Open Book Toronto recently published a virtual tête-à-tête between two literary agents, Sam Hiyate, president of The Rights Factory, and Hilary McMahon, vice-president at Westwood Creative Artists.

The article, “Artful Agenting,” is an e-mail discussion between Hiyate and McMahon over a 48-hour period. It’s a voyeuristic read: McMahon jokes about not finding the writer who will pay her mortgage and Hiyate shares his plan to represent more self-help authors. The conversation covers everything from editor’s vacation schedules to the rung-climbing history of McMahon’s career.