When I was in my twenties, I heard two conflicting messages about literary agents.
- Don’t fall for the first one who accepts your work. Interview them as job applicants. Check references.
- The author-agent relationship is a lot like marriage. Each one works differently.
I was just out of college, unemployed, and desperate for direction. I decided to spend my abundant free time not just sending out résumés but writing a loosely autobiographical blockbuster novel. In the evenings and on weekends, I attempted to network by joining local writers’ groups and meeting actual authors at book signings.
It was from these sorts of encounters that I collected the above advice.
Both messages contained a degree of truth, I see now, but twenty-five years and five agents later, I’ve learned a good deal more.