It’s tough to get an agent. Some authors query hundreds of people before finding representation. But look at this story. It’s from an interview with Danielle Durkin, an acquiring editor at Random House.
Sometimes, just having a big mouth will get you somewhere. (via Booksquare)
Mediabistro: You met one of your authors, composer David Israel (Behind Everyman: A Novel for Guys and the Women Who Rescue Them) on the subway, and wound up later signing him. How did you get started talking about his work? When such a situation arises, do you recommend agents to authors?
Durkin: That is my favorite story ever! I usually don’t talk to folks on the subway and have a few polite ways of deflecting strangers who want to show me their novels. But David had something special that attracted me and I’m so glad I made an exception in his case. He saw me with a Random House tote bag on my arm and started chatting me up. After I got over my initial reticence to speak to him, I learned that he was a very successful composer, that he had been abroad working on fiction, and that he was extremely intelligent and funny. We talked and talked and finally I agreed to look at his work (and made him miss his subway stop!). I did help him find an agent, and yes — if I find an author who I think has talent, I absolutely become her/his advocate and will help to hook them up with an agent.
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