The One Piece of Advice I Give Writers with Offers of Representation

I've said this, like, twenty times in the last couple of months, so I thought I'd say it here and get it out once and for all:) There's only one thing I tell writers with offers of representation (besides congratulations, of course), and it's this:

Before you make your decision, you MUST correspond with at least one of their clients.

You can read interviews, follow blogs, stalk Twitter feeds, and even comb the deal listings on Publishers Marketplace, but the only way to find out what agents are really like is to talk to the people who work with them day in and day out. Here are some questions you might think about asking:

--What are some of the agent's greatest strengths?
--What is the agent's greatest weakness?
--Is the agent more or less editorial? (For more commentary on this question, check out this post.)
--How often do you generally correspond? Does the agent prefer to talk via phone or e-mail?
--On average, how quickly does the agent respond to your e-mails/calls? (Anything longer than forty-eight hours should worry you; most agents I know respond to their clients' correspondence in less than twenty-four.)
--If you knew then what you know now, would you sign with this agent again?

Last but not least, if you can work up the courage, I'd ask to talk to TWO clients, one published and one not. Most published authors are going to give their agents glowing reports, but you'll probably glean more information from their unpublished clients. And information is precisely what you need to go into an agent-author relationship with your eyes wide open.