More than one agent

My agent told me this

He usually only represents one market however once an Editor at a publishing house takes a shine to my voice THEN the House will ask if I have anything else to offer. Either I can stick with him or I am free to move on without him because we are contracted project by project / Work / Title.

Another agent told me that it is not unusual to have more than one agent for each Work. It is truly up to the author.

If you and an agent are a match, then he / she will spend the time on you. I have come to learn that an agent really does have to LOVE your voice and work to represent you. In short, he / she has to "get you" in all your facets / talents.

Think of an author / agent relationship it as a "great marriage" and if you both are connected soulfully then neither of you will want, need, or desire anyone in your life again. I know it sounds like a dream but listen, it can and does happen!


My very best wishes towards finding a match with an agent I send to you.

PS With a last name like "Burton" you should not have a problem with hits from an agent! Use it as a marketing tool.

davidhburton said:

Here is my situation: I have a children's (middle-grade) fantasy series that I am looking for representation on. I also have an adult/ya fantasy series that I am looking for representation on.

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I take it that the second series could be marketed as either adult or YA? If so, whether you need two agents depends on how you'd most like that series to be marketed. If you're OK with YA, you very likely could find a single agent who'd be interested in both projects, as the middle grade and YA markets overlap enough that agents who sell in one often sell in the other. I'd suggest that you look for an agent who sells to those markets, rather than one who specializes in fantasy--fantasy and children's/YA are both individual markets, but since so much children's/YA fantasy is published by mainstream children's imprints, the children's/YA specialty trumps the fantasy specialty, if that makes any sense.

If, on the other hand, you want to market the series as adult fiction, you might want to seek a separate agent for the project. In that case, I'd suggest that you focus on an agent with a fantasy specialty.

If you decide to target a single agent for both projects, pick one project to approach with. Many agents dislike being approached for multiple projects at once.

- Victoria