Michelle Brower of Trellis Literary Management
One thing I’ve learned in my time as an agent is that there is only one thing that an author can truly control: the work. Editors leave, publishing houses merge, trends shift, and—in the middle of that hurricane—there’s always the work. No writer can control their reviews, how many copies bookstores order, what awards they might win. Even the best books do not always get the accolades they deserve.