How To Build Rapport With Agents: How Jonathan Roots Found Agent Renee Fountain

Twenty years ago at his local pub, author Joshua Roots had been talking for months about his writing ideas—but doing nothing about them. A friend finally turned to him and said, “Oh my goodness, shut up and write something already.”

Thus began the adventure he calls “How To Dumb Luck Your Way Through A Writing Career.“ He wrote steampunk, cozy mysteries, YA fantasy—and, most recently, a nonfiction work about bees. He was “hide under the desk” terrified of bees when he started.

Finding the right fit for his agent wasn’t going to be easy. But as Renee Fountain put it, he threw a dart, it landed on her—and the rest is history.

Much of having an agent is a conversation—how you talk about your work, inspire each other, plan to drink mai tais on the beach once your shared project sells.

Every author-agent relationship is different. This one involves weekly status updates with charts.

There’s no one right way to get an agent. Our hope is that, once you hear this conversation, it’ll expand your idea of what this creative partnership can be—and what you can ask for in yours.

You can learn more about Renee at https://manuscriptacademy.com/faculty-members/renee-fountain

Josh is at https://joshuajroots.com/. @cobramisfit on Twitter, or ask him where to find his Irish pub, and he’ll bring you honey.

Transcript of this episode available at