Last word

In the first of Talent Management Review’s Last Word series, literary agent Andrew Lownie takes a view of talent management far removed from HR stereotypes. As one of the most successful non-fiction agents in the UK, Lownie talks ego-control, drive management and why size matters. By Rob Drake.

When you get 500 submissions a week, and you employ no staff to help you get through them, talent management takes a unique form. Talent counts in the literary world, perhaps more than anywhere else. But as Andrew Lownie will tell you, determination, drive and a decent-sized ego will help as well. And in his office on Great Smith Street, south west London, the stacked boxes swelling with the budding writers manuscripts are testament to Lownie’s pedigree, and his reputation that makes him one of the most desirable agents in the business.

“I’m in a strange position really,” muses Lownie, relaxing in his A4 jungle. “I’m representing the author who I’m trying to get a good deal for. But at the same time I have to keep a good relationship with the publisher, because I might have to go back to them for future business.”

Lownie takes a long-term approach to managing his talent, looking to build their skills gently and dismissing a quick fix in favour of strong foundations. If you look at just the short term, you can kill a career. Talent, he argues, is useless if it is not there for the long term.

“The key to retaining talent is simple,” he says. “Just offer the most professional service you can and use their skills to the best effect. For example, huge egos are always going to be rife in top performers but if used properly, can provide a real boost. Manage their expectations, and manipulate their ego so they can exceed them.”

Lownie’s website is full of advice for writers on how to get published and it is certainly proving popular. It receives 10,000 hits a month and provides a unique opportunity for developing talent without Lownie even having to make contact. And this effort to help those that he might never have more than an advisory role to is still very important to Lownie.

“I see myself like a teacher,” he explains. “There are all these students who I know are brighter than myself but I have the experience to steer them down the right path. I get great pleasure from nurturing their talent and finding the right way to use it.”

But Lownie still has 150 writers on his books, which is about double what most agents handle. And yet he works alone, choosing not to employ any staff at all. It’s effective, he claims, because he can take care of everything himself.

“When I worked at a big agency I felt like it wasn’t fluid,” says Lownie. “The future lies in decentralisation, so instead of companies coming together in huge offices, they will operate out of lots of smaller buildings, each generating their own identity. Small is beautiful.”

Small is certainly working beautifully for Lownie. And his techniques are remarkably simple, brushing off the frills most ‘revolutionary’ approaches offer and just treating his talent professionally and with plenty of support. It’s a bold move in a world where talent strategy is becoming more and more abstract. But then again, 500 hundred submissions can’t be wrong.

Andrew Lownie can be contacted on lownie@globalnet.co.uk