Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley, California Office
Weather: Mid-nineties
So many agent blogs talk about what writers do that make the agent cringe—everything from crazy queries to attention-seeking ruses. Addressing some of these issues makes great cautionary tales. Today, however, I’m going to talk about what we agents do that make us blush.
I’m guessing that all of us start out with the noblest intentions: I will answer emails within twenty-four hours. I will never let a query sit longer than two weeks. If I meet a person at a writer’s conference and request material, I will put that at the top of the pile.
And then we wake up.
The universal fact of publishing is that each cog in this mighty machine is working at top capacity and still not getting the kind of traction we’d like to see. You’ve heard the numbers of projects editors handle. Agents are in the same boat. We can’t control the amount of work coming in—take queries, for instance—and we can’t always control our day-to-day schedule because much of our job revolves around averting crises and meeting immediate needs. It means that we do the best we can and blush when we come up against our inadequacies.
So let me make this personal. These are the things that me cringe:
- I cringe when I look at my pile of requested manuscripts. I have a basket in my office with some I’ve printed out, others are on my Kindle, others in a file on my computer desktop marked “To read/non-clients.” How I wish I could get to these quickly. Having been a writer, I can never forget that wait.
- I cringe when I come back from a trip or a writer’s conference to 400+ emails. I know I can’t catch up and handle the new emails in a timely manner. The deluge of communication seems to increase each year. I know I’m curtailing travel next year because, if I can stay at my desk, I can keep my inbox at zero.
- I cringe when I’m distracted around people. I used to try to keep up with email while I was on the road, but I found it impossible to be “present” with the people I was visiting. I stopped trying to multi-task. I get more done when I’m focused. Besides, flesh-and-blood people are important.
- I cringe when I’m at one of those conferences and meet a person to whom I didn’t respond in a timely manner. It’s especially painful when, had I had time to read their submissions, I would have offered representation. But someone else beat me to it.
- I cringe when I get a new proposal from one of my clients and have to put it in the queue. Clients often hope for immediate feedback. In a perfect world. . .
- I cringe when I read Publisher’s Marketplace, a website where new deals are reported and late-breaking news is announced, and realize I haven’t had time to report my deals for these many months. I’ve been so busy selling and negotiating contracts that I look like a slacker to my colleagues.
Cringing aside, part of my job is to prioritize. Each thing that crosses my desk is intuitively categorized—drop everything and put out the fire, do immediately, put this in the file and create a tickler, get to this when you can.
One of my clients gave me this set of Post-It notes that I love:
After reading my list of regrets, you may wonder if I ever get anything done. I do and, on the whole, I do it successfully. I’ve had to learn to set aside my perfectionist tendencies, offer frequent mea culpas and repeat my favorite sayings, “It is what it is,” and “You can only do what you can do.”
I think that’s great that you value face-to-face time and try to give people your attention.
I had to learn “You can only do what you can do.” lesson too, and it reduced my stress so much.
Great post again. Thanks, Wendy.
Gina
Thanks for the insight into your world, but really–who should be able to understand better than a writer?
Some days, when things go as planned, thousands of words flash fluently onto my screen. But that’s not every day. More often, research or skill development or a ringing phone or the nitnoid necessities of business and life demand to be tended to, and I find myself sneaking back to my computer late in the evening to finish my day’s goal. Actually, I get some of my best work done after the family has gone to bed and the house is finally quiet. Few days are “8-to-5.”
In a fast-paced world of technology, so much of this industry is still done by hand (even if it’s inputting data) and face-to-face. Maybe that’s part of the charm of it. Books are an art form. It takes a bit of time for each member of the team to create something of quality. If we weren’t perfectionists, we probably wouldn’t be here; and if we can’t learn to set perfectionist tendencies aside, we won’t be able to stay here for long.
It’s the eternal conundrum, isn’t it? 🙂 Thanks again for sharing.
Thanks for sharing the “behind the scenes” stories of the agent world. I think it makes us writers much more understanding and sympathetic of your busy lives.
Being “distracted around people” by emails, etc. is such a huge problem. I’m glad you mentioned it. It’s amazing how much intentionality it takes to turn stuff OFF. Even switching to VIBRATE is a distraction.
Your whole list is great. Thanks for the transparency.
I’ve always loved that Post-It set! To it I added a group of paper clips that say “Do”, “File”, “Read”, “Now”, “Soon”, “Later”, “Never”, “Hide”, “Toss”, “Shred”, “Burn”, “Stuff” and “!#$%&!*” (a direct quote). I’ve even considered adding a running total of emails in my inbox to my blog – maybe someone will at least find it entertaining.
Thanks for the transparency, Wendy. We all have only so many minutes in our day and we have to do our best while leaving space for the “God moments” too.
Thanks, Wendy, for the insight. Your blog is great and I appreciate the behind-the-scenes look into an agent’s world.
I don’t think anyone, least of all your clients, would ever think of you as a slacker. If we don’t hear from you in 24 hours, you’re probably just back from a trip on our behalf or preparing for one, or taking care of proposals for which we were given deadlines.
I could use a set of those post-its for my writing and my day job, both. My system is organized piles, and I’m trying to amend that.
Valerie, you wrote “I’ve even considered adding a running total of emails in my inbox to my blog – maybe someone will at least find it entertaining.”
I think it would be interesting. Most of us struggle with the avalanche of email and few of us realize how universal the struggle. (Of course I keep all important emails in my inbox for search purposes– even after they are read. So my current number, 21,195, would scare the casual observer.) 🙂
I’m so glad to read this! You aren’t alone, dear. (translated: it’s coming, really it is)
Hugs!
Wow. I liked that picture you posted of the post it notes. It made me smile. You’re right. You can only do what you can do. I like your honesty.
You know? My writing mentors told me from day one to expect things to move slowly — not because agents are mean “career crushers” but because they are busy . . . so I’m not surprised. Nor do I pace by my computer wringing my hands. Faith, family, THEN work, right? God’s timing.
Have a great day, everyone.
Thanks for the reminder to batch my emails – I tend to hit send as soon as I read something. It’s a bad habit that I’ve known about for years.
Can you send over some of those Post-Its please ma’am?! 🙂
Wendy, I don’t envy you your job, but I appreciate all you do!
Yes, add me to the appreciative group. I have trouble keeping just one writer going day to day. I can imagine agenting for several would be like herding cats.
I have cats. I try to herd them. I know.
Thanks, Wendy!
Wendy: “… my current number, 21,195, would scare the casual observer.)”
Actually, it makes me feel pretty good 🙂
Keep up the great work, Wendy.
“It is what it is” and “You can only do what you can do.” are two quotes I really needed to hear (err…read) today.
As a wife, mother, 5th grade teacher, and writer trying to get back into a routine now that school is back in session…well, let’s just say I’ve been more than overwhelmed and very grumpy about it. I’ve been praying for an attitude adjustment. I’m pretty ocnfident God will follow through with that one.
You’re so right. I can only do what I can do. As much as I’d like to, I can’t add more hours into the day. It is what it is. As much as I’d love to quit my day job right now, I can’t. Whining won’t help a thing.
Thanks for the post! I love getting an insider’s view into an agent’s world. And I appreciate/admire your authenticity.
Love those stickers
Of course, everyone would like an immediate response. But, as my mother used to say, “patience is a virtue too few of us possess.”
I appreciate the fact that you DO come to conferences and that you are “present” when talking to us. Your smiling face and words of encouragement are just what we need to press on in the sometimes lonely (but often exhilarating) task of writing.