{"id":158996,"date":"2025-03-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/townhouse\/?p=158996"},"modified":"2025-03-21T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:00:00","slug":"how-to-hire-a-plumber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/","title":{"rendered":"How to hire a plumber"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, we dealt with hyper-intelligent beings in the form of robots. This week, we turn to\u2026 literary agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gist of this email is short and easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agents are there to sell services to you. Over the years, if your career does well, you\u2019ll certainly hope to spend thousands (of pounds or dollars) on those agents. With a little luck, you\u2019ll be spending tens of thousands. If your career really flourishes, you could easily be spending six digits on all that agenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, that money is bloody well spent. I\u2019m hardly ill-connected in the world of agents and publishers, and I have in fact sold books for Jericho Writers clients in the past. (Under exceptional circumstances only, and no, I won\u2019t do it for you.) But an agent lives in that market, day in and day out, and there\u2019s no question that they do a better job than I would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you know, I\u2019m a big fan of self-publishing<\/strong><\/a> and if you want to go that route, you stand an excellent chance of making more money than you would by going trad. But if you do want a traditional publisher, then the 10-15% commission you spend on your agent will be rewarded many times over by the uplift in revenues you\u2019ll collect. I\u2019ve never thought that agents are overpaid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u2013 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You pay these people. They work for you<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And OK, this is a two-way deal. They don\u2019t offer representation unless they think the deal will work out for them. So yes, you have to pass a kind of audition. But in a way that\u2019s even true of plumbers. If they don\u2019t fancy your bathroom renovation job, they either won\u2019t do it, or they\u2019ll quote a sum that induces you to say no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forget about the audition stage. It\u2019s irrelevant. These people work for you and, if things work out, they will make a lot of money from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So treat them like plumbers, not gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an agent stops responding to perfectly legitimate emails, then they\u2019re behaving childishly and unprofessionally. Move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an agent asks for editorial changes that you\u2019re sure are wrong, say no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an agent\u2019s submission process is unnecessarily fiddly or non-standard, then either ignore their requests or choose a different agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If an agent\u2019s contract has some pissy little clause that you don\u2019t like or seems unfair, then say so. Negotiate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most standard advice tells you to approach an agent with a kind of genuflection in your query letter. (\u201cThere are 1400+ literary agents in the world, but I\u2019m writing to YOU because you bedazzle me in the following way \u2026\u201d) And, for me, that\u2019s horse-poo. The things that people say in those letters almost always come over as inauthentic. In most cases, you know pretty much damn all about an agent, and you\u2019re writing to them because you don\u2019t totally hate their face, the agency seems OK, and you\u2019ve got to bang out a dozen query letters anyway. If I were back in agent-querying world, I wouldn\u2019t do that little genuflection. I\u2019d just say, \u201chere\u2019s my book. If you want to represent me, let\u2019s talk.\u201d I mean, I wouldn\u2019t phrase it quite like that, but I wouldn\u2019t curtsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also \u2013 send out multiple query letters. Agents used to promote a kind of sequential process: first one agent, then another, then another. That process served their interests very well and yours not at all. You wouldn\u2019t do that with plumbers. Don\u2019t do it with agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask for information. You should expect to know which editor at which publishing house has received your work. You should expect a submission strategy to be worked out with you in advance. Don\u2019t ask for those things timidly. Expect them. Require them. A plumber needs to check with you before selecting bathware. An agent needs to check with you before selecting editors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s the message. They\u2019re not gods. They\u2019re plumbers. Expect good behaviour, and you\u2019ll (probably) get it. All being well, you\u2019ll have an excellent professional relationship that lasts for years. You\u2019re paying the money, so you\u2019re within your rights to have expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask for what you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be polite and professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And don\u2019t curtsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FEEDBACK FRIDAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biff boff. Your task this week is to show me your query letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite what I say above, I\u2019m perfectly happy if you do insert the \u201cI\u2019ve chosen you because\u2026.