Agent Q&A - Michael Carr, Veritas Literary

HistoryLvr said:

You mentioned before that a large reason why you have to pass on books is that they just aren't ready for submission yet and that sometimes the problem is that this is the author's first book and they haven't quite learned enough for it to be exquisite work.

My question is do you think these first books could be edited into the accept pile or should be shelved by the author while they begin a whole new one? If the latter, do you think it's possible, once the author has gained more skill, that he/she could take back out that first novel and make it great?

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It's rare that a first book will ever be ready for publication, but certainly not unheard of. My advice is always to finish one book, and all its iterations of redrafts, edits, proofreads, etc., send it off for queries, and then start work on the next. That way, if the first book hits the wall, you'll avoid some of the disappointment by knowing you've got another, better book on the way. At some point, you may get some near misses and these may, in fact, be publishable books at some point.

So I guess my advice is that you'll improve your skills more by working on the next novel, rather than endlessly revisiting a book that is polished to the best of your ability.

DennyCrane said:

I've got a question about professional courtesy. Recently, I received an offer of representation and wanted to give all agents holding fulls an opportunity to respond, but I've got one agent that has remained silent after a week. On one hand, I don't want to burn any bridges or seem unprofessional by giving the offering (and the preferred) agent the go-ahead by accepting representation, but at the same time the silent agent is holding things up and, frankly, not doing much to bolster my confidence in her communication skills.

What's reasonable here? Should I continue to wait, pepper her with another email, or just get on with it?

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If you've told her that you have another offer on the table and she hasn't responded after a week, mostly likely this indicates either a lack in her interest or in her ability to manage her time, or both. Maybe she's just on vacation, though, so if you really would prefer that agent to the offering agent, you might wait a few more days.

I suggest putting something like this in the subject line of any communication to agents about other offers: Subject: Important Update - Offer Received on MyCoolBook, by SpiffyNewAuthor.

We have so many zillions of queries, emails from clients and prospectives, and from editors and subagents and everything else that important emails can easily get lost in the slush. If your earlier email read simply: Subject: re: Query on MyCoolBook, it is probably buried in the slush.

This even happens to me when I request partials and fulls. I always say, "...with REQUESTED MATERIAL in the subject line," as a way of filtering those to my requested material folder, but if it says, "re: QUERY: TITLE (REQUESTED MATERIAL)," it ends up filtered to the query folder, and I don't see it right away.

Along similar lines, about once a day someone tries to fool me by putting REQUESTED MATERIAL in the subject of a query that has not, in fact, been requested. I open the folder with some excitement to see what is there, only to discover someone's gimmicky query and I quickly feel the same way I do when I pick up the phone to discover a telemarketer on the other end. You do not want me in that kind of mood when I'm considering your query.

Tromboli said:

Lets say that, like in the other example, a writer had more than one partial out but they were asked for an exclusive, this time for a full. ( I don't know the rules on that either since I have never been in this position. Can you grant an exclusive for a full with partials out and just say you won't send out any fulls until the time expires?)


Basically my question is, as an agent how would you feel if you were to request a submission (weather partial or full) only to receive a "sorry but I can't yet because I've given another agent dibbs" message. Is it something you would be understanding about? Or is it better to not grant exclusivity even if you would prefer the agent who requested it?

I ask partially out of curiosity and partially because from what I have read on this forum one of the agents I have submitted to often asks for an exclusive for fulls and will ask to wait if you are not able to grant one. Since she is one of my favorites of the bunch I would feel inclined to grant it. IF I get in this situation I'd like to be prepared.

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I would be understanding, but maybe mildly annoyed. I know how the business works, though, and would be annoyed at the situation, rather than at the writer, who has been put in a difficult spot. I don't think agents should ask for exclusives. We don't give them to editors unless they're ready to pony up cash for a preempt, or there are other special circumstances. And either the agent only needs an exclusive for a reasonable period of a week or so, in which case there's no need, or she wants a long exclusive, which eats up a writer's most valuable commodity, her time.

But query-reading is a favor to writers, and an agent has every right to ask for whatever makes makes a difficult task easier.

I don't generally believe in shaming authors by publicly posting their queries, but I thought you might appreciate this unidentifiable little snippet I received in one of my queries this morning. It is the disconnect between the optimism of a beginning writer and the crushing reality that both brings a smile to my lips and saddens me with the knowledge that this optimism will shortly be snuffed.

Please be gentle in any comments.

[REDACTED] is currently unfinished, but I expect it to reach near the 100,000-word mark with the completion date depending on the amount advanced. If the advance is enough, I can quit working and write full time until the novel is finished. If that happens, I could provide a finished manuscript by June 1, 2011. If not, at the latest, the novel would be completed by the end of August 2011.

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picnichampa said:

I sent my ms to a competition run by a publisher, and it got short-listed. They asked for a rewrite, which of course I did, and gave me some useful feedback before rejecting it.
So now I'm looking for an agent, and I'm wondering if I need to tell the agent in my query letter that this ms has been to this publisher and got rejected? And, I've changed the title I sent it with (inspiration finally struck, two years late) - do I need to give the previous title in my query?

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It's just one editor with one publisher, so I don't think it precludes you from querying, but I would tell the agent at the point where you get a request for a full. At that point, the agent has only committed a modest amount of time and so if she wants to pass, there's no real harm. I don't think most agents would be scared away by this particular manuscript's history.

Its2Snappy said:

I know this has been asked before but I can't seem to find it. What would be the correct "nudging" times if nothing is specified on an agency's website? How long should a writer wait on a partial? a full? before assuming it's a "no" or sending a follow-up email?

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In general, I would never nudge for a query (no means no, etc.), but always nudge for a partial or full after a reasonable period of time. This reasonable period of time varies from agent to agent, but I'd say six weeks for a partial and two months for a full unless told otherwise by their guidelines.

If you're sending to me and I've had your partial more than a week, something has gone wrong, barring the occasional vacation or conference. Give me two weeks, then nudge, although I reserve the right to get hopelessly behind at some point in the future.

Empress Awesome said:

Did you query the general submissions or his personal email? I might have just performed a query fail.

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I'm on slush duty at the moment, so I'm reading both.

Also, question for Michael--do cupcakes sway your decision? How about Reese's Puffs cereal? I've got too much of that.

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I prefer fruitcake. But no, do not send me anything unless and until you are my client and we sell a book together, at which point various small gifts and other exchanges of mutual admiration become appropriate.

But seriously, though, my question is: When an agent's had your full for months and isn't responding to nudges, can you just assume it's a no? Or are you just not putting the right heading on the email?

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I don't know any agents who reject a full with the silent treatment. I know plenty of agents who get so behind on their reading that they don't respond to timely nudges. If it has been months and months and you've nudged and heard nothing, you have to ask yourself hard questions about what you could look forward to as a client of this agent.