Some agents are generalists, some specialists. All, however, expect to receive upwards of 2000 submissions a year. And in that year select just a couple of new writers. These will be those they can forecast to make money for them or win awards which reflect favourably on their careers. Or both.
The scripts they choose will, of course, be excellent. So will many of those they turn down. However well written the submission, it will have to match precisely the criteria in the mind of the agent that particular time, not only in terms of genre, style and current literary taste, but where they can place it in the publishing world. Many ‘pass’ letters say that the script was good but did not fit their current lists, expressing the hope that the author will find a place that will suit them. Tweedlecoate is one such place.
Many authors are turning to self publishing in order to reach the reading population who will welcome their books. Last year, for every book published traditionally, three more were self published. A third of ebooks were self published. Interestingly, there is an increasing number of authors who are approached by agents after their book has proved successful as a self published work.
But, take a breath. Are you sure you really want an agent? The job of an agent is to work with you to improve the book they have just accepted to the point where it is going to be acceptable to an editor in a publishing house. You have beaten all the other unagented submissions to become agented, but that does not mean you are ready to compete with all the already agented submissions every editor receives. Your agent will start your collaborative relationship by pointing our flaws and ways to improve and you have a lot of hard work ahead of you. Worth it, of course. But be aware this is what having an agent means.
Your next creative idea should be discussed with them before you start. They need to sell your work. Would this exchange of ideas be acceptable to you? They want the next book. Do you want a career as an author or is this a retirement hobby? For most authors, the answer is yes, I do want an agent and yes, I do want to have a string of titles to my name. Others might not want the pressure. Just something to consider …