Most powerful agent?

You might find this thread in the AW Roundtable interesting.

Best agent, or best agency? And for what genre?

RJLeahy said:

Question: Which agents have the juice to get that call taken?

Click to expand...

If they're a legitimate agency that's sold to that house before, the answer is "All of them."

(But if they call at 4:55 pm on a Friday in summer, the answering machine gets the call. Publishers go home at noon.)

I thought we'd already extensively addressed the pointlessness of this kind of exercise in that other thread. Guess I was wrong.

- Victoria

Well, gosh. That's me told off.

- Victoria

victoriastrauss said:

Well, gosh. That's me told off.

- Victoria

Click to expand...

Well, Victoria, it’s about time.

Your constant attempts to freely share your hard-earned knowledge, provide accurate information about the world of agents and publishing, and provide a voice of reason is starting to get old. Not to mention that annoying habit of encouraging new writers.

RJLeahy said:

... who was the most powerful literary agent in the world right now.

Click to expand...

Oh, that's easy - my agent is the most powerful one in the world! She can fly, and heal herself when she gets hurt, and move things with her mind, and even become invisible when the need arises.

Oh, wait, sorry. I was getting real life mixed up with Heroes again.

*grin*

RJLeahy said:

It wasn't meant to tell you off. It was meant to say that not everything discussed on AW has to meet with your approval.

Click to expand...

But it does have to meet with my approval. I'm sorry to report that this thread is substandard.

Back up the wrecking ball! Clear the zone!

Sorry, but this thread doesn't work for the same reasons that the other thread doesn't work. The most "powerful" agent in science fiction and fantasy would be entirely different than the most powerful agent in romance. Or they might be the same person.

That doesn't allow even for a "no way, mine's better! argument because it's not a matter of better. It's a matter of different. It's like comparing sewing needles to bananas. Exactly.

Rj, don't even bother trying. Or you'll end up like me. In a lovely little white room with lovely little white padded walls and the coziest white jacket with your arms tied oh so snugly behind you . . . but, one may ask, if I'm in a straight jacket, how am I typing . . . a puzzle isn't it.

Toothpaste said:

Rj, don't even bother trying. Or you'll end up like me. In a lovely little white room with lovely little white padded walls and the coziest white jacket with your arms tied oh so snugly behind you . . . but, one may ask, if I'm in a straight jacket, how am I typing . . . a puzzle isn't it.

Click to expand...

That's a dexterous nose you have there.

It's interesting how some people just want to shut these discussions down.

But I think the William Morris Agency is a good pick because they have their fingers in everyone's pie.

I have my eye on Writers' House, m'self.

See, but I've never even heard of writer's house, whereas I think nearly everyone has heard of the William Morris Agency. It's nearly a household word.

You haven't heard of Writers' House, but you've heard of their writers, which is the trick, isn't it?

http://www.writershouse.com/content/bestsellers.asp

Have I heard of some of those writers (many I've never heard of) because of the agency or because of the writer?

That's a bit metaphysical for me, I'm afraid.

You probably would have heard of Neil Gaiman or Nora Roberts eventually, because good writing gets you where bad writing cannot. But I would maintain that you would not hear about them so loudly or so soon if not for the agency.

Then again, Neil Gaiman was a major writer well before he needed a literary agent. So make of that what you will.

Anonymisty said:

Oh, that's easy - my agent is the most powerful one in the world! She can fly, and heal herself when she gets hurt, and move things with her mind, and even become invisible when the need arises.

Click to expand...

I've met your agent and I believe you

Shadow_Ferret said:

It's interesting how some people just want to shut these discussions down.

Click to expand...

Yes. The Man is stepping on this thread's neck. Down with the man!

o.o

You... You have a pogo avatar. Will you marry me?

The most powerful agent in the world can't sell an unpublishable manuscript.

More to the point, the most powerful agent in the world won't even try. That's part of what make him "the most powerful agent in the world."

I think I can state without fear of serious contradiction that The Literary Agency Group is not "THE MOST POWERFUL AGENCY GROUP IN THE UNITED STATES."