Folks, I’d like to preface this by saying a big welcome to Elizabeth O. Dulemba, the newest member of Fuse Club.
Hi, Elizabeth!
Elizabeth came to me having already secured an agent, whom she is very happy and successful with.
Say, what? What does she need me for, then?
Elizabeth is a longtime author and illustrator of children’s books, represented by a wonderful children’s book agency (seriously, they’re rad people). She had a great idea for an adult book, so like any good client, she sought the input of her agent. Her agent loved it but felt a bit out of her element, which is understandable as one who only deals in kid lit (trust me, you wouldn’t want me to rep your children’s picture book, for example). A few emails later, and I was looking at a very timely project that was right in my wheelhouse. We went back and forth a bit, had a wonderful phone conversation, and in no time flat, the ink was dry on our new representation contract.
This further highlights what I say all the time at conferences and during #AskFuse on Twitter: you don’t just want an agent; you want the right agent for you. Your agent should be knowledgable and passionate about your work and your genre. And if you find yourself writing outside of that genre, realize that you may need to explore your options.
Remember: your agent is the business manager for your writing career. I raved about Elizabeth being a good client for a good reason. She was 100% right to approach her agent first, even though the project wasn’t a good match. Your agent will assess where you are in your career and whether or not it’s the right time/approach for you and your brand to pull the trigger on the proposed project(s). Elizabeth was at the point where it became OK to branch out, which brings up another bit of advice I often give to aspiring authors: it’s best to grow a sturdy trunk before you start adding branches. Otherwise it becomes difficult to hold everything up.
In a case like this, you should also approach your current agent with the new project first simply out of professional courtesy (and also because it may be in your contract). You want to maintain a healthy line of communication and mutual understanding–perhaps the most vital components to the author/agent relationship. Also, there’s a good chance that they might see a solution you don’t. If one of my clients were to write a picture book, I wouldn’t kick them to the curb or say, “Yeah, no. Good luck finding a home for that.” I’d say, “Well, we have this wonderful children’s book agent, Sara…” Yes, it’s possible to have more than one agent even within the same agency, and in fact, I share several clients with my colleagues. And in Elizabeth’s case, her agent said, “Well, I have this wonderful adult book agent friend, Gordon…”
So happy. We have some great stuff in the works (including cookies for the agent who connected us).
