What Have You Done for Your Agent Lately

What Have You Done for Your Agent Lately    When a writer friend e-mailed to tell me that her agent had now been ignoring her for almost a year, I was offended and outraged on her behalf. But then I heard the rest of the story: The agent had taken her first book out on submission, it hadn’t sold, they each promised to work on the next book together, and then, as happens frequently, she stopped writing and the agent stopped checking in. Communication came to a complete halt. The agent hadn’t e-mailed my friend for almost a year, but what’s worse, my friend hadn’t picked up the phone either.    This, I suppose, is what they call â€Å"being in limbo† and it sure isn’t pretty.    As the world of publishing changes around us, writers have more control than ever before over our own careers, what publishing deals we accept, and how we choose to publish in the first place. In this world of platforms and literary celebrities, agents want writers who can take over some of that control, who can be in charge, who know what it means to work towards not one book, but an entire career.    The bitter truth is this: An agent can be your best ally, your biggest fan, and your most aggressive salesperson. But she can only work with what she has. If publishers are looking for clients with platforms, she’s going to have a hard time convincing them of your marketability if you’re not even on Twitter.    So how can you make your relationship with your agent a two-way street and help your own career 1. Make your platform irresistible. When my agent discovered a health issue a few weeks after signing me on, he gave me the option of waiting for his treatment to finish or finding new representation. I stayed on, and in the three months before we communicated again, I started building my platform and growing my reach. When he returned, I had placed articles and essays in Elle magazine’s Indian edition and a New York Times blog on the subject of my book and been interviewed 2. Make yourself irresistible. When you’re in submission, you’re going to be speaking to your agent a lot. Maybe your book sells, maybe it doesn’t. Things get quiet. I had an unofficial â€Å"rule† during these times, which was that every time I got back in touch with my agent, I should have something new to report- a new article, maybe, or an interview request, even a new book idea. I had a file on my computer called â€Å"Updates for [Agent]† in which I made notes of anything new happening that was worth mentioning so that when we did touch base every few days, I had something to share that he could use.    3. Make your ideas irresistible. Think career, not book. Too many writers are attached to one single book and don’t think beyond that. The job of any good agent is not only to sell that first book for the highest possible advance, but also to help you plan, nurture, and grow your career. These are not discussions you’ll be having when you’re in the middle of a sale, but when that’s done and things are moving slower, is it time perhaps for a conversation about what your next book should be or whether that unwritten novel in the drawer is worth finishing? Agents don’t represent books, they represent authors. It’s important to remember that.    So next time you’re worried about your agent not being in touch, do any one of those things and e-mail with an update. Your agent will appreciate it, but what’s more, itll be another positive step forward in your own career. Because whenever you do something for your agent, youre really helping you.  Ã‚