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jgold, do you remember your time between query and request?
I have been finishing up a long term independent project for my day job, and between that and dealing with boring stuff related to the collapse of Western capitalism as we knew it, I haven't had a second to catch up on slush. However, as of this coming Monday I will be taking a few weeks off to concentrate full time on agenting... so if you have something under consideration with me, I hope you'll be patient just a little longer.
Er...so she's a part time agent?
As long as she's still selling books -
There are many reputable agents who also have a non-agenting day job / part-time job.
For example: Elaine English. She's a lawyer, and she practices law. That doesn't mean she's a shady agent or a hobbyist lawyer. (She's a great lawyer in case you're wondering )
Ultimately I think many agents strive to make enough money to agent full-time. But it's not the end of the world if they need a side job to pay their bills until then. Remember that they can't get paid until they sell someone. So agents work for their clients for free until that happens.
Besides if the rule is part-time = hobbyist, then almost every aspiring and/or new and/or midlist author is hobbyist since they usually can't support themselves writing full-time, unless they inherited a ton of money or have a financially stable spouse.
Wanting to support my agent has nothing to do with my post. I wouldn't have said anything in her defense if I considered her ineffective and/or incompetent.
I don't think her other job makes her ineffective and/or a hobbyist. Here's why:
1. AAR membership does not mean the agent is good, or lack of it bad.
2. She signed new clients and sold their projects while she was at Writers House.
3. And many of the above mentioned clients stayed with her when she left WH. If she were a bad agent, they wouldn't have since they could've stayed at WH.
4. She's always been very upfront, and I genuinely feel that she has my best interests at heart based on our conversations and the things she's encouraged me to do both before and after I signed with her.
5. I always receive timely responses from her via email or phone.
6. She reviews my projects promptly.
7. She makes herself available for brainstorming when I need to bounce ideas back and forth with someone.
http://dianafox.livejournal.com/4789.html?style=mine
Apparently some guy faked a partial MS request from her to himself, and used it to send her chapters. ALMOST unbelievable.
Just piping in to say that though Diana is not my agent (sadly), I have found my dealings with her as a submitting would-be author to be the most professional I've encountered. Good communication, friendly, and up front. I'd also done my research when I submitted my first query, and continued to keep abreast of her sales via Publisher's Marketplace after she requested my full.
In addition to Claudia and Nadia above, she's sold Jo Graham's excellent historical debut, and quite recently, two as-yet-unreleased urban fantasy series by Seanan McGuire and Anna Katherine, respectively. These were both to major houses (TOR and DAW). Just about a week ago, another deal with her name came up, a historical fantasy by a new author.
She seems very active, successful, and it has never crossed my mind that her day job might make her anymore less effective an agent than mine makes me a less effective writer.
I haven't yet heard back on my full, but expect to soon. I can only hope to have her, or someone like her, as my agent at some point.
I definitely have to second this sentiment. Every encounter I've had with Diana so far has been honest and open and she genuinely seemed to have an author's best interests at heart. My submission with her has been a roller coaster ride, but she's been very kind and I'm waiting on pins and needles to see if she's interested in my MS! I have to say that from all I've learned about her in the past eight months, I would love to have her as an agent.