Reading time: About 1 minute
This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world for material to help other writers. Today I discuss why you shouldn’t be too quick to listen to agents….
In a recent column, publishing expert Jane Friedman tells the heartbreaking story of an author who made the mistake of listening to her agent…
Yes, you read that correctly.
The agent for writer Bella DePaulo was not enthusiastic about the author’s project-in-progress relating to the power and freedom of living single. Instead, the agent convinced DePaulo to write a different book, one the agent thought would be “big.”
Unfortunately, even though that book was published, it was not successful.
DePaulo was an expert on the topic of single people, had a solid platform (including a TED talk), and had plenty of connections and opportunities to spread the word about the book. She consulted Jane to see if she should look for a new agent, or consider self-publishing, and Jane recommended sticking with traditional publishing (in part, because that was the author’s preference.)
But here’s where things went sideways. Even though DePaulo found a terrific new agent, she was still weighed down by the poor sales of her previous book. The agent made pitches to more than 30 publishers. One even said it was the best proposal he had seen in a long time, but he just couldn’t take a chance because of the sales of DePaulo’s last book.
Eventually, the new agent helped find an offer, but it had no advance and the author had to hire her own publicist.
The story illustrates how finding an agent is no guarantee of success. Just as there are bad doctors, bad plumbers and bad salespeople, there are also bad agents — who think they know more than they really do, and who can create no end of havoc for you down the road.
As animal husbandry expert John Fitzherbert said in 1523: Caveat emptor. Buyer beware.
