"shopped around"

abbyj said:

I am an author published by major houses, and my work has received

starred reviews and appeared on several lists. I have never had an

agent, but times are changing and now I need one.



I have recently shopped my new ms around to many of the A-List

publishing houses that accept unagented submissions. I am unsure at

many of these houses if anyone one has read the submission

( unsigned "Dear Author" letters, no response at all, etc.). A few

have requested to see the entire ms, but so far I have not had any

luck selling it.



I have read in the Writer's Market that some "agents only" houses

accept ms from agents/ and or published authors so I sent it to a

few "closed" houses.



To my count, there are about 40 A-List companies( including the

different imprints), and I have sent this new ms to about 1/2 of

them. I would like to submit to the "closed houses" through an

agent.



However, I have read that an agent will not look at such a "shopped

around" ms. Is this true?


Thank you!

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Every agent is different, but as a general rule, it is my understanding that once a manuscript has been shopped to more than a few houses, many agents feel they are unlikely to be able to sell it because they will have to disclose to prospective editors that the editor or another editor at the same house has already passed on the book.

Now, it's not unheard of for an agent to take a manuscript that was previously shopped around and, especially after revisions, reshop the revised version. But, as a general rule, once the manuscript has been widely shopped - and I'd think 1/2 the possible houses would count as widely shopped - the chances of getting an agent interested go down.

So, the best advice would be to write something new, and query agents with that book (instead of editors). And then, once you find an agent, the previouly shopped book might be viable again.

But if you are set on querying this already-shopped book, you should make sure that you tell prospective agents early in the process - like when you send any requested materials, if not in the query - that the book has been shopped to some houses. Otherwise, you risk the agent thinking you are trying to be dishonest by not promptly disclosing this very relevant information.

good luck.

~suki

I sent my proposal to every agent / publisher in the industry and received offers of representation from several agents along with interest from major publishers.

I used Writers Market as well and have had some luck. I didn't follow submission guidelines but just stuck with a general proposal that probably fit most submission guidelines blanket messaging everyone that was under "ACCEPTS UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS."

You should let agents know that you are previously published with no agent, they will be interested in this piece of information.

Be honest and let your work speak for itself, good luck. Remember, it it the holidays so be patient, things will pick up after the New Year.

I've even sent multiple submissions to agencies who tell you not to and found out how subjective this business is..

I received a very rude rejection from an assistant agent at a company telling me I didn't follow the guidelines and do not fit the genre of that agency, the owner of this agency requested 20 pages via snailmail. I'm not advising that you break rules and follow my route because I must have been lucky from what people are telling me BUT do whatever will put your MS in the best light. If they read it and like it then you can disclose some more information and see what they say about it, worse case scenario you get some feedback, best case they represent you regardless.

The bottom line is: If your book is good and marketable then it will get picked up, by publishers, agents, both. The first battle after perfecting your MS is getting them to read your work.

Also, you might want to check out Publishers Marketplace, it is a website as useful as Writers Market, can help you locate top agents and what they are interested in.

I don't want people jumping all over my post saying I shouldn't recommend this etc. etc. I am telling him my story so he knows you don't have to follow the rules to find an agent, though it may be frowned upon sometimes it works.

AryaT92 said:

I don't want people jumping all over my post saying I shouldn't recommend this etc. etc. I am telling him my story so he knows you don't have to follow the rules to find an agent, though it may be frowned upon sometimes it works.

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This isn't me jumping all over your post; this is me rebutting your statements.

You are certainly free to relate your experiences. However, please bear in mind that (as stated by you in other threads) your experience is with querying a proposal for a nonfiction project. Querying nonfiction and querying novels is a different kettle of fish altogether. The same guidelines do not always apply.

It sounds as though disregarding submission guidelines worked for you--congrats. You are hereby an exception to the rule. Exceptions do exist. However, they are rare. I said this in another thread earlier today, but the majority of authors still find representation by querying and following agent guidelines. Don't do yourself a disservice by ignoring those guidelines. It only makes the journey more difficult. Why stack the deck against yourself and blindly hope to be yet another exception?


To answer the OP's question, it is very difficult to get an agent's attention with a heavily shopped manuscript. It leaves them with few options if they sign you. However, if one of the houses reading it now offers you a deal, you have every right to ask for some time and present this offer-on-the-table to prospective agents. These agents will see you have a track record of sales, an offer on the table, and the ability to continue selling in the future. It's a potential way to go.