Agenting, "That genteel racket"

Sorry for the delay, folks--I've been in Michigan. McSweeney's Paul Collins has an interesting essay in the Village Voice on literary agents then and now. In it, Collins expresses the feeling of being a published author quite well, especially during these days of blockbuster-or-nothing success: "As for me, my book was eventually published; others have followed. But others also preceded it. My first published book felt like crossing the border into a new country—one where permanent residency always feels a little tenuous, and where it's hard not to wonder about who didn't make it past customs."