On Agenting with Literary Agent Extraordinaire, Aimee Ashcraft

For today’s From The Writer’s Desk I’m honored to have a powerhouse guest contributor, my literary agent, Aimee Ashcraft from Brower Literary & Management.

The following words are from Aimee:

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It’s an odd job, agenting.

Let me explain. As a literary agent, you are simultaneously fostering another person’s career (or, more likely, many other people’s careers), while striving to fulfill your own professional dreams. You deeply, almost to the point of insanity, love books, but often dread the growing pile of manuscripts you must read and critique. And of course, you must send rejection email after rejection email to the hopeful authors querying you, while also receiving your fair share of rejections from editors to whom you’ve submitted projects that you love—and have likely spent months editing.

And don’t get me started on the perils of Twitter.

We agents exist in a realm of contradictions. We are gate keepers knocking on publishers’ doors. We are experts wracked with imposter’s syndrome. And we must both adore a manuscript and view it with a cold, calculating eye if we are to have any hope of finding its place in an increasingly vast and unwieldy book market.

And yet. It’s a really, really cool job, one I’m privileged to have and wouldn’t trade for anything. Well, most things. I mean, if I could spend the rest of my life getting paid exorbitant amounts of money to be a cat psychic, I wouldn’t say no. Mr. Fluff is pushing all of your glassware off the counters because he’s dealing with a bout of deep existential dread; also, he doesn’t like the disgusting new treats you insist on feeding him. A girl can dream.

Digression aside, this is all to say that agents must walk a narrow path between finding manuscripts they love and choosing projects they think they can sell. And that sometimes means passing on good, well-written, and enjoyable books. If you, dear reader, are an author who has queried a literary agent (or, more likely, many literary agents), then I’m willing to bet that you’ve also received at least a few rejections. Please, please do not take these rejections personally. Remember that this business is not strictly a meritocracy. We agents are mere mortals who have no doubt looked great writing in the eye and said, “no, thank you.” Our words, and more importantly our opinions, are not law, and they are as varied as Ru Paul’s wig collection. Just because your book’s particular brand of brilliance doesn’t appeal to Agent #1, that doesn’t mean it won’t speak to Agent #2’s very soul.

You see, it’s all about finding the perfect fit.

If Agent #1 passes on your query or reads your manuscript and decides it’s not for them, then in a way they’re doing you a favor. The process of editing a manuscript, preparing it for submission, and then actually submitting it can be long and, at times, arduous. The last thing an author needs is an agent who is only half in love with their work, who only kind of believes in them and their book. They may sell it, but are they in it for the long haul? Are they truly invested in the author’s career over many years? I see myself as my authors’ partner, a person to take them through submission and beyond, to stand by their side, hold their hand, and help them through every step of their publishing journey. That would be a difficult feat if I didn’t fully love their work and have strong vision for it, and as a result, I do end up passing on projects that are perfectly good and well-written. In the end, I know I’m not the agent to take those books to the next level. In the end, I’m not the perfect fit.

So, dear reader, if you’ve received a rejection to a query or requested manuscript, my advice would be to heed the words of the great philosopher Ariana Grande and simply say:

Thank you, next.

Since I have you here, I do want to give some general advice if you’re an author seeking out a literary agent. (For the record, I have no doubt many of you have heard these tips before, but I think they bear repeating.) First, when querying, make sure that you’re following the directions for each agent you’re emailing. Check their agency websites to see what they’d like you to send, if they’d like attachments or everything pasted into the body of the email. Each agency has different preferences, and we agents go through so many queries that we can pretty quickly see if authors have followed directions or not. Make sure you spell the agent’s name correctly. This mistake happens with surprising frequency. I have an oddly spelled name (thanks, Mom and Dad!), so this isn’t a dealbreaker for me (I’ll still consider queries addressed to “Amy” or “Amie” or even “Ammie”), but I know this is a pet peeve for some agents. And my biggest piece of advice: follow up! Full disclosure: I get a lot of queries, and with the near-endless list of other tasks and projects that take up my day, reading and responding to them often falls into last place. And so, the mountain grows ever steeper. My agency allows authors to follow up on a query if they haven’t heard back after 6-8 weeks, and I’m honestly grateful for the people who do. The reminder is always appreciated (and often gives me a needed kick in the butt!), and it’s easier to make a query a priority if the author is keeping me on my toes.

I’ve been a literary agent for almost five years, which is still rather young in publishing years, but I’ve learned a lot in that time. I’ve learned that this job is not an exact science, and that success, however you choose to measure it, depends on so many factors that stretch far beyond my—and my authors’—control. But, dear reader, like with so many aspects of the publishing industry, I hope that your experience—either as an author, a reader, or a fellow publishing professional—has been full of good writing, beautiful books, and stories that move you.

And if you do hear of anyone looking for a cat psychic, feel free to drop me a line.