Okay, so this isn't book news exactly, but it's related.The news is that my agent, Chris Richman, has left Firebrand Literary and joined the newly created literary agency, Upstart Crow Literary. Upstart Crow was created by publishing veteran Michael Sterns. You can get details here.
I made the decision to go with him. This little post might bore some people but in the interest of disclosing my journey, I thought it might be fun to share.
So I got a call from Chris telling me that he was leaving Firebrand to go to this new agency, and he asked if I wanted to tag along. Now I like Chris. He's a great guy. Smart and funny and professional. But my first thought was for my career. How would moving affect The Deathday Letter? How would it affect all the unsold foreign rights that we held onto?
Chris and I talked and I was convinced that going with Chris was the best decision, which came as a relief to me since I am where I am right now due to his enormous effort of my behalf. The nitty gritty is that, because Chris is more concerned with my long-term career than with just one book, he'll make sure he does everything he can to make it successful despite the fact that the actual domestic rights remain with Firebrand.
On a personal note, it made me feel good. Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to bring my one sold project with him, Chris could have taken this as an opportunity to dump any clients he felt he may have taken on in error, so asking me to come along sort of make me feel like he sees a future in my career beyond The Deathday Letter.
It's a bit scary. Less than a year after signing my contract with Firebrand, I'll be sending my letter dissolving that contract. But I'll also be signing a new one...so yay.
I'm convinced this was the right decision because while I'm grateful for the work the whole Firebrand staff has done on my behalf, Chris had the vision to see what my poor little manuscript could be, and he helped me make that vision a reality. That's a quality that can't be learned.
So good luck to Upstart Crow Literary :)
Several of you had more complicated decisions to make than I did. I still would have gone with Chris, though, even if there'd been a sale. Like you said, he's the one who had the vision.
ReplyDeleteyay! I'm so glad we're still agency buddies :D
ReplyDeleteI think it's great that your agent has such faith in you, but of course, he must have in the first place, or he wouldn't have offered you the contract in the beginning. I think it's great to hear that someone has an agent and is keeping an agent, and positive news is always welcome.
ReplyDelete