Here's who has quit the business while working as my editor or agent:1) The editor of my short story collection. The week after publication. I found out at a party through a friend of a friend. (Disaster.)
2) My last agent, who found a new calling. (Wife had baby. Needed the better salary.)
3) My current agent. Just found out the day before yesterday. Leaving the business. (BTW, I totally support the quit on my agent's part; I think it is a smart move, but I am also very sad about it.)
Granted, early in my career I quit a couple of agents myself, before they quit me (one was very fancy and a big name, but was about to retire; the other is a pal of mine, whom I still call Secret Agent Man). The worst part about this situation is that the replacement (i.e., boss, owner of the agency, assistant coming up, who-the-hell-ever) is never as enthusiastic as the agent/editor who originally discovered you....and then quit.
I guess this means I need to go to a meeting of Literary Rejects Anonymous. I am crying, my friends. Literally crying. I actually got emotional when I first found out about it and wished my current ex-agent all the best, vowing we'd keep in touch. Now, at a loss, I can't stop myself. Just like Hilary Clinton, who turned it all around with her tears....only I'm third-gendered, and how likely is it the vote will swing my way?
I'm open to suggestions.
8 comments:
Aw, man, I'm sorry! That's tough. It's a rough world out there, lately.
You don't have to stick with the agency, though, do you? I mean, why go with someone who's just eating leftovers? Find a new champion.
Tough luck, loser. As I see it: 1) You whine and complain so much, your agents all want to get away from you. 2) You pick losers who are on their way out because you can't get a real agent. 3) Your writing sucks.
Dude:
Your theories #1 & #2 are false.
1) I keep my royal bithcing about publishing to my blog (or other outlets); all of my agents have loved (or at least liked and appreciated) me.
2)I've had great representation through the years: Two of my agents were major heavy hitters with big-time clients, and two were very promising & on the rise.
I guess that leaves #3. Maybe you're right. Maybe they take one look at my new work and decide it's not worth it. Maybe they run screaming from the industry. My mother always said I should find a real job. (Hey, wait, a minute: Mom? Is that you?)
Thanks for the familiar kick while I'm going down. It reminds me of from whence I came. Dude.
Gender of three
Rejected... for now
May fortune soon smile
(How's that for a crappy haiku? I love the art form, but poetry isn't one of my strong suits.)
Chin up... or, if you can't keep that chin up, let it sag and blog about your despair!
(Stop by my blog and give me some ideas for a hip-hop song title...)
Q-berta
A great haiku. Thank you, Q.
See the positive, brother. Soon you'll have more fodder for the blog.
BTW, how many agents have you had?
Will someone else at his agency be inheriting you? I agree that that situation does suck and that the replacement is never as enthusiastic as the one who signed you. Unless you are somehow beholden to that agency, I'd say you should start the long, hideous process of agent-seeking all over again. Your current agent owes you at least the courtesy of referring you to another agent who might be a good match for you. Good luck, WR!
I've had a total of 4 agents, each of them for several years in a row. I will wait until the dude who runs the agency reads my novel and rejects it before I move on with my search. Thanks for the nice comments, everyone. I'm trying to keep my chin up.
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