When I went back to Agent #2, things were very different. She had moved and was no longer local, so no coffee at Borders. On the plus side, though, she was closer to NY and was able to schedule more face time with editors.

She had also become a real estate broker (NY is a more expensive place to live…much, much more). She had also taken on a new agent in her agency, who was doing quite well, so I wasn’t worried (and no — I knew better than to even meet said new agent).

As a published author, under contract to deliver my seventh book to my publisher, I gave my agent a proposal for another book in my current series, and one for a new novel, and expressed my hope to branch out and maybe publish with two houses. She thought that was a great idea (we were on the phone, so I don’t know if she was smiling, I was cautious enough by now that my expression was a worried frown that I was being too ambitious — a family legacy).

Both proposals went nowhere. My editor left between my 6th and 7th book, and my newly assigned editor was not interested in more books from me. Other publishing houses wanted more than a proposal. I finished another book, Agent #4 submitted it to two publishers. When it was rejected, she ran out of ideas.

I had vicarious experience with this, so I wasn’t too panicked (I had seen writer friends have to shift gears when they lost an editor, I was willing to do that, too). I came up with a new, high concept idea. Only problem was, it wasn’t historical romance. It wasn’t, technically, romance. It was a genre Agent #4 hated, but had contacts in. I wrote the proposal, and asked Agent #4 to send it out to an editor she knew who was buying in that genre. She did. It was rejected.

I asked her if she still wanted to represent me. She said she did. (NOTE: If you ever feel the need to ask an agent if he or she still wants to represent you, it is time for you to go. There is no need to put the agent in an awkward position answering a question that is hanging in the air. If he or she wanted to answer it, you’d already have the “it’s not me, it’s you” kissoff letter in your hand.)

I came up with another very high concept idea. But this was for a YA, an area Agent #4 didn’t have any interest or editorial contacts in. I told her I felt very strongly about this idea and was going to pursue it and find a new agent who represented YA. She thought that was a good idea. We parted amicably and with relatively little drama.

Which meant yet another agent hunt, this time for an agent in a genre I was not very knowledgeable about. Yay. I decided to write the book first, and research the YA agents casually while I was writing, to find one I clicked with.

Next up — I find Agent #5