Tell us all about the first phone call you received from your agent.
I figured this was an appropriate dare, seeing as I recently
celebrated my one-year agentversary (no, it’s not a word and no, I don’t care)
with my fantastic agent, Tina Wexler of ICM Partners.
It was August 1, 2011. A Monday. About 3pm and I may or may
not have still been in my pajamas but THAT IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. My phone rang in the other room and I remember
thinking, I should be hearing back from Tina Wexler any day now about the
manuscript I revised and resubmitted—what if it’s her? And then I looked at my
phone and it totally was!
I was, true to nature, an awkward weirdo when she said she
was calling to offer representation. I inexplicably responded with something
like, “Oh, I was hoping you weren’t calling to tell me thanks but no thanks!”
in this half-crazed, half-terrified voice. She then laughed and said, “Yup, I always call potential clients to personally reject their
manuscripts!” And that is the moment I knew she was the agent for me.
Of course I learned over the next hour and a half that we
were a great fit for a number of reasons. First of all, she had such wonderful
things to say about my manuscript, including the revisions I’d implemented
based upon her suggestions, which improved it so much more than I could’ve imagined. She was obviously well-read,
suggesting contemporary titles that were comparable to A POINT SO DELICATE, and
books I should read to help with the last round of revisions we’d be tackling
before we went out on submission.
She asked me about myself, since I didn’t have much of a web
presence beyond a locked-down Facebook account and a Twitter account I rarely
used. Probably a mistake, in hindsight. I had no idea where to begin, but
pretty sure it started with “I’ve been writing since I was seven . . .” I mean,
come on. But, as usual, Tina humored me (reason number 5,698 I am thrilled to
be her client), and I somehow managed to condense my life story/writing
aspirations to considerably less time than the 12-hour phone saga it was shaping up
to be.
I asked the usual agent questions you’re supposed to ask,
but only because I felt obligated. I could have stayed on the phone talking
books and writing with her forever! And she, of course, asked what I’d like to
work on in the future—was I open to adult too, or would it be YA only? I have
no immediate plans to write adult fiction, but never say never; I read much
more YA, but I love adult fiction. The point is that she represents both, and
that was good news for me in case I do
decide to write adult fiction someday.
I then asked her about verse novels because one thing I know
for certain is that I’d like to at least attempt one in the future. Also, I knew from my research that she had an MFA
in Poetry; I mentioned this, then immediately blurted, “That probably makes
me sound like a stalker, huh?” (Because when in doubt—and especially when on a
business call—always bring up stalking.) But, once again, Tina assuaged my
fears and said she found it reassuring because she knew it meant I had
done my research and was not arbitrarily querying agents.
By the end of the call, I knew I would sign with her, so I
accepted on the spot. Look, I don’t advocate this. You should always take time
to think about how you’ll mesh with this person. You should also talk to their
current clients to get their take on working with this agent. Your career is in
their hands! You will have to trust them a lot when it comes to your book, from submitting to editors who will “get”
your work to contract negotiations to handling paychecks from your publisher
(which are typically routed through your agent, whose agency then cuts you a
check minus their commission). Not to mention all of the post-sale support,
which includes, among many things, reading the manuscript you revise with your
editor, reading your future, unsold work, and calming your fears when the crazy
won’t get out of the way.
But I knew that I was in good hands with Tina. I’d been
querying for four years and hadn’t read
or heard a bad word about her. In fact, all I kept hearing was that she’s one
of the nicest agents in the business (it’s true) and how happy her clients are.
So I accepted at the end of the call. I was happy. She was happy, despite my
display of unbridled dorkitude. And a year later, I still think about the
afternoon I received that call—how much my life changed in the matter of a few seconds
(and when I wasn’t even wearing proper pants!).
One thing Tina failed to tell me on The Call was how
much she talks about cats on social media. Luckily, I’m a virtual cat lady—none
of my own, obsessed with everyone else’s—so this was just an additional perk to
what I knew would be a wonderful working relationship. A year later, I’m happy
to say my instincts from the first minute of that phone call were absolutely
spot on.
And I leave you with the following gif because I'm quite sure this is how ICM's lit department would look if Tina (or I, for that matter) had anything to say about it:
Come back Tuesday to see our next guest poster and continue submitting your truths and dares here!
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Brandy Colbert lives in Los Angeles where she works as a freelance
magazine copyeditor, combining her Journalism degree and love of words
and grammar. Her debut novel, A Point So Delicate, is forthcoming from
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers/Penguin in Fall 2013. She'd
love to connect with you on Twitter, her blog, or Goodreads.
