You’re sitting at home watching the clock. Or, maybe, you’re at work staring at the clock. Perhaps you’re in the grocery store checking your watch. Either way, wherever you are, whatever you might be doing, you are definitely keeping track of time, wondering why your agent isn’t returning your phone call. And they should be. You’ve written America’s next great novel. You herald yourself as the new Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Nicholas Sparks. So…what do you do?
1) First thing to remember: agents are people too. Yes, while you’re at home frustrated with why they still haven’t called back, they are juggling 30, 40, perhaps, dare we say, over 100 clients. And, they do have lives outside of being an agent. Yes, they are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, husbands and wives. And it’s not easy making everyone happy.
2) Maybe, before you become frustrated, you should take a step back and ask yourself, “Am I being realistic with my expectations?”
3) If upon evaluation, you do feel that you are being more than reasonable, start out with the “C”word. Yes, communication. Discuss your concerns with your agent so that both of you are clear on where you stand.
4) Distract yourself with some writing. Rather than focusing on why your agent is ignoring you, spend some more time writing and perfecting your craft. If your agent still hasn’t gotten back to you within what you may deem as a reasonable period of time, try an e-mail, perhaps a quick face-to-face meeting. If they do not respond within a week or so, then it might be time to take the ever-dreaded, but perhaps needed, steps for finding a new agent.
In our next article, we will discuss ways to move forward on to better-suited representation in a way that is amicable and does not sever ties.