How do I find a good agent?

That’s where I start, and it stops me cold. How do I define ‘good’? I know very little about the business of publishing novels. Any judgement I make is going to be so poorly informed as to be useless; I’m reminded of Peter Griffin pooh-poohing the Godfather movies.

The answer, I think, is that ‘good’ here is a badly chosen word. I don’t need the Platonic ideal of an agent; I need someone who has certain areas of expertise that I lack. I need an agent who understands the science fiction/fantasy marketplace. Ideally, this person would have experience leveraging content across multiple platforms, including print, gaming and video. I want to make sure the first Abigail Moore novel sings, so access to talented editorial staff is important. I’ve never been much impressed by celebrity, but a list of well-known authors associated with this agency would be reassuring. A history of success winning big contracts is nice, but entirely optional.

Hey! I think I just found my criteria!