I am meeting with three literary agents at the upcoming San Francisco Writers Conference. My manuscript is two months away from being submission-ready, so this is not a formal pitch; for me it’s just an opportunity for me to get the lay of the land.
So, is it silly that in preparation for each of these agent meetings I have read one novel from each of their debut authors?
I don’t think so.
Apart from broadening my novel reading by three books I wouldn’t normally have read (which I know improves my writing craft), it gives me a touchstone with these agents—a reference point, so to speak.
Heck, I would no sooner meet face-to-face with an agent and not read one of the books they represent than I would go to a gunfight without a gun.