The Perfect Agent

1. Wants me. I wonder sometimes how much of a romantic relationship is the sense of being valued by the other person. It’s important to voice this on occasion, even if you feel like everything you do already says it more loudly than words.
2. Keeps me in the loop. If there are problems with the publisher, I want to hear about them.
3. Is friendly, even if we are not best friends. I know that an agent may not want to be friends with all their clients, but I admit, I don’t want a solely business relationship.
4. Gives me useful feedback. I don’t really expect or want an agent to do line editing, but general concept critiques are good.
5. Is aware of flaws. Both mine and the agent’s own. My biggest flaw is probably a myopic view focused solely on word count and finishing manuscripts. This can be a good thing, because I’m also NEVER EVER late on deadlines. But I also sometimes have a hard time seeing the bigger picture. It’s good for my agent to sort of laugh about this with me. By the same token, it’s good for an agent to have a sense of flaws on the other side. Some agents struggle with timely responses. Some struggle with seeing a manuscript too many times. I can handle many problems, but I like to have them acknowledged in advance.
6. Responds within a few days. I get it if an agent can’t read a manuscript this weekend, but just give me an estimate. I promise I won’t bug you about it!
7. Invites me into a circle. Agents have a lot of contacts. Clients, of course, but also editors, and marketing people, reviewers, and on and on. It’s wonderful to feel like you’ve been adopted into a family.
8. Is a cheerleader. Not just for my book, but for me personally.
9. Is loyal. Just because I’m having an off year or an off decade, I don’t want my agent to throw me overboard. I also don’t my agent to decide that the career of another author represented is more important than mine.
10. Can be a barracuda when necessary. Seriously, you need an agent who can take a hard line with publishers when things go badly. I know most authors don’t want to think about how things can go badly, but they can. You need protection, and you need it from someone who draws a hard line in the sand.
11. Tells me the good stuff as well as the bad.
12. Takes me seriously when I have a bad feeling. I’m not saying I have spidey senses or anything, but I’ve learned to trust my instincts when it comes to people. If I feel like I can’t trust someone, there’s a reason for that. And yeah, I guess I should trust my agent’s spidey senses, too.
I have a good agent already, but these are things that are useful for others to know.