Getting an Agent

My first year of college, I was looking forward to finding a husband. It seemed like what was suppose to happen next in my life. My mother had been married at 19. My older sister was engaged in the first year or two of being in college. I was following in their footsteps.

One day, I was hanging out with a family friend. He was nice but I didn’t really know him. His native language was Spanish and he spoke English, but not really well. I took French in high school. One day, we were watching tv together, and he said, “Let’s get married.” Even though I was looking for a husband, it was definitely not what I was expecting. I thought maybe there was a language translation problem. So I gave him the benefit of the doubt and as politely as my 18 yo self could, I declined.

I remembered this interaction after some advice I got from an award winning published author. I showed her my artwork and she loved it. She told me that I shouldn’t spend my time courting small publishers. And I needed an agent.

And then she told me to not make the mistake many authors do. Don’t take the first offer of representation that comes along. Instead, get to know the person who is making the offer. It’s like a marriage. And getting a divorce is ugly. It involves children (our books) and custody battles. Make sure you know as much as possible about the agent who is offering to represent you.

I really appreciate the advice. I was planning on just sending my work out to publishers and be a free agent.

Then she described an agent that I think I would be willing to sign with. An agent who is more of a coach than a real estate agent. Someone who is able to cheer you on and point out how to get better at making baskets and getting that ball into the goal. Someone who is part of your creative team.

She said to take my time. And I’ll know when I find them. If I have to think about it, then they might not be the agent for me.

And if they are like this family friend who never took the time to get to know me before they made an offer of representation, I can politely decline.