Please help: Two agents asked for my proposal nearly simultaneously....

iSAM · Aug 22, 2006

(I'm new. Hi, and how are ya?)

I already sent the proposal to the first, when the second got back to me a day later, requesting my proposal.

Do I tell each of the agents about the other? At what point do I tell people my status?

Should I continue querying other agents? If so, do I tell them my proposal is being looked at, or do I wait until if and when people ask for the full manuscript?

Any help from the 99.9% of this board that knows more than me about this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Tish Davidson · Aug 22, 2006

I had a similar situation, and handled it this way.

If neither agent asked for an exclusive, then you can send it to both and you don't have to tell either. If the first asked for an exclusive, you cannot send it to the second until you get a response from agent #1. However, you can call or e-mail agent #1 and say that you are respecting his request for an exclusive look at your proposal, but that since other agents are asking to see the proposal, you request that he give you a response by (set a date). If agent #1 already has the proposal as an exclusive, I would give him/her about 3 weeks. You then tell agent #2 that another agent has requested an exclusive to see the proposal and that you will send/e-mail the proposal to agent #2 after (date). Remember that you do not have to accept representation from the first agent that wants to represent the book or give him an immediate answer. Make sure the agent you get is a good fit in terms of having a good track record with your type of book. If they don't represent many of your type of book, they will have fewer contacts in the appropriate publishing houses. Once an agent is interested in representing you, it is appropriate to ask what similar books they have handled.

Good luck. You're off to a great start.

iSAM · Aug 22, 2006

Thanks so much for the advice! Neither agent has asked for an exclusive, so I will simply zap out the second proposal.

May I continue querying people? Since no one has mentioned exclusives, I assume so...

PS - I was so eager to register on this board to get an answer to my question, that I forgot I had the cap-lock on, and I meant to type "Isam" - a Robert Jordan character. Oh, well. My proofreading for my query/proposal/manuscript is much better.

Cathy C · Aug 22, 2006

You may query to your heart's content until you have an offer of representation!

Good luck and congratulations!

iSAM · Aug 22, 2006

Thanks very much! That was my hope.

iSAM · Aug 22, 2006

One more related question:

One agent asked me to e-mail the proposal as a .doc attachment. Since you can't attach photocopies to Word docs, is it accepable to simply omit the "Attachments" - in my case, the photocopies of Publisher's Weekly showing recent annual sales of competing titles?

Again, any info would me much appreciated!

Thanks!

Talia · Aug 22, 2006

you could scan in the copies of the publisher's weekly to include as attachments. just keep the resolution low or scan in black/white or greyscale so you don't clog up an inbox with a 2MB picture!

there is also info on the query process under agents here at absolutewrite plus a good site to check out is http://misssnark.blogspot.com

iSAM · Aug 22, 2006

Thanks! I've scanned the pages as a pdf file, and attached it along with the Word doc.

iSAM · Aug 24, 2006

Ah, problem solved. The second agent said, "no" already. Man, that was fast.

Tish Davidson · Aug 24, 2006

But a fast no is always better than an agonizingly slow one.

Talia · Aug 24, 2006

Keep at it

Tish Davidson said:
But a fast no is always better than an agonizingly slow one.

absolutely!
and don't forget to keep querying other agents...

iSAM · Aug 24, 2006

You got it. Per agentquery.com's quidelines, I try to always keep 10 queries "in limbo" at any given time. So in addition to the other agent reviewing my proposal, I have 10 queries out there also.

[EDIT] I'm contemplating tