Protocol When Meeting an Agent

I hope it's not too late to answer this, but I'm thinking no. You're meeting up with the agent at the conference in hopes of skipping the initial query stage, so why send one now? Then s/he's going to either wait until s/he meets you to request more, or feel pressured to discuss and give feedback on what you sent when they meet you, which I don't think an agent would appreciate.

When you signed up for the interview, was there no indication of what the agent preferred?

How much time do you have? Could you send a note and ask the agent if she would like to see material in advance?

Generally, the answer is "no." The agent most likely wouldn't have time to read it before the conference. Your appointment is in PLACE of a query letter. The agent will let you know what s/he wants you to later send at the meeting.

Anna Genoese wrote a TERRIFIC blog entry about pitching (admittedly, it's about pitching to an editor, but the general rules are the same for agents. You might want to take a peek. )

AnnMB said:

The interview is arranged through the association sponsoring the conference so, no, there is no indication of the agent's preference.

I have a ten minute slot scheduled.

And I'm pretty sure the agent is too busy reading queries to field notes about whether or not an author should send a query.

Click to expand...

When I did an agent meeting like this at a local org's conference, about half of the agents requested advance materials (specified in the info the org provided about the agents who would be there), including two I was meeting with. Here's what I said at the end of my one-page query:

I look forward to discussing this project with you in person on June 10 at the Washington Independent Writers Conference. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me with any questions or to request a complete proposal at 540-220-2184 or via e-mail to [email protected].

If they didn't request anything, I would not send anything ahead of time, but would take a one-page query with me to the conference to leave with them if they'll accept it. Many agents won't take anything more than a business card at conferences, but some will.

Hope that helps.

Kristen