For SCBWI Metro Dec. 03
© Chris Tugeau

       It is just before the December holidays as I write this article about a sensitive topic, for sure.  For years I have been asked by artists WHY it is that a rep and an artist, once finding each other, decide to go separate ways.  I believe artists and writers would benefit from knowing a bit more about this process at the start of this New Year!

       Artists easily comprehend that THEY might grow to dislike or not trust a rep  and need to end the relationship. If they aren’t getting the type and number of jobs they anticipated, it’s easy to feel that it’s the fault of the rep. And though that may be true, I’ve talked many artists out of ‘jumping’ to my agency who were ‘fishing’ for a new rep, by explaining that it’s probably the market’s ‘slow yea,r’ rather than their rep’s fault. However, occasionally a ‘fresh start’ is a good choice for an artist’s career. The artist may want to expand into markets the rep doesn’t handle – advertising or international, for instance – and a jump to another agent might be the correct move.

       Representing artists (and writers) is a business of relationships.  Reps must maintain and constantly expand their lists of industry clients.  A large part of maintenance is consistently providing art buyers with talented and experienced professionals who can get the needed assignment done in the expected style and time frame.  THAT is the job for which the artists are hired and paid. That sounds obvious, yet many assignments are not completed successfully.  They are killed at the sketch, or even at the finished stage.  Perhaps they are done without the proper ‘bleed’ or positioning, or they aren’t ‘true’ to the expected style or palette…lots of reasons.  The artist’s challenge is to carefully follow the specs while doing great creative work.  Assigning work is truly a LEAP OF FAITH for buyers.  They hire particular reps because they trust that their artists are more likely to get the job done right and on time.  When this doesn’t occur, it not only hurts the artist’s reputation, but the reputation of the entire agency- it’s unlikely that the buyer will call again!  This is a reason to release an artist.