It's tough finding an agent these days and when you do find one, it has to be a good fit. I was reading about how Jane Ganahl, author of "Naked on the Page: The Misadventures of My Unmarried Life," had three tries before she found one that understood and agreed with her intentions for the book. (I don't mean that two turned her down and the third took her on; she had signed with the other two.
In an interview, she says, "I had differences of opinion with my first two agents as to how the book should be...she [the 3rd one] was the one who got what I was going for and just suggested a few small changes in the proposal I'd been working on with these two other agents...My second agent wanted to bend it in the direction of self-help, and I think most self-help books are crap."
She was brave enough to stick to her guns and it worked out--she got a $50,000 advance from Viking and has had serious interest from a TV company in the series rights.
It's always difficult to know when you are being true to yourself, vs. just being stubborn. I have a somewhat similar situation, in that the book agent I was working with for my novel has told me he loves the writing, but publishers don't want show-biz/Hollywood novels unless they're written by big name celebrities. Furthermore, he has a few rejections from publishers that also praise the writing but basically say the same thing: too many Hollywood novels out there already. And yet...for me, the Hollywood setting happens to be what I know and I see it as a means to telling a story that's really about people and how they sometimes take a long time to discover who they are. And it's funny. Anyway, I'm still working on that puzzle, I'll keep you posted.
