Thursday, April 19, 2007

A Day in the Life

(This is actually yesterday, but I was too busy to write it up).

Up at 7:00. Wake son up 10 times. Put on coffee. Check email to make sure no one has imploded since yesterday. Drive son to school. Go to bank to deposit check for broke client. Work-out. Shower.

Start at-desk day at 9:30 a.m. Email lunch to make sure we are on. Read 8 email queries which have come in overnight. Respond to only those that are definite no's.

Read 4 proposals/partials.

First is by existing client. This is the 3rd rewrite. We are trying to get him a bigger advance on a nonfiction Hollywood bio. Send to co-agent and celebs he is writing about. Wait for response.

Read academic proposal referred by a good source. Interesting concept, but needs a lot of work. Email author and tell him I need to sleep on it because something's missing and I don't know how to make it more commercial yet. Call referral and tell her I'll talk to her author tomorrow.

Read synopsis and partials of a quirky mystery series referred by colleague. To my surprise, the guy can write, but he's made his quirkiness too mundane. Call author and tell him to re-invent plot and get back to me.

Read sample text and new outline by client under contract who is having a little trouble being as brilliant as I know she is. Confer with editor and set up editorial phone call between author and editor for the afternoon, after I've laid the ground work.

Go to lunch with colleague. Discuss YA market, academics who write history. How we are both glad we are literary agents who work from home.

Make sure conference call with celeb author for today is set up.

Submit 4 copies of an erotic partial ms.

Get email from editor saying the $2000 fee publisher charged author for indexing his book seems justified. Pull out original contract where publisher is supposed to ask author to index before charging him. Fight fee.

Look up. Realize I have 15 minutes to get ready for dinner and play this evening (King Hedley II by August Wilson - excellent, but long play). Home by midnight.

Get up and do it again.

4 comments:

Jordan Summers said...

Congratulations to you both. :)

Bob Liter said...

"Go to bank to deposit check for broke client."

I'm broke. But darn, I'm not your client. Oh well, maybe someday.

Anonymous said...

Wow. That's a grueling schedule! Is that a typical day?

Stuart said...

Long time reader, first time poster.

What's an indexing fee? And is this common?

Thanks!