The Writer's Weekly

Good morning one and all, it's Tuesday and the day I talk about writers in the media.

The last couple weeks I've been discussing the writers' strike and it sounds like that's pretty much over so I will move on to another topic.

One of the topics I've been reading a lot about recently is agents.

In the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine they have a large section on agents-to-know in NYC. I also listened to a podcast in their newsletter with editors from various high-profile publishers, such as The New Yorker, The Paris Review, One Story Magazine and Open City.

It seems that some editors (the decision makers) care about agents and some don't. When I read The Write Track by Betty Jane Wylie she seemed kind of split on the idea. She has agents of her own, but still felt that she was the best promoter of her own work.

The only conclusion I could come to is that you have to be published (or at least it's preferable) to find an agent in the first place.

I have been a publishers' agent before myself and I know what it's like. You have to find someone honest and that fits with who you are and your work. In Canada, the book business is fairly honest. I don't have much experience with the US, however.

I don't really have an opinion one way or the other. Right now I am focusing on getting paid for work that I like. I will continue pondering the agent idea and keep you posted on my further thoughts.

I guess whenever you have to give someone a cut of your profits you'd better think long and hard about who that someone is and why they should get that 20-30% instead of you.