For the below reasons, WILLIAM CLARK will never charge a reading fee or editorial fee for any work that it represents, and the agency’s compensation derives solely from the applicable commission on projects sold to buyers of its clients’ rights.

WILLIAM CLARK appreciates that the AALA’s revision of the Canon of Ethics was undertaken with the important aims of broadening access to agenting, diversifying the profession, and creating more viable paths for newer agents to establish sustainable careers. Those are goals worth advancing.

At the same time, safeguards remain essential. Regardless of whether an agent expressly promises representation in connection with paid editorial services, many authors will understandably purchase such services in the hope that doing so may lead to representation. That dynamic can create opportunities for bad actors to exploit writers who are eager, often urgently so, to secure an agent.

The revised rules may not fully protect authors who pay substantial fees for editorial work on projects that ultimately may not be marketable, or that may never result in representation. Nor may they adequately support newer agents who are seeking to build legitimate, trust-based practices without relying on arrangements that can blur the line between editorial services and representation.

In an already difficult publishing environment, authors need agents whose fiduciary commitment to their interests is unmistakable. Any evolution of professional standards should preserve that trust while also ensuring that the field becomes more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable for the next generation of agents.