\u201d language. I\u2019m just saying that I don\u2019t think it\u2019s obligatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re not at the querying stage, then do the exercise anyway. It\u2019s always helpful to think about your book from an agent\u2019s perspective. When you’re ready, share yours here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s it from me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Til soon,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, we dealt with hyper-intelligent beings in the form of robots. This week, we turn to\u2026 literary agents. The gist of this email is short and easy. Agents are there to sell services to you. Over the years, if your career does well, you\u2019ll certainly hope to spend thousands (of pounds or dollars) on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":98318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29292],"tags":[29213],"class_list":["post-158996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-harrys-friday-email","tag-harry-friday-email"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJericho Writers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to hire a plumber – Jericho Writers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week, we dealt with hyper-intelligent beings in the form of robots. This week, we turn to\u2026 literary agents. The gist of this email is short and easy. Agents are there to sell services to you. Over the years, if your career does well, you\u2019ll certainly hope to spend thousands (of pounds or dollars) on\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jericho Writers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jerichowriters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-21T10:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harry Bingham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@JerichoWriters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@JerichoWriters\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harry Bingham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Harry Bingham\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34f531ec178a2b069ca3debe26c60e5a\"},\"headline\":\"How to hire a plumber\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-21T10:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/\"},\"wordCount\":838,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Harry Friday Email\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Harry\u2019s Friday email\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/\",\"name\":\"How to hire a plumber – Jericho Writers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-21T10:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png\",\"width\":1950,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to hire a plumber\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/\",\"name\":\"Jericho Writers\",\"description\":\"Getting you published\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Jericho Writers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cropped-footer-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cropped-footer-logo.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Jericho Writers\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jerichowriters\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/JerichoWriters\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jerichowriters\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/jericho-writers\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCcs1qhjwLR6bQYDR2x3PbOw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34f531ec178a2b069ca3debe26c60e5a\",\"name\":\"Harry Bingham\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/harry-bingham_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/harry-bingham_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/harry-bingham_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Harry Bingham\"},\"description\":\"Write novels and non-fic. I've published trad & self-pub. Love both. Best known for my Fiona Griffiths crime series. Oh yes, and I'm the capo di tutti capi at Jericho Writers.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/author\/harryjericho\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Jericho Writers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to hire a plumber – Jericho Writers","og_description":"Last week, we dealt with hyper-intelligent beings in the form of robots. This week, we turn to\u2026 literary agents. The gist of this email is short and easy. Agents are there to sell services to you. Over the years, if your career does well, you\u2019ll certainly hope to spend thousands (of pounds or dollars) on","og_url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/","og_site_name":"Jericho Writers","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jerichowriters","article_published_time":"2025-03-21T10:00:00+00:00","author":"Harry Bingham","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@JerichoWriters","twitter_site":"@JerichoWriters","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Harry Bingham","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/"},"author":{"name":"Harry Bingham","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34f531ec178a2b069ca3debe26c60e5a"},"headline":"How to hire a plumber","datePublished":"2025-03-21T10:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/"},"wordCount":838,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png","keywords":["Harry Friday Email"],"articleSection":["Harry\u2019s Friday email"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/","url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/","name":"How to hire a plumber – Jericho Writers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png","datePublished":"2025-03-21T10:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Harry-Feedback-Fridays-Forum-Townhouse-Image-Header-7.png","width":1950,"height":450},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-hire-a-plumber\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to hire a plumber"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/","name":"Jericho Writers","description":"Getting you published","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#organization","name":"Jericho Writers","url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cropped-footer-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/cropped-footer-logo.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Jericho Writers"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jerichowriters","https:\/\/x.com\/JerichoWriters","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jerichowriters\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/jericho-writers\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCcs1qhjwLR6bQYDR2x3PbOw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34f531ec178a2b069ca3debe26c60e5a","name":"Harry Bingham","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/harry-bingham_avatar-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/harry-bingham_avatar-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/harry-bingham_avatar-96x96.jpg","caption":"Harry Bingham"},"description":"Write novels and non-fic. I've published trad & self-pub. Love both. Best known for my Fiona Griffiths crime series. Oh yes, and I'm the capo di tutti capi at Jericho Writers.","url":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/author\/harryjericho\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}