signing with my agent

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June 30, 2009 | writing

2009 is a big anniversary year for me, because it’s five years ago this spring and summer that my life changed forever.

I was working full time as a teacher. The spring of 2004 started off with a lot of excitement, because in March, I finalled in the Golden Heart with a book (then) called Deja Vu. Finalling in the Golden Heart was quite an amazing experience. For one thing, the book was already with the senior editor at Harlequin, and I was able to tell her about my final—which got the book brought closer to the top of the pile. For the first time in my life, editors and agents seemed interested in me. I got to put something quite impressive on my query letters, too.

Meanwhile, I’d been working on a book I was really quite enjoying, a single title stand-alone book rather than a category romance, and in May I thought I’d start querying agents with it. I hadn’t finished the book yet—I was about 10,000 words from the end, and not exactly sure what was going to happen. But I figured I’d start out querying my dream agents, who were bound to reject me anyway, and then I could finish the book and query some more agents.

So I sent out my queries to, I think, three agents. Within a few weeks, two had called to ask for the whole thing. I hadn’t finished, of course, so I had chats with them and thought long and hard about who would be best for my career, and in the end I finished the book and sent it off and the woman who would become MY agent rang to say she wanted to represent me.

This was June, 2004. I was utterly out of my mind with shock and joy. And worry.

It was a really scary decision to make, signing with an agent. For one thing, it was a risk on both of our parts—she thought my stuff was good enough to sell, and I hoped it was, but the actual selling part is more tricky. For me, it was a totally new experience. I’d been targeting Harlequin/Mills & Boon for three years, and I knew that model quite well from researching it, but the world of having an agent representing your work was completely different. I’d never really met an agent, not to chat with. In real life, most agents are extremely charming, but I didn’t know that yet. To me, they were distant, frightening, powerful people and I wasn’t sure how to work with them or what their day-to-day lives were like or what my new agent expected me to do, exactly.

Five years later, I know it was totally the best decision I could have made. My agent is my most powerful advocate for my work and for my career. Sometimes she tells me things I might not want to hear, but she is always honest and it’s always coming from her well-informed perspective. And when she tells me I’ve done something right, I know she is absolutely telling me the truth. She’s had faith in me, that I could develop and change my writing from producing short focused category romances to longer, more ambitious commercial women’s fiction—and she’s got me the book deals because of that faith. She gives me tips for dealing with my publisher and with the media, she’s a source of incredible advice, and, especially over the writing of my last two manuscripts where I’ve had some struggles, she’s been a constant encouragement.

The choice of an agent is an individual one for each author. Authors are always comparing and contrasting them, talking about different business relationships and how they work. Mine has always made sure I kept my eyes on what I wanted to achieve, on my dreams and ambitions—and for someone who tends to get caught up in daily struggles, that’s a great help. I didn’t know this when I signed with her. I was taking her on her reputation, and the few conversations we’d had; she was taking me for her belief that I had some promise.

I’ve been very fortunate. It’s been a great five years. I’m glad I took the plunge.