Recently, an author on Absolute Water Cooler commented, “The lack of
calls from my agent has gotten me really frustrated. It is making lose faith in the entire system of publishing my book!”
That is one of the most heard complaints from writers. But, should
writers be satisfied and just grateful that they even have an agent?
Or, do they have a legitimate cause for concern?
We talked with former agent turned manager (who will go unnamed) who told us point blank, “We don’t call you back if you aren’t producing, if you aren’t making us enough money. We have many clients and if you simply aren’t producing, you aren’t going to be a priority. It’s the business.”
Is this the opinion of all literary agents or is there another? Is it really that simple? Is that really the answer? What then, can
authors do to make themselves more marketable? What can agents, on
their part, do to help these authors?
On Monday, we will examine another literary agent’s take on the situation, who will go on record. And his response might be surprising.