I realized something today: I don't have a dream agent. I mean, I have agents I like, agents I've heard of, agents who represent authors I love and/or write like me. But the truth is I'm too analytical to have a dream agent.
My dream agent has to be perfect: I like them and they like me, they love what I write, their revision process meshes with the way I work.* But it's impossible to know all that until you meet someone and actually work with them.
But lots of other people have dream agents, so I'm throwing it out to you. Who is your dream agent and why? What do you like about them? (You don't have to name names, of course. I've queried a bit. I know how it is.)
And if you already have an agent, that's even better! Tell us what you love about them in the comments.
* Also they have the ability to get me a six-figure, three-book deal within a week.
Lauren MacLeod, of course. She's smart, funny, organized, prompt, and it doesn't hurt that she's adorable.
ReplyDeleteAnd she has fantastic taste in books. :D
My dream agent has all the qualities you mentioned, with the addition of an interest in books ranging from PB to YA. Plus, he or she is good at both launching debut authors, and maintaining a good working relationship with clients throughout their career.
ReplyDeleteMy dream agent is someone who loves my book as much as I do, and knows how to hurdle large publishing challenges in a single bound. :)
ReplyDeleteLike you, I don't have one. But it would make sense that s/he is what you suggested...someone who you like and likes you, someone who loves your book and is fierce in representing it.
ReplyDeleteAdam, like you, I never really had a specific dream agent. I found Joan (or she found me) through 9 parts luck/1 part more luck.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first spoke, when she asked for revisions, she told me two things that excited and scared me. 1. "You've got excellent voice." Me? I definitely write in a certain style, but I always feel like it's voice-in-progress. 2. "This story feels unique and really big." Unique? That scared me. Really big... that thrilled me (then terrified me as I headed into revisions)...
But her enthusiasm was palpable. From the get-go, she believed in me (which is a whole lot of awesome). She didn't line-edit much, but more plot-poked and called me out when my characters went out of character... which is the style of critting I most appreciating.
Enthusiasm... genuine enthusiasm goes a long, long way...
Of course, it didn't hurt that all her other clients rave about her and EMLA is a super awesome agency :)
Off the top of my head I'd say my dream agent would have boobs, loose morals, and a religious fervor driving or her or him (hey, whatever) to get even my grocery list published. Can't say I've really thought about it though.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there are some dream agents I don't know about yet, but of the ones I do, my dream is either Kristin Nelson or Sarah Megibow, because from following Kristin's blog I can see so many things that I like about them as agents and people, and I can also tell that they cover so much of the important legal stuff that some other agents might not do quite as well.
ReplyDeleteMy dream agent is the one who will sign me! Ok, not really - of course I want one who loves my work and believes passionately in it. But from this end of the querying process, I'd settle at the moment for a little bit of attention.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand that, Anna :-)
ReplyDeleteMatt Bialer. Awesome, awesome guy. After him would be his assistant, Lindsay Ribar.
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