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5.
AOTW: With editors moving from house to house, many times the agent is the only continuity
an author knows. Does that make agents more powerful?
Lisa Swayne:
I'd say it makes them more valuable. Authors need a consistent sounding board to help
develop their work and in this day and age, I'd say agents fill that role.
Stuart Krichevsky:
An agent’s effectiveness comes from many different things: the gifts of the
authors he represents; the manner in which he conducts his business; the value he is able
to add his clients’ work and to the publication process. Certainly authors find
security and stability with their agents when there is turbulence in house, and an agent
must often work hard to enlist the support of the new editor, or re-enlist the support of
an entire house after a transition. So a powerful agent is an asset for any writer during
turbulent times, but it’s an agent’s ability to deal with turbulence that
matters. Turbulence itself does not make an agent more powerful.
Loretta Barrett:
As a former editor, I find it very sad that the relationship between editor and author
is so fragile and almost impossible to depend upon. In my 11 years as an agent, probably
30% of my projects have lost their editor --- either due to editors moving to a new house,
being fired, or leaving the industry. Does this make agents more powerful? Probably,
because they become the only consistent person in the author’s career. At one time,
the editor/publisher was the extraordinarily consistent person, but this is no longer
true.
Maria Carvainis:
It is also true that editors move more frequently from publishing house to publishing
house, oftentimes as a consequence of mergers in the industry, or they find themselves
without a position because of a takeover. The result is that the writer loses his/her ally
within the publishing house and the person who most probably acquired the writer's project
in the first place. Therefore, the agent is more powerful because I remain the writer's
constant ally and advocate. Serving such a central role in the writer's career creates a
business and creative partnership between the writer and the agent.
Jane Dystel:
I think so, but only if the agent is a very good agent to begin with. If we do our
jobs right, we are respected by our colleagues in the publishing houses and by our authors
because they know that we are the ones who can bring the two sides together smoothly and
cooperatively.
Laura Blake Peterson:
I'm not sure I'd say that agents are more powerful, but it surely underscores how
essential an agent is to help maintain an author's sense of equilibrium during periods of
editorial upheaval.
Amy Berkower:
Instability in the market does increase an author's reliance on his or her agent, and
in that sense I think it does make the agent somewhat more powerful.
Linda Mead:
I’d like to let my colleague, Rob Preskill, answer this question: I'm glad the
word "powerful" was used here, because I think the popular impression is that
agents have power. I would say that agents might have knowledge of what they like and what
editors might like or need, and if the stars align, then they can find manuscripts that
suit both. Many authors feel the need to convince an editor to take a projection. It's
more important to find the right agent who understands your publishing goals, who likes
those goals and perceives that he can propel you to those goals.
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