Some writerly folks decided to use today as a day to pay tribute to our agents on our blogs, and since I think my agent is the cat’s pajamas, I decided to join in. My lovely agent is Michelle Brower, who recently relocated to Folio Literary Management. Michelle is pretty much solely responsible for the existence of Slanted and Enchanted, since she contacted me based on an essay I wrote for Kitchen Sink and asked if I wanted to develop a book proposal. If it weren’t for her, I’d probably be writing long, cranky essays for obscure literary magazines nobody reads… well, I actually still do a fair amount of that, but thanks to Michelle I also have a book that people can buy pretty much everywhere. She has also been an excellent advocate for my work and helped me learn the ropes of the proposal process, working with editors, signing contracts and all the hoo hah involved in the business side of writing. Also, though she is super sweet she’s got a steely interior this comes in very handy in contract negotiations), and has a knack for picking clients whose work is unique, funny, and interesting. I’m very glad she’s decided to stick with me!