What could I reasonably expect from an agent?

[Mia Clarke]

Hi bunnies! Happy new year!

So, this week has been the week when suddenly something shifted, and I’ve gone from getting rejected 10 times per minute (sooo many rejections!), to all of the sudden having 4 offers of representation from different literary agents. It feels… wild…

In order to pick an agent, I’m doing interviews with them this week. Today I met the first one, and although she was super nice, professional and knowledgeable, she was very clear with me that I shouldn’t expect any work to come in, unless we get “very lucky”. She said she’s had illustrators on her roster for years without them getting any meaningful work, and while I truly appreciate the honesty, I’m also feeling a tad deflated by this.

So, I wanted to ask those of you who have agent representation how much work you get through them? What would you say is a reasonable expectation? And, if having an agent brings in close to no work, should I really bother with even getting one?

As always, I appreciate your thoughts and input loads, and hope you can help add some additional perspectives to this issue. Thanks!

[NessIllustration]

@Mia-Clarke This could be because she's a literary agent focusing mostly on her authors? Although it can take a bit to get the ball rolling, years without a single contract is abysmal and unheard of.

[carlianne]

@Mia-Clarke that does seem a bit odd to me...
Could you clarify, are you an author/illustrator? Or just an illustrator? Was she talking about just illustration work or getting a book sold?

[Mia Clarke]

@carlianne I’m just doing illustration atm, so the work she was talking about was illustration work only. She said it’s an extremely difficult market to break into as an illustrator, and that none is really able to make a living out of it except if they’re already famous. ️

[xin li]

@Mia-Clarke It is normal to take some time for an agent to market your work and get clients. But taking years to get your first client seem to be much. I think of an agent as a business partner. If you business plan to make art as a full-time job long term, and the agent does not think it is possible, then maybe she is not a good match for you?

I am a lot happier to work with someone who actually believe in my plan.

[Mia Clarke]

@xin-li Yes, I think you’re right about this. Thanks for your reply. I’m meeting agent #2 today, and it’ll be interesting to see if she has a different view on things.

My feelings have shifted during the day, last night I was feeling very discouraged about the whole venture, but today I’m thinking that maybe all it is is that the agent I met yesterday is just not right for me.

[kirsten-mcg]

@Mia-Clarke I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I'll share what little I do have and hope it helps. I do have an agent, who I've been with for about 8 months. She has yet to bring me work, but that said she is a new agent who is just getting started, and I am as yet unpublished. She has a fairly small group of illustrators that she represents, and I know that most of them have had work come in from her. I think sometimes it can take a while to get the ball rolling. I agree with everyone else though that years sounds ridiculous. I think I would be looking for a new agent long before that!

That said, this is the value I do find in my current agent. She comes from the editing world, and so is a wonderful editor. She's willing to look at anything I write and help me polish it up, so I'm working on a couple children's book manuscripts with her. I know some agents don't like you to look for work on your own, but she told me up front that she doesn't mind that, and that when clients approach me because I've contacted them, I can either handle it on my own, or involve her to help with negotiations and contract. For me personally, I appreciate this flexibility.

That's wonderful that you got 4 offers at once! I feel like as you interview the other agents it will probably become clear who is the best fit for you. And it wouldn't hurt to ask the others about how much and how soon you can expect work! Their responses should help answer your question too. Good luck and congratulations on having so much interest in your work! Thats a great sign.

[Melissa_Bailey]

@Mia-Clarke congratulations!!!

Another perspective to consider: maybe the agent wasn't trying to be discouraging, but realistic. She might not have wanted to promise big things and then disappoint.

All that being said, you do want to make sure that any agent you sign with is a good fit. They're going to be your business partner and hopefully help grow your career.

As I'm in the querying trenches with you, I've been watching the Bookends Literary YouTube channel. It's been super helpful. You might want to check out their videos about agents offering representation and questions to ask during the initial call. Here's the link.

Hoping for all good things for you! Please let us know how it goes.

[NessIllustration]

@Mia-Clarke That's... not right. The fact that an agent is telling you that only famous artists can make a living in picture books is bonkers. I got 7 picture book deals in the first 2 years of my career - I was never famous and I'm still not, I just did it by having an excellent portfolio and pitching it relentlessly. I was able to make a full-time living from the first year.

