Your Agent Relationship

Undercover · Feb 28, 2012

How well is your agent relationship? How well do you both correspond with each other?

I had an agent before but we parted ways since it didn't work out. I think she pitched it to about 6 places and that was it. I could tell after a while she wasn't interested, but we at least corresponded every two weeks or so.

Anyways, I wrote another novel and was able to connect with another agent, now she has two of my novels. In the meantime, I worked on another and have a rough draft and am going through revisions.

She asked to see it as she's been pitching the other ones. But hasn't gotten back to me yet on it.

Here's the thing. Sometimes she responds quick and sometimes it's weeks. Usually it doesn't go beyond two weeks. But now I've emailed her like three times in these two weeks and I still haven't heard from her. I don't want to keep emailing her. Nor do I want to call. I think if worse comes to worse, I will have to. But my question is to the people that have agents, how well do you correspond? Do you talk once a week? Every few weeks?

I just signed with her two months ago and she's only had my novels on submission for about a month now. Like I said, I talked to her two weeks ago and would hate to keep bothering her. I've been writing my brains out and will have 3 novels still waiting to connect with a publisher. I just hate having to think I would have to start all over again from scratch having to look for an yet another agent again if this doesn't work out.

What are the signs you know you're getting the blow off?

Drachen Jager · Feb 28, 2012

I'm not too sure how accurate your sampling will be here. People who are happy with their agents will say so, people who are unhappy generally don't want to gripe publicly in case that sours the relationship.

Check your reps regularly, I suspect many of your answers may come there.

Theo81 · Feb 29, 2012

We get these threads from time to time and I always wonder why people can't just say "I'd really like to hear back from you about this".

This is a business relationship and it will go better if you just say what you need - for instance, maybe you exchange monthly updates on where you are at. Maybe you have a monthly phone call. Whatever you have, you need to ask for it, don't sit there feeling worried about stuff.

Also, if there was a problem and your agent decides the best thing to do is ignore your emails? They are likely to do that to the people they are representing you to as well. Not good IMO.

Stacia Kane · Feb 29, 2012

My guess is that since you already have something out on submission your agent is waiting to hear about those before diving into another project. If your book sells it may well be some time before the agent can submit whatever you're working on now, so it makes sense not to spend time on it at the moment.

I don't think two weeks is unduly long. I don't correspond with my agent regularly; it depends on what's happening. We may go through a few weeks where we email almost every day, or we may not email for a month if there's nothing to discuss, or we may simply chitchat back and forth one evening about life etc. and not work at all.

But as Theo81 said, there's nothing wrong with simply saying, "Hey, just wondering if I could get a reply on this? I understand if you're busy or don't feel now is the time to start talking about new projects, but please give me a heads-up if that's the case."

Momento Mori · Feb 29, 2012

Undercover:
She asked to see it as she's been pitching the other ones. But hasn't gotten back to me yet on it

I'm not clear on whether you're chasing her to see what she thinks about your new novel or for progress on the sale of your first novels.

If it's about your new novel, then you need to give her more than a couple of weeks to read it. I usually give my agent 4 weeks to review anything I've read before sending a nudge.

If you're chasing about the status of your previous novels, then I'd leave it until you hear back - maybe chasing every couple of months.

I don't know what you write but if it's children's/YA then it's worth bearing in mind that your agent might be quiet because s/he's swamped in the run-up for Bologna at the moment.

Undercover:
my question is to the people that have agents, how well do you correspond? Do you talk once a week? Every few weeks?

I'm still doing edits for my agent but we check in every month or so. However we had a conversation up front about communication and my preference is to communicate when there's something new or if my agent has some ideas or wants to report on business developments. So for example in the age of cross-marketing, she lets me know when she's taken on a new client so we can introduce ourselves on line to each other as we're all on the same team.

MM

Cathy C · Feb 29, 2012

I've been with my agent for just about a decade now. We probably don't talk on the phone more often than once a year. We correspond by email more often, every few months or so. I depend on her to work on my stuff as often as possible, but the market is sloooooow to respond. It could take months or years to hear back from editors or foreign rights publishers.

A few weeks is less than an eyeblink on an industry that works in "seasons" rather than months (approximately a quarter-3 to 4 months). If an editor is looking to fill the winter season of 2014 (so January 2014 right now) they often consider a "timely" reply to be by the fall season of 2012.

Relax.

Just keep writing. If you haven't heard back from the agent by the end of March, then it's time to decide if you're happy with the agent.

JMHO, of course.

