How to tell if your agent sucks

An extremely specific test — because a bad agent is worse than no agent at all

Jul 21, 2025

∙ Paid

Earlier this month, my talented friend Leah Konen wrote a super helpful and very specific guide to finding a great agent:

To Tell a Story

What I'd tell you on an author call: Agent edition

Ok we’ve talked advice about the querying process. What if you asked me for a call because you’ve received some offers from agents and you’re deciding between them? Or what if you have an agent but you’re thinking of jumping ship? Or what if you’re making your agent list and you need to know what qualities are importa…

10 days ago · 65 likes · 29 comments · Leah Konen

Leah gives some excellent specifics on what to look for when hiring (because, yes, you are hiring and then paying out of your own earnings) someone to represent you. But what do these qualities (the green and red flags, if you will) look like in the real world?

Jeffrey Wright and John Ortiz in American Fiction — The author-agent relationship in American Fiction is one for the ages.

With her blessing, I’m building upon her post and sharing some spots in the publishing journey where an agent’s true colors show through. Note that each one of these hypothetical scenarios is based on VERY REAL events.1 If your agent keeps picking the no-bueno path, it might be time to look for new representation.

Scenario: You’re querying a carefully curated list of literary agents. And one is interested!

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Andrea Bartz: Get It Write to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.