We all know that you should steer clear of an agent who asks you for money, or promises the world, or suggests that you use their friendly in-house editorial service, but there's a bit more to it than that.

If an agent offers to take you on, leave the cork in the champagne long enough to check them out with the Society of Authors. They know a lot, about a lot of agents, which they can't and won't make public, and in particular about the ones they've had to help members extricate themselves from. There's nothing to stop anyone setting up as an agent, after all.

Membership of the Association of Authors Agents is essential - the only good reason for an agent not being a member is that they're newly set up, having had years of successful track record with an established agency. If they've been around a while and say it's because their turnover isn't big enough then they're not doing enough work: the turnover qualification really isn't set very high. But even if they are a member of the AAA I'd say, ask the Society, because some agents are well-known for having a particular style which may not suit you, and some things which make them unsuitable, and which the Society knows about, are nonetheless not a barrier to membership.

Really, truly, a bad agent is worse than none. Not only will they ruin your track-record and maybe gamble away your advance before you get it, they can really screw up your writing and your writerly self.

And if you do find yourself caught up with a dodgy agent, please tell the Society, even if you were lucky and didn't need their advice and fierce letters to extricate yourself. As authors we have so little clout, and the laws of libel make it tricky to go public on this stuff. The Society is the best way for authors to stand together without damaging themselves.

Emma

Thanks, Emma. Seems too as though some of the 'legit' - even big-name - agents are bad agents, in that they treat their clients without respect, don't answer their calls, and make very little effort to sell their work.
Susiex

I'm sorry, but I'm going to beg to differ here, too, Emma - as I did on your other very similar thread in Private Members - with your comment that 'membership of the Association of Authors Agents is essential'. It might be one form of 'guarantee' but it's very far from essential, I think. My agent's not a member and he's absolutely straight down the line, not to mention completely wonderful. Neither is my previous agent a member - and she had a strong client list and was well-connected, as well as being dead straight and very nice to work with. Nor are lots of other well-established agencies, if the directory of members on the AAA website is correct. Like Wade and Doherty, to take just one example.

There are plenty of other things you can do to check out an agent - their client list, word of mouth of other authors, and actually just speaking to them to see if they are a person you want to work with.

Membership of the AAA may be a good indicator of respectability - but I really wouldn't put too much store on non-membership as an indicator of anything at all. It may not at all be because their turnover is too low for the AAA theshold. It's an agent's personal choice.

Rosy x