There Is No Such Thing as a Good Editor, Good Agent, Good Publisher, Good Publicist, Good Marketer…

I guarantee someone will respond or comment asking for a recommendation.

When I moved back to Cincinnati after 10 years away, I asked my best friend if she could recommend a good primary care provider, as my erstwhile doctor had retired. She gave me the name of hers.

After a year of seeing this physician, I honestly have no idea who could or would consider them worthy of recommendation. Yet my friend is someone who needs quality, reliable care—she’s not blessed with good health. Furthermore, she’s also seen a lot of doctors in her lifetime. I implicitly trust her judgment.

So why the disconnect?

After continual experience with disappointing recommendations, I’ve concluded some things are highly subjective and highly variable from person to person. And I’m sorry to say (because it makes my professional life harder) that writing, editing, and publishing is one of those things. Recommendations, even from a trusted source, have to be judged for yourself to determine suitability.

Daily I’m asked questions such as:

• Can you recommend a good editor who’s just right for me and this project?

• Can you recommend a good marketer/publicist for my very particular book, preferably who lives in my city?

• Can you recommend a good agent who will love exactly what I’m writing?

• A good publisher who will market and promote?

• A good hybrid publisher that fits my budget?

• A good writing conference in my region?

When writers ask for recommendations of a “good [fill in the blank],” usually one or more of the following is true.

• They fear wasting their money.

• They’ve heard horror stories from other writers and worry the same fate will befall them.

• They fear making an imperfect choice.

• They would like someone else to make the choice, to relieve them of the burden.

• They may not know what “good” looks like and don’t know what criteria to use. Worse still, they may not know their own goals or what a “good” outcome would look like. I find this is often the case when people want to hire a marketer, publicist, or social media consultant. But I digress.

I do maintain a public resource list, but I’ve learned to abide by a few principles.

1. I don’t recommend specific agents or publishers. It’s hard enough to recommend “good” service providers, harder still to recommend “good” gatekeepers. Social media is awash in advice on literary agents and how to avoid a “bad” agent, as well as “bad” publishers, especially independent and small publishers. But there is not a legit agent or publisher on the planet who doesn’t have both authors who are unhappy with them and authors who love them.

2. I try to offer several options for freelancers or service providers such as editors, coaches, marketing firms, publicists, etc.

3. I only add people to the list who, to the best of my knowledge, err on the side of turning people away if they’re not a good fit. They don’t take advantage of writers who should not invest. They typically need considerable experience dealing with writers specifically.

I know when I’ve added the “wrong” person when I quickly receive complaints from writers about being brushed off, not receiving timely responses, or not knowing next steps. Those are clear indicators the person may not be accustomed to dealing with writers as clients. When some folks leave traditional publishing to work as a freelancer, they quickly discover their usual habits of not immediately acknowledging emails, or letting writers sit in silence for months while they work, or being late on deadlines, will lead to poor relationships. It’s the residual behavior of gatekeeper mindset as one transitions to a service mindset.

While I encourage every writer to properly research agents, publishers, service providers, and other business partners—and ask lots of questions before signing or investing—I can’t say it loud enough:

You can do everything perfectly and still end up in a bad situation.

Even with the benefit of industry knowledge, I have hired professional designers and ended up not using the final product because I was so disappointed. I have hired a top-notch (expensive) SEO specialist, recommended by someone I trust, whose work did nothing to fix the problem I went to them with. Etc. We’ve all had these experiences. It doesn’t mean the people we hired were taking advantage of us or unqualified. Sometimes things don’t work out and it’s no one’s fault. Sometimes it’s your own fault for not wanting to do the legwork and hiring the first person you find, especially when you want someone to “fix” your situation or guarantee a specific outcome, like securing an agent, publishing contract, or bestsellerdom. (Tip: No one can guarantee such things.) And, frustratingly, a lot of the “good” people are not available to be hired on your timeline. It’s easy to give in if you’re exhausted, rushed, confused, or out of options.

Recently, I heard from a writer who attended one of my classes on how to get published. Afterward, she signed with a hybrid publisher but didn’t have a good experience—and now she was writing me because she was convinced I had recommended this company or indicated they were one of the “good” hybrids.

I was certain I had not recommended the company in question, yet this writer was insistent even though she had no evidence to support her claim. There was something about her insistence that pushed me to investigate whether there could be a kernel of truth to it. I started running searches for my name in connection with the hybrid publisher, and there it was: an out-of-context quote from me, prominently placed on their website to look like an endorsement. And I was willing to bet this quote was used in other ways I could not find.

Yes, it was infuriating. Yes, I contacted the company and told them to remove the quote. (A hired marketing company was blamed.) Yes, I set up Google alerts to help me better track uses of my name online.

While I could discuss at length the misleading marketing practices of hybrid publishers, the bigger issue of online misinformation across all industries, as well as the potential role of AI in all this, what really terrifies me is that my name alone could have that much influence on someone’s decision.

On some level I do want my advice to be held in incredibly high regard, even seen as indubitable. But I remain fallible, I am wrong about some things, I change my mind, companies themselves change in ways I don’t see, and I can’t play matchmaker for every single writer. The people who chase after the perfect recommendation are most likely to be taken advantage of or make a misguided investment.

On rare occasion, I’ve had service providers on my public resource list reach out and ask me to remove them. My esteem for such people knows no limits. It’s not that they’ve ceased to be in business, or they are overwhelmed, or they don’t want to be affiliated with me. It’s rather that the clients they serve come from other, often more qualified sources. They’re saving everyone’s time and know that being on a resource list, especially mine, carries a responsibility to me and the greater community that is no longer in their best interests to fulfill.

A good editor, a good agent, a good publisher, a good marketer, a good publicist, a good anyone: They have to take care of themselves first before they can offer value to someone else. Don’t be angry at someone for not agreeing to work or partner with you. That can be the greatest service of all.