but without our agents kicking ass all over the place we simply wouldn’t be where we are today.

I am a better writer because of Jenny. I am a more patient writer because of Jenny. I’m living a dream that 95% of writers will never ever experience because she decided one day to take a risk on a bald dude from a place called Saskatchewan.

So thank you, Jenny. For everything.  A nice mention in the acknowledgements of a forthcoming book doesn’t come anywhere close to expressing how lucky and incredibly grateful I am to have worked with you for the past three years.

As mentioned in London last October … you’re stuck with me.