and email (essential) and can you jpeg samples to the agent or buyers? (becoming more essential) Are you good with specs, directions, deadlines? Can you really listen to and accept criticism and revisions of your work and concepts?

     These are questions that all should be answered “YES” before you even present to an agent.  Then there are other questions that we, and you, should consider: can you work as a team…trust someone else to act on your behave…be ok with the fact that they may have 30+ other artists to work with as well (and a life of their own occasionally too!)… that you will pay the rep 25% or 30% commission on most jobs, including royalties for the life of the books? Again, “YES” is the magic answer.

     Now YOU are ready to search for an agent.  But are WE ready for you?  I currently rep 40 artists and can not take on another unless I let one go. (so hard!) I have recently trained a couple of new agents to help with what I see as “the rep shortage.” And the hard economy can end a rep’s career as easily as an artist’s, or a studio’s, or a publishing house’s! I am still ‘looking’ at artists work as there are niche styles I’d like to find etc., but so many of us are as good as ‘closed.” You need to be careful with your choice of an agent as well.  When you find an interested one, a personality match must happen if this relationship is to be a pleasant, trusting and fruitful one. Talk to other artists and buying clients. Understand well all the agency practice policies and procedures. Get a working contract signed by you and the agent so expectations are clear on both sides.  And keep communication open at all times.

     A respectable, ethical agent will always do their very best to find you great work at great prices, rights and deadlines.  But we don’t make the jobs, and there are no guarantees. We can probably get your style ‘out there’ better, but in the end, it’s your ART that does the ‘talking’ and gets the jobs.

© Chris Tugeau