Researching your agent
I’ve been assigning my authors topics to write about and asked one of my newer ones, Bisi Adjapon, to share her thoughts on deciding to go with me as an agent. She’s ridiculously flattering to me (which I adore), but I thought this was a great story to share because it showed how smart she was and convinced me immediately that if she’s this savvy finding me then she’ll make an even savvier author/promoter/client. I signed her and the rest is history…
By Bisi Adjapon
Picture this:
You live in Ghana, a country many Americans have probably never heard of; I mean, it’s in Africa. Then you write a memoir, yikes! We all know how difficult it is to place a memoir these days. On top of that, you decide you want an agent. That was me.
My editor, who also lives in America, suggested the website, “AgentQuery”, and off I went browsing. I wanted an agent who really got my book, who would fight for me and one I would have a personal connection. Caren’s page attracted me, among others. I visited her website, and there was this comical picture of her, peering over her glasses with a wicked smile. She’s got a good sense of humor, I thought, in between giggles. I loved it. I read her advice to would-be authors. I giggled some more. (I had already done a lot of research into the publishing industry, but it was her personality I was trying to grasp.)
Then I googled the heck out of her.
I clicked on everything that had her name on it, (including one where someone with the same name was facing a lawsuit). Her authors called her “lovely agent”, “world’s best agent,” etc. etc.”. I checked out her sales record at the Publishers’ Marketplace (a wonderful resource, I highly recommend it.). She had sales a-plenty. Everything told me she would be a great agent. So I queried her and another agent. (Isn’t email wonderful?)
Both responded. Both asked for partials. Both asked for the complete manuscript. Both loved it. The other agent had nearly twenty years experience and was also a film agent. Caren had just opened her own agency. Decisions, decisions. But Caren was the more excited and enthusiastic when we spoke on the phone. I felt a connection to her, and she really got my book. That is very important, because you want an agent who believes in your work and will fight for you. So Caren was my choice, and I didn’t even have to think about it.
Caren Johnson Estesen
6 Comments
Reader Comments (6)
Hi Bisi,
That was courageous of you, and it paid off! Good luck with your memoir - I've heard good things about Caren too.
Dana
Bisi, thanks for sharing. Who says you can't get an agent if you live in Africa? Hope your memoir has lots of interesting info about folks there. I gotta fess up, I'm one of those who knows zip about Ghana.
Hey Bisi,
That's really cool! Did you contact any of Caren's authors?
Christine
Hi! Thank you, Dana and Jake, for your kind comments and wishes. My best to you too.
Christine, thanks for writing.
I did write to Barbara Ferrer, but that was after I had already signed with Caren. And it was not to get a reference either. I just wanted to connect - kind of like getting to know another member of the family. When I googled Caren, I read comments from some of her authors, so I didn't feel I needed to talk to her another author. If I hadn't got enough info, I might have done that. Frankly, what I was looking for was whether anybody had had a negative experience with her. The way I saw it, her current clients were unlikely to say anything negative about her, so I found googling to be the best thing for me. (I googled two other agents and found them to have "malpractices"). Having said that, it is always a good idea to look for some references from an agent's client.
Bisi
Hi! Like your post. Have you already found a publisher?
It's too soon, but I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed and trusting my agent. :)