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One of the questions I receive
most often from writers is “What is a typical day in the life of an
agent?” There’s no such thing as a typical day, but if you want the
short answer, my job can be thought of in terms of these five areas:
Author advocate:
Representing the author’s interest in business matters; being available
for questions and concerns; mediating communications between author and
publisher as needed.
Business manager:
Matching authors with the right publishers; negotiating contracts.
Writing coach:
Offering editing advice on proposals and sometimes manuscripts; being a
sounding board for new ideas.
Career counselor and
marketing consultant: Helping authors strategize long-term
plans for success; providing guidance in marketing and platform
building.
Talent detective:
Finding new authors to represent.
Want the longer answer?
Here’s an exclusive inside peek
at an actual day in this agent’s life.*
(*Okay, not an “actual”
day—it’s slightly exaggerated. And in case you don’t pick up on this,
the names are fictionalized.)
5:00: Wake up
without an alarm. Begin daily coffee infusion.
5:40:
Log on to computer, check blog comments, begin returning e-mails to
clients, potential clients, and editors.
6:00:
Research publishers for Sam Suspense’s project; compile list of editors
to whom I will submit.
6:30:
Wake the kids. Start laundry. Continue coffee infusion.
6:45:
Review a publishing contract for Rita Romance and make notes for
negotiation.
7:15:
Finish a pitch letter for Sam Suspense’s book that I plan to submit to
publishers today. Send to my colleague Greg (name not fictionalized!)
for input.
8:15:
Go for a run. Shower and dress. Take the kids to VBS. Return to the
office . . . with coffee.
9:30:
Read e-mail about publisher’s new title for Morty Memoir’s book. Call
client to discuss, then send response to publisher.
9:50:
Return Maria Marriage’s call; spend twenty-five minutes discussing
branding, platform, and long-term plan.
10:15:
Back to
e-mail—an offer
has come in on Helen Historical’s book.
Yipee! Call author to discuss, then send response to publisher.
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10:30:
Begin working on Betty Biblestudy’s proposal, preparing it for
submission. Phone
to discuss revisions with client.
11:00:
Realize I never ate breakfast. Grab a granola bar. And coffee.
11:10:
Call hubby to remind him it’s his night to make dinner.
11:15:
Check e-mail, incorporate Greg’s input on Sam Suspenses’s pitch
letter. Send the pitch letter with the proposal to ten carefully chosen
editors. Pray for God’s blessing on the project.
12:00:
Spend fifteen minutes on correspondence.
12:15:
Take lunch break. Read a new partial, love it, stop eating to
e-mail the writer and ask for full manuscript. Return to eating. Read Publishers
Weekly. Talk to my kids, who have returned from VBS excited
to tell me about it.
12:50:
Phone a publisher, leave voice mail about contract negotiations
for Rita Romance. Begin to feel that post-lunch malaise. Too much
caffeine. Go for a quick walk.
1:15:
Head out for a publisher meeting, where we discuss marketing
plans for Morty
Memoir’s book.
2:45:
Back in the office, return e-mails. Take a call from Debbie
Devotional, who has
questions about the submission process.
3:15:
Publisher for Maria Marriage has e-mailed a PDF of their proposed
book cover and it’s totally wrong for the book. Call Maria immediately
. . . she agrees.
E-mail the publisher with suggestions and rationale for improvements.
4:00:
Phone Barry Bestseller to confirm our visit to his publisher
tomorrow, where he’ll
speak at their sales conference and record a marketing video for his
book.
4:15:
An editor calls and we talk about Sam Suspense’s project.
Meanwhile three more e-mails come in. Finish call, respond to e-mails.
4:45:
Walk outside to check snail mail. No checks—bummer. But a movie
from Blockbuster. Yay!
5:00:
Begin reading and responding to queries. Become captured by a new
proposal. E-mail the author.
6:00:
Eeek! Lost track of time! Dinner! Hang with the family.
7:30:
Kids are back outside playing. Check in with the blog. Work on
correspondence.
8:00:
Sit down with Yolanda YA’s manuscript on my Kindle.
8:30:
Get the kids to bed.
9:00:
Continue reading Yolanda YA’s manuscript until I fall asleep on
the sofa.
10:15: Hubby shakes me awake. Have moment of panic . . . did I get
everything done? Did I write my blog post for tomorrow? Is American
Idol on tonight? When will I watch that movie? Do we have
enough coffee?
11:00:
Sleep.
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