Undercover · Feb 29, 2012

Thanks guys. Yeah, basically I'm wondering about the new ms. I had only sent her a synopsis so it's not like she has the whole manuscript. I guess I am just used to her responding quick about it. Then again, there are those times when there's weeks of silence. I think I need to just get in a groove with her, it's still so new.

I know it's different for everyone and I know there are times the wait seems unbearable. But I just wanted to get an overview on the norm. I really appreciate all of your comments, thank you for sharing.

Jendrick · Mar 3, 2012

I've had three agents, had great relationships with them all. The first couldn't sell my book though and after a couple months, sent it back to me. I sold that book on my own shortly thereafter, but I didn't fault him. My second agent was quite sharp and she was terrific on a particular sale she made for me, but my interest in future projects veered a bit from hers, so we parted ways. My current agent is terrific and brings me projects all of the time, which of course makes my job much easier. That said, I can count on my fingers the number of times I've spoken to them on the phone (combined). I don't think though that I've ever waited more than two or three days before getting an e-mail response, but I can't imagine I'd follow up on an e-mail more than once after the initial note. If they don't respond within a couple of weeks, I'd assume a lack of interest and press on.

Nathan

Undercover · Mar 4, 2012

Well it's been a little over two weeks now and still nothing. I know weekends are different and some probably don't even work on weekends. But I have heard from her before on a Sunday night, so I don't know.

I have another question. Out of the three novels I have now, she was sold on the second one. She told me it needed to be formatted better and that it had some minor editing issues that she'd help me with. It didn't take long for her to want to pitch it. She started after about a month of us being together. But I never saw the clean copy of my ms. We just started talking about where it would go and that was it. Then she told me on the places she sent it to, so I assume she did the formatting and cleaned up the script on her own.

She said she is going to help me on the third one, but I'm not sure if she just means to do the same as before, just clean it up and format it. That's if she likes it. I don't know, should I be concerned with this?

kathleea · Mar 4, 2012

Agents, the holy grail of writers everywhere!

Giant Baby · Mar 4, 2012

Undercover said:
Well it's been a little over two weeks now and still nothing. I know weekends are different and some probably don't even work on weekends. But I have heard from her before on a Sunday night, so I don't know.

I don't think so. Two weeks isn't egregious, particularly concerning new work, while she's got another book out on sub. She could (should?) just be prioritizing her time where it's needed most, and that includes work/subs of her other clients as well.

I'd prefer it if she'd give you a quick response letting you know where she's at and how long she thinks it'll be before she gets to it, but some agents just don't. There would be a lot less angst in their author lists if they would, but some don't, nonetheless.

Undercover said:
I have another question. Out of the three novels I have now, she was sold on the second one. She told me it needed to be formatted better and that it had some minor editing issues that she'd help me with. It didn't take long for her to want to pitch it. She started after about a month of us being together. But I never saw the clean copy of my ms. We just started talking about where it would go and that was it. Then she told me on the places she sent it to, so I assume she did the formatting and cleaned up the script on her own.

She said she is going to help me on the third one, but I'm not sure if she just means to do the same as before, just clean it up and format it. That's if she likes it. I don't know, should I be concerned with this?

This bothers me a lot. Do I understand that she said changes were needed, and then sent it out without you seeing the book again? If so, whether she made them herself, or sent it out without ensuring they'd been made first by you, I find this extremely troubling.

:Huh:

priceless1 · Mar 4, 2012

Undercover said:
But I never saw the clean copy of my ms. We just started talking about where it would go and that was it. Then she told me on the places she sent it to, so I assume she did the formatting and cleaned up the script on her own.

She said she is going to help me on the third one, but I'm not sure if she just means to do the same as before, just clean it up and format it. That's if she likes it. I don't know, should I be concerned with this?

I agree with Giant Baby - you should be concerned that the agent basically nabbed your manuscript, "fixed it," and didn't clear any of those changes with you. I work with a lot of agents, and none of them would ever do this.

She doesn't have the right to change your manuscript and send it out without your permission. And you should have been a part of the editing process and been given the updated file.

Undercover · Mar 4, 2012

I knew that didn't seem right. I questioned it after she had pitched it and I don't remember if she ever answered me on it. Now I am questioning it again for the third one which she hasn't read yet.

I don't know. The more and more I think about it, some things don't seem right to me. I really don't want to start over with another agent. Looking for one sucks big time. She just pitched one of them to about 5 places. It's been a little over a month, but I know it's not long. I just feel uneasy about a few things.

CAWriter · Mar 4, 2012

Undercover said:
I knew that didn't seem right. I questioned it after she had pitched it and I don't remember if she ever answered me on it. Now I am questioning it again for the third one which she hasn't read yet.

I don't know. The more and more I think about it, some things don't seem right to me. I really don't want to start over with another agent. Looking for one sucks big time. She just pitched one of them to about 5 places. It's been a little over a month, but I know it's not long. I just feel uneasy about a few things.

I'd give her another week or so (because two weeks is not overly much at all in agent-days), but then request a phone appointment with her so you can "touch base on several things." So much can be cleared up in a 30 minute phone call that could take the two of you combined 2 hours by email.

I've had those moments with my agent when I start feeling he's not interested in my newest project, I'm not a priority to him, etc. 99.98% of the time when we talk I find that my overly active imagination (which we all have as writers, right?) has led me down the wrong path and things are fine, we just needed to talk.

She may have very good explanations for why she sent it out without re-submitting it to you (honestly, if the changes were minor, it's not that unusual. She may simply have added a cover letter on her letterhead, structured the manuscript so it's consistent with others she submits, etc). I don't think I've ever seen exactly the package my agent submits (except for those he's had me send directly to an editor myself) and it doesn't bother me at all.

In short, don't worry about anything until you have specific cause to worry, and if you have concerns, request a conversation.

MKrys · Mar 9, 2012

Hmm, that definitely seems fishy re: the submission minus the proposed edits. I'd look into that for sure...

Concerning your question on the author-agent relationship, I have to say I couldn't love my agent more. We don't frequently speak on the phone, but she answers my emails in minutes and responds to larger things I send along, like revisions, within a week.

LaneHeymont · Mar 10, 2012

Undercover said:
I knew that didn't seem right. I questioned it after she had pitched it and I don't remember if she ever answered me on it. Now I am questioning it again for the third one which she hasn't read yet.

I don't know. The more and more I think about it, some things don't seem right to me. I really don't want to start over with another agent. Looking for one sucks big time. She just pitched one of them to about 5 places. It's been a little over a month, but I know it's not long. I just feel uneasy about a few things.

Just curious, does she belong to the AAR?

kaitie · Mar 10, 2012

My first thought was that if you haven't checked her out here, then you should do that.

I can understand an agent fixing up some formatting issues before sending it out, but to fix editing issues seems to cross a line. I wouldn't mind my agent fixing a typo here or there, but that's not really editing, IMO. Most of the time when people say "edit" they mean fixes that require rewriting on the author's part.

Is she a new agent? What sort of sales has she had? What did other authors say about her before you signed? Is this something they dealt with as well?

Cathy C · Mar 10, 2012

I have to agree with the others. Has she sold many books in your genre? I have a membership over at Publishers Marketplace. If you want to PM me, I'd be happy to look up her prior sales.

I know there ARE agents who edit. I know a few. It's rare, but they do exist. Still...I worry that she would make said edits and send it without checking with you. That does seem odd.

kaitie · Mar 10, 2012

My agent worked on revisions with me, but I'm under the impressions edits are suggestions left up to the author. Is it ever normal for someone to just make the changes for you like that? I mean, for minor typos or something I can understand it, but I'm not sure if that's what we're talking about here.

Undercover · Mar 10, 2012

Hey, yeah...she finally got back to me. She was busy working on another project. I think she is with AAR, but I am not sure. I asked her about the changes and she just formatted it and fixed the typos, that's it. Before she did it she said she would in fact ask for approval if she had to change something more as far as the text was concerned. I went through my previous emails to confirm this.

There was so much talk about the pitching idea that I didn't remember what she had told me. She is also interested in the third YA when she saw the synopsis and query, she said she liked what she read so far and to send the ms. when it's ready. So I did that earlier in the week. I haven't heard from her, but it's not even been a week yet. I am just going to give it whatever time...I don't think it will be long. She read both other scripts in a week's time.

Anyways, sorry to confuse anyone. As for now, everything's been resolved.

Drachen Jager · Mar 10, 2012

Rep me her name and I can tell you if she's AAR. (the scales icon below my avatar if you haven't used reps here yet)

AGragon · Mar 12, 2012

It's a pity I can't contribute with this thread, I'd definitely give you my opinion if I could. However I'm still unagented.

LaneHeymont · Mar 12, 2012

AGragon said:
It's a pity I can't contribute with this thread, I'd definitely give you my opinion if I could. However I'm still unagented.

I'm kind of in the same boat. My agent retired due to health issues. Alas the search begins again!

Keep at it, and hone that query!

Your Agent Relationship

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