'Being an agent is a wonderful job'

'Being an agent is a wonderful job and I really believe in it. I've found my metier. The mentality of agenting per se is very macho and the women who are successful agents have very strong personalities. It's a selling job, let's not be grand about it, but you have to have a firm belief in what you're doing and it's much more difficult than you think. You have to bring in an awful lot just to wash your face, notwithstanding the vagaries of the industry. Still, in spite of what some might say, I do think we agents are generally in agreement with publishers, and I'd hope and ensure that they would cherish my clients just as much as I do.'

Ali Gunn, literary agent at Curtis BrownSee Curtis Brown listing, London, in Publishing News