Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary?

Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Fri May 30, 2008 7:08 pm

Would be quite a jaunt for the evening, wouldn't it. Oh well, another idea bites the dust.
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Fri May 30, 2008 8:38 pm

Most of those good old days agents are dead. Bummer. Hey, Mad, at least I'm in the clear because I didn't say all agents are evil. I met one a few years ago who hadn't yet gone over to the dark side.

Malcolm
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Fri May 30, 2008 8:44 pm

Sounds like there's hope yet, Malcolm. At least I'd like to think so.
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Sat May 31, 2008 5:35 pm

I'm not sure everyone is being realistic. Agents are eagerly searching for exceptional talent. Not good, exceptional. As Brenda pointed out, thanks to computers and the Internet they are snowed under by people wanting to be represented. Many have no hope. Some of them are good writers, but that in itself isn't enough.

Richard Curtis, one of the top agents, answered questions in this month's Agent & Editors column in the Mystery Writers of America Magazine. When asked if he accepts e-mail queries he said what most agents would say: "No. My agency has a tried and true system of reviewing mail queries. There's no way to screen e-mail queries . . ."

If you write ( not e-mail) an agent you must have a terrific portfolio to present and a track record of magazine sales, etc. That's what the review process is all about before an agency will proceed further. They do a thorough job of checking you out. That's why Curtis also says what writers must do: "Write and sell genre fiction such as romance, science fiction, mysteries and thrillers. The agents will find you."

A New York agent has advantages. When asked about that, Curtis said, "I didn't know there was anyplace besides New York. Seriously, the thing about New York is that it is a locus for energy. Authors visiting the city to meet with their publishers and agents return home electrified and revitalized with the charge of high voltage they get here. The 'New York Minute' isn't called that for nothing." I found that to be true when we were able to attend monthly functions in New York.

Unless you are hoping to be signed by a large agency with many specialist agents on its payroll, it is vital to contact agents specializing in your field. If you write romance it is futile to contact an agent specializing in mysteries.

Agents know the editors, know what each likes and doesn't like. They lunch with them, socialize with them, see them at meetings, know which of them to contact with a particular piece of work.

The idea that there was a time when "over the transom" work had much hope is a myth. Few things emerge successfully from the slush pile or ever have. As far back as 1923 an aunt of mine learned that the hard way. At the University of Michigan she was considered a brilliant writer, one of the finest the school had ever had. She wrote for their most prestigious publications. The professors loved her. When she went to New York she couldn't even get her foot in the door although she had several fine manuscripts and a long list of sales to major magazines.

No one should ever forget it's a tough, highly competitive business in which even established writers are never sure of success with their next book. That doesn't mean anyone should ever give up if they are determined to make the grade and possess the talent to do so. It requires great persistence, a strong backbone, a thick skin and a good agent.
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Sat May 31, 2008 6:39 pm

That's true to a degree, Dick. However, many top agents will most certainly look at your work even if you do not have magazine or newspaper credits. Richard Curtis is a top agent, but he's not the only one. And the ones I spoken with at conferences as well as by direct mail and email are interested in what's on the page you're presenting to them, not what you've done in the past.
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Sat May 31, 2008 7:11 pm

Brenda,
you're right. Whether it be books or whatever, what a person has done in the past is now history. I think Dick also made reference to that in a different thread.
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Sat May 31, 2008 7:18 pm

Hi Abe! We just had a horrible heat wave and I was daydreaming about your hikes to the castle. How wonderful. *sigh*
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:23 am

Yes Brenda,
I am fortunate. The forest is a great place to be when it is hot and hiking up the mountain has its rewards as well. Thick castle walls remain cool and the reward of refreshment helps.
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Subject: Re: Opinion: Is the arrogance necessary? Sat Aug 02, 2008 5:52 pm

probably a bit tardy to this thread but it's not only agents, eons ago back in England publishers were arrogant to. My first ever website was an 'up yours' to those that rejected my words, here in all it's glory are names being named!

http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/roswell/spells/158/03.html

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