As the launch of Project GetRep–the search for an agent–approaches, an analogy my grandfather shared ten years ago on a fishing trip never seemed more appropriate.

My grandfather grew up in a working class, largely German and Irish neighborhood in the Midwest. One day in high school, a good friend of his seated in the next desk voiced an epiphany. “I figured out how to marry a rich girl!”

“How’s that?” My grandfather asked.

“Never date a poor one.”

True story. Years later, his pal wed a wealthy girl–a direct heir to the largest construction firm in the state. The parallel struck me this weekend while combing the hit list of agents. In so far as a marriage is not the same thing as a business relationship, from a distance the precept is similar. If I want a great agent, the logical place to look is at the quality agencies with track records for closing deals. People who rep the sort of novels that land world rights and movie options.
By my accounting, approximately fifty US based literary agents consider thrillers and meet the above criteria. Rain makers. The sort of people who Get Things Done. For the balance of the 2007, they are the market for The Last Track.

In other words, there are no plans to solicit a poor one.