Author Talk Interviews Deidre Knight

11 Comments

1. Jessica
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 16:35:50

   Am I the only person that feels that there could be some tension in straddling the world between literary agent and author (in the same genre)?

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2. gena showalter
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 17:53:45

   Deidre’s my agent (and Jill’s) and I write in the same genre that she does (paranormal romance). It doesn’t bother me at all that she is both agent and author. She’s fantastic at both and I never feel slighted. And I love that she understands exactly what I’m going through when it comes to deadlines and all that. :)

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3. K. Z. Snow
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 19:02:26

   Truth be told, I think I’d feel a tad more comfortable if my editors and/or agent stuck to editing and/or agenting. Now I have to go and give this more thought.

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4. JulieLeto
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 19:14:03

   All of Deidre’s clients have the choice to be with an agent who also writes romance. If they don’t feel any tension, then it really shouldn’t matter to the rest of us. It’s just one more consideration for people who are submitting to Deidre. I know Deidre (though she’s not my agent) and I think she does a fabulous job of finding balance between two very tough worlds.

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5. Jill Monroe
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 19:30:06

   Wow, this is so not where I’d expected the comments to go. I mean Gena’s acting…it’s terrible! Or the fact that Gena and I seem to be in some weird showdown of who can be the most pale. Or that I am physically unable to pronounce the “r” in Deidre’s name.

   I will point out that Deidre does not actually represent herself, she’s hired her own agent. Being passionate about romance and romance writing is one of the things I found we had in common, and I really value that she understands my position as an author.

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6. Jill Sorenson
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 20:32:29

   Whoot for man-slaves! Hilarious as always.

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7. JulieLeto
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 22:33:31

   The manslaves were brilliant. And since I’ve met Deidre’s husband, it was doubly hi-lar-i-ous.

   Of course, the whole thing had me craving a bowl of wine.

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8. Jane
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 22:43:11

   @Jessica: I don’t know if you are referencing the Lori Perkins situation wherein she is an agent and a publisher in an epress, but I actually think the two situations are very different. This is the way I see it.

   In any situation wherein you examine a dual role, you need to consider what, if any, conflicts there are. Simply because you have a dual role doesn’t automatically implicate a conflict.

   The possible conflict between being an agent and an author is that the agent, as author, might be pushing her books to the editors in front of her clients. Given that Knight does not agent her own books, that conflict seems to be taken away. I suppose you could assert that in meetings with editors, an agent/author could be self promoting and if that is a feeling you have about said agent then you wouldn’t have the level of trust between agent and author that is necessary for that relationship to work.

   The possible conflict between an agent/editor/publisher is that the agent might have financial interest to send/funnel works to her own publishing agency so that she can earn revenue directly from that work above and beyond her agenting fees.* A sort of double dipping. That type of conflict doesn’t exist in an agent/author dual role.

   *I understand that Perkins is no longer taking any fees as an agent, but is instead directing anyone who wants to submit to her publishing firm to one of her associate agents.

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9. Lori
   Oct 03, 2008 @ 22:56:23

   ***Wow, this is so not where I'd expected the comments to go. I mean Gena's acting…it's terrible!***

   You mean she wasn’t really drunk? I was just disappointed that the question we all really want to know wasn’t asked: what is Deirde Knight’s favorite Gena Showalter novel?

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10. Diana Peterfreund
    Oct 04, 2008 @ 06:33:09

    Lori, I had that question, too! What *is* her favorite? (And how funny would it be if she was all, “Never cared too much for Showalter’s work…”)

    Also, they missed a golden opportunity to get the GHOSTS who live in that house drunk. All I’m saying…

    (Disclaimer: Deidre’s my agent too.)

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11. Kristie(J)
    Oct 05, 2008 @ 00:19:24

    I laughed at this one right from the beginning when Gena ‘dropped’ the shield through the toga’s to Gena’s wreath falling off. The ever increasing wine bowls was hilarious as was Gena’s drinking right out of the bottle. And the man slave – what a hoot!! And if Deidre is Gena and Jill’s agent, I’d like her to be mine too!! Mind you, I haven’t written a book with any plans to in the very far distance – very far, very, very far, but if I did, I’d want Deidre *g*

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