Agent Appreciation Day

Well I just found out via Twitter that today is Agent Appreciation Day and so I wanted to take a minute to tell you why I love and appreciate my agent.

Jenny Bent, of The Bent Agency, is one of those people whose work I’ve admired for so long she seemed almost unapproachable. I read Laurie Notaro, Jill Conner Browne and Celia Rivenbark for years before I realized they all shared the same fabulous agent.

When it came time to query agents with my work, Jenny was always my first choice. I wanted to have the same agent that my 3 favorite authors raved about, but she was one of the last agents I queried. I was terrified to actually make contact with her because I was afraid if she turned me down or told me I was terrible, I would believe her. And I didn’t know if I would have had the guts to keep on going after that.

You can tell in every interview she gives, and every blog post she writes that she believes in her clients. She doesn’t take on books just because she thinks they will be a commercial success, she takes on projects she loves and believes in…books that speak to her.

After I queried Jenny, I didn’t sleep for days. She requested my full manuscript quickly and soon after that I received an e-mail offering representation. And I was so glad it wasn’t a phone call, because I screamed so loudly that I woke up all three of my napping children.

JENNY BENT wanted to represent me!!

Since that day, she has worked tirelessly (and for free) to make my manuscript better. She is unbelievably approachable, encouraging and available. Her editorial suggestions and guidance have transformed what was a big pile of slightly coherent essays into what is beginning to resemble a book.

I sincerely hope that other writers feel the same way about their agents, because I cannot imagine doing this with anyone else. (Let me know when your Skittle supply begins to dwindle, it’s the least I can do.)