I was speaking yesterday with a friend, she signed with a literary agent about 4 months ago and right now she's working on 3 books at once. Her agent found her a gig within the first month, and it was with a top publisher (Penguin UK). Now, that's an extraordinary experience with a very good agent so I'm not saying that's the norm. But it is possible, and this agent is telling you that it's not.

Something is wrong with this agent. It seems like her methods are not working at all, but she's blaming it on the market instead of improving her marketing. I would advise not to sign with her, especially if you have other offers on the table.

[Mia Clarke]

I had the meeting with the second agent, and it felt so much better. She was honest and upfront about not being able to make any promises, but spoke very strategically about what her plan would be, and how she would work to execute on it.

Thank you everyone for your great answers and insights! I was feeling so meh yesterday, and was just about ready to throw in the towel.

[Griffin McPherson]

@NessIllustration I don’t have experience with agents but even so this one sounds a bit off, it just alls sounds very strange for an agent to say these things

[Mia Clarke]

Update! So yesterday I accepted the offer of an agent, and I couldn’t be happier. She’s entrepreneurial, funny, warm and smart, and I think she’ll make an excellent business partner.

The first agent I met was the subjectively worst of the lot, and in hindsight I’m not really sure why she even wanted to represent me (seeing that she didn’t think she could actually sell my work). One of them spent a full hour talking without letting me get a word in edgewise. The second best was very sweet and professional, and would have been a great agent I think, except her network was more skewed towards adult publishing (and thus less effective for my purposes).

The next step now is to review the contract with my lawyer friend, and Imm hoping to officially sign next week!!!

Thanks again for your comments of support. I think I just needed my feelings of “this can’t be right” to be validated, and your support meant a lot. You rock!

[ArtMelC]

@Mia-Clarke Great news, Mia! Here's to exciting developments ahead

[Chantal Goetheer]

@Mia-Clarke congratulations!!!! That's great news. Hope you get work soon. I sure love your work, it really has your own signature and I love the atmosphere.

[NessIllustration]

@Mia-Clarke Congratulations!! It sounds like you found the right fit and I'm so happy for you. Well deserved!

[Julia Hegetusch]

@Mia-Clarke you deserve it. Your portfolio is very unique

[ajillustrates]

@Mia-Clarke Congrats!

[MirkaH]

@xin-li congrats! Im assuming were talking about literary agents? I have had two so far. The forst one would send my illustration portfolio out once a week to a few contacts, but over the course of a few years, I never got a single job. We always heard back that my work looked great, but apparently never a fit w a project. I started to write too, and eventually signed w another agent, and through writing and illustrating my own books, I now have 6 book deals. So I agree that it can be hard to get work if you are only illustrating. But it can be done, Ive seen friends be found by nice publishers on social media w no agent. So part of it is just luck being at the right place at the right time. If one of the offers is a larger illustration agency like Bright or Cat who only rep illustrators specifically for books, they are more efficient getting clients work. But Ive heard from friends that at Bright if youre not one of the big name illustrators you end up getting more of the cheap grunt work and you have a hard time reaching your agent etc. So while youre getting work its not the best experience.

[xin li]

@MirkaH Congratulations on 6 book deals. Your work is beautiful.

I agree that Luck plays a significant role in getting work as an artist. I also agree with you that getting an agent, or getting work is not always the right goal. During the first year I was illustrating full-time, I had a situation of having too many project offers, working long hours, and still not being able to pay the bill. I had a money talk with my first agent, and she told me politely "most of the artists have a side job". I left the agent not long after that because I realized that maybe we did not share the same goal for my career. I am grateful for my first agent and she did get me lots of work. She might be a perfect agent for someone with a less time-consuming style, or/and a different career goal, but she is not the right agent for me.

I think what I learned from my limited experience is that finding the right agent is hard, and you never know how the collaboration would be until you start working with them. So it is ok to change if things do not work out. Luckily, I work very well with my current agent so far. I am also more interested in writing my own book. I recently handed in the final art for my first author/illustrator book :-).

[AngelinaKizz]

Congrats Mia!