I'm not sure where or when it happened that writers started feeling that they're nothing without agents. Sure, agents can do great things, the least of which being they can get your work read by publishers. A wonderful agent can mean a wonderful career and a fabulous partnership. But don't forget: agents are nothing without clients. You don't work for your agent. (And also, by the way, if you're not a great writer or don't have time to write a novel, getting an agent will not solve either of these difficulties.)

It's hard to shake this mindset. After years of dealing with editors, or readers, or interview sources, or people sick of us loitering in their cafes, we're typically the accomodating ones, the grateful ones. But a writer must get over this when dealing with agents: well, not all agents, but bad ones.

If your agent stinks, you gotta dump him (or her.) Even if they're really nice or really cute or can get really mean, if they're not doing right by you, you're not doing yourself any favors by avoiding the unpleasantness. Fortunately, I've never had to fire an agent (because I haven't had the need to sign with one yet.) But you might have to. In this case, Craig Mazin at Absolute Writer gives you advice on how to hand over the proverbial pink slip. If that still doesn't help you get up the nerve, there's another article on it here, and another here. (Makes you wonder why there are so many sources on this topic.)

That said, I kowtow to all the good agents out there who hustle for and believe in their writers. I love you. Mwah mwah mwah. Get me a killer contract. To represent them, I give you Miss Snark, whose blog I just discovered and added to my favorites.