She dropped my by email, almost a month after I sent her a third round of revisions for a book that just wasn't selling. Since signing with her, I'd had one face to face meeting — and aside from the offer call itself, all of our correspondence came in through email — either from her or her assistant. Notes were sent with little invitation for discussion, and even that final email regarding my work held no questions, just a statement that she no longer felt like the right fit.
When I didn't respond, she sent a follow up: "Never heard back... so I'm guessing you're in agreement." What was there to agree or disagree on, I wondered?
For me, this all happened years ago. But if you've been on booktwitter at all this weekend, perhaps you've seen the latest fallout from New Leaf literary agency. To sum it all up, the agency parted ways with one of their agents on Friday, leaving an entire list of authors without representation or any sort of fallback plan.
Some of these authors were mid-contract negotiations. Some of them had just been signed and were preparing to go out on submission for the first time. Some of them have multiple books under their belt, and that still wasn't enough to keep them on. I can easily guess that all of them were devestated that thier agent and agency — their lifeline and supposed cheerleaders in this brutal industry — had left them high and dry. Because it was the exact same way I felt when I was dropped after the first novel I'd ever written wouldn't sell.
There are things that I've learned since then that I wish I'd known before: A good agent looks at their client as an equal — it’s a mutual investment, after all. A good agent strives to maintain a relationship with their client and initiates dialogue when things aren't working quite right. A good agent doesn't sign an author for a single manuscript or project. A good agent signs the author, not the book — and that means becoming invested in an author's progress and career.
Looking back now, my agent at New Leaf was the entirely wrong fit for my writing and my process. If only I'd known that sooner! But even outside my own experience, New Leaf itself seems to have a bit of a bad habit when it comes to valuing their authors — especially the newbies.
For me, what followed being dropped was the crushing sense that my writing as a whole was worthless, that my work would never be good enough. The agent at New Leaf hadn’t even looked at the pages of the new manuscript I’d already started working on. She criticised my aptitude for revision, had suggested that I wasn't taking her feedback on board. We'd never had a single actual conversation about our visions for the book.
But of course, I coudn't stop writing. After finishing my second novel, I went back and rewrote the entire first one from scratch — changed the pov, changed the voice. I studied publishing and editing, and I went on to write another novel afterwards. That's the one that helped me find Sara, my current agent.
Nowadays, I'm working with other authors as well as my current agent to shape meaningful stories. These days, I've (almost) gotten over my fear of hearing from my agent, because Sara has talked me through so many hurdles already. And the feedback she gives always comes with reasons and an invitation for discussion — a good agent (just like a good editor) knows the importance of this.
But if you're a new author who's just started trying to find a place in this industry and especially if you're in the querying trenches, hearing all the bad news, remember this: your work is what this industry is built on. Whether or not your writing is where it needs to be to get published, whether or not the right people are taking notice of it, whether or not it still needs work, it has value — don't let anyone convince you otherwise. Instead, find the people who see that value — and keep those folks close.
Keep writing.
Other Updates from The Editor’s Desk
New blog post: How to (Finally!) Finish Your Novel - The Ultimate Troubleshooting Guide If you’re struggling to finish your latest writing project, I’ve collected a few exercises to help get those creative juices flowing again.
Work schedule: Currently taking bookings starting from July. Get in touch or schedule a consultation to talk about your work.
Throwback Post: How Many Drafts of a Novel? A Quick Guide to Publishing Your First Book Publishing is a long and winding road — but just how many drafts can you expect to go through before you’ve published your first novel?
Currently Reading: Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer | Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir | Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire