Writerpedia discussion

When do we tell our agents, if we have one, our age?

When we meet them in person.

Before that, if we're too young, they'll think us unsophisticated prodigies; if we're too old, they'll think us senile, and easily manipulated.

Remember: the reading public didn't need to know George Sand's sex. Their assumptions were good enough.

So. You are saying let them know your age when you meet them in person
What would make them need to meet you in person
Thanks

Precisely, and you're welcome.

My reaction would be to say I'd explain my age when they explained their parentage - but that's probably not helpful.

They're agents. They have no parents. They propagate by budding, rather like the plant in The Little Shop of Horrors.

Thanks
What might cause us to meet them in person?
Thanks

Well, here's my take on this whole agent and age thing.

You won't have to tell them your age. Before they give you the first green light, they'll Google your name to see if you have a web presence anyway. If you have no web presence, they're probably not going to entertain any ideas about your manuscript unless it's so stellar they're afraid not to enter a dialogue with you. Remember, damn near every major publisher blew off JK Rowling and Harry Potter before one of them took a chance.

If you have a web presence, they'll see if you have the makings of a national platform, they'll figure out how old you are and whether or not you're young enough and photogenic enough to fit their "beautiful person" criteria. They'll weigh your personal history, whatever they can find, to see if there's a marketing angle in it to go with your age and photogenic qualities. Then they might read more than the first two paragraphs of your first chapter. This is all provided, of course, that your submission gets past their first readers, which most agents claim they don't have on one hand while bemoaning the amount of submissions they receive in a week on the other.

So, looking at all of that above, how much do you think your writing really matters? Could this be one explanation for some of the drivel the major publishers, who rely solely on agented submissions, are turning out these days?

That's just my two cents. Personally, on my fiftieth birthday I weighed how much life I had left versus how much time I'd have to waste of said life jumping through arbitrary hoops to convince an agent I'm worthy. Then I started my own publishing company, Jigsaw Press. All my authors average around 58-60 years of age.

Mari

Wow thanks that was so helpfuld