Guest Post: Published Author Seeks Agent

Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Margo Candela’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. We’re giving away a copy of her book, Goodbye To All That. Read on to see how you can win.

About Margo Candela: Margo Candela’s husband owes her six months … preferably on a tropical island sipping margaritas. The deal was, she had three years to write her first novel Underneath It All and find a publisher. She signed the book contract at 2 1/2 years so she still has that six months coming to her. Of course, Underneath It All wasn’t her first novel. Her first was a romance novel spoof she wrote at age 15 on an antique typewriter she paid $20 for — actually her mom paid $20. Sadly, Wenchhead and the Isle of Evil Men was never published. Do you think it was the title?

Published Author Seeks Agent by Margo Candela

It’s inevitable. You get a group of writers together, either just starting out or who have a book or two on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, and eventually the conversation will turn to agents. Writers love to talk about agents, sometimes obsessively. How to get one to notice you? Who’s the best? Why they’re so mean and who’s a flake and shouldn’t be trusted. Besides writing, many writers also like to gossip and I’ll fess up to having done my share.
As of last count I’ve worked with three agents and one literary manager. Even I have to admit that’s a lot, but two became editors and two I fired. (Which is a whole other story.) What I’ve learned since signing my first agency contract in 2005 is that agents are regular people. They have personal problems and short attention spans. They move from agency to agency and sometimes leave the business altogether. As soon as I accepted that agents are human, it made doing business (or not) with them a lot easier for me.
After pretending for a long while that I didn’t need or want an agent, I’m once again up to my neck in the agent pool. This time, though, I’m not sending out blind queries and hoping for the best. I’ve asked a couple people who I trust if they have any names for me and they’ve sent feelers out on my behalf. Having been through the agent search process before, I can attest that this is the best way to go about it. Of course, it helps that I have a track record — I have published four novels, meet my deadlines and don’t have a bad reputation in publishing. I’m lucky to finally know people who genuinely want the best for me.

Even with some valuable introductions, I still have to make a good impression because I’m also being vetted. I’ve learned to be honest about what level of attention I expect from an agent and I’m always very careful to never smack talk anyone I’ve worked with even though it might make for some juicy gossip to bond over.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very awkward to have to admit that even though I’m published, I don’t have an agent. People do look at me like I’m some sort of weirdo or maybe an under-medicated diva. All I can do is let my work speak for itself and hope that my next agent is my last.
Win: For a chance to win a copy of Goodbye To All That, please leave a comment at least 50 words long about connecting with an agent, publisher, client or colleague through word of mouth. You have until 11:59pm on September 23, 2010 to qualify for the drawing. The unbiased and robotic Random.org has the honor of picking the winner.