I’ve compared agenting to baseball in the past, but it seems apt now in the bottom of the fifth. You send out a project to 16 editors. The possibilities: get on first with a single modest offer; get on second with a couple of mid-size offers; get on third with a few offers now getting competitive; home-run = an auction, multiple editors chasing, the offers increasing; grand slam:all your dreams come true. Agenting is also like baseball in that you can, and will, strike out. When you can’t sell a book you believe in, when your writer gets called back to the farm, when you question everything you know, it’s all a bright beautiful shit show.
What’s your sports metaphor?
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Betsy Lerner 
Mine is running. Going the distance. Pacing yourself. Dealing with cramps or discomfort but persevering. Years ago when I first started running I was told to always get tougher as I near the end of my run. Speed up and go all out for a strong finish – even when your body and mind tell you otherwise. Don’t let yourself slow down until after you’ve crossed the finish line. I try to use this approach in running, in writing and in life.
Early on, falling off my horse and getting back on had been the norm. For the last few years I’ve been cantering along, enjoying the ride in the valley. It’s nice but not very exciting. Time for my friend Flicka to head up to the high meadow. The path is Rocky, and some of the drop offs are pretty scary, but I’m going for it.
Buying proposals is like free agency in baseball (or other sports). A publisher/team has a “need” and feel they can fill it with a certain player/book. They’re willing to pay X many dollars for taking that risk. Does the risk work out? Sometimes. Sometimes not. But the merry-go-round keeps spinning.
Debbie FG uses the same one I’ve used – running. Particularly training for a marathon. It’s all about persistence, not quitting, and knowing that sometimes you’re gonna hit “the wall.” The key is to not let how you feel psyche you out, and make you quit. Even if you have to slow down and walk a bit, keep going. Any stop you make should be short, needed for recovery, then get going again.
Knowledge that the last six miles in a marathon are the hardest. So it goes with writing.
In the spirit of the season, I’ll go with a suicide squeeze bunt. Executed properly, not only will a run come in, but you could be safe at first. The ball comes off the bat easy, unlike a hard home run dream swing with a pop up result. Slowly and with precision, you’re learning how to win the game.
“What’s your sports metaphor?”
The closest I come is the Tortoise and the Hare: “Slow and steady wins the race.”