My biggest worries are: 1. How do we part ways, and what happens should I decide I need a new agent after the current agent has sold some books. This can be a very big deal.
2. How soon after receiving a check does the agent have to send me my share, and what happens if she fails to send it in the required time?
3. Does the agent object to me making deals on my own, as long as she handles the contract, and receives her cut?
4. Does the agent understand that she works for me, not the other way around, and that I can say yes when she thinks I should say no, and no when she thinks I should say yes?
5. Does the agent understand that this also applies to the writing itself? She does not have to like the novel, and does not have the right to tell me this or that should be changed, let along the right to mark up the manuscript in any way. She can refuse to handle it, but I'm the writer, and changes I make will be based on what the editor says, not on what the agent thinks. Editors are people who hold a position where they're earned the right to edit, to suggest changes, etc., are people I listen to. Usually. No one else counts. I've seen too many agents, even very good agents, screw up too many novels by turning them into something that might sell, but that is not what the writer wanted to do or say. And as for the writing itself, that's between me and an editor. The agent's job is to get me the best possible contract, not to tell me how to write a novel, let alone how to write a sentence. In practice, this is not as harsh as it sounds, and it's been no trouble at all. 6. Along with this, I do not submit ideas to an agent. I do not need or ask for approval to write a given kind of novel. I write what I want to write, the way I want to write it, and I also write what an editor asks for, if it goes along with what I think I'd enjoy writing. That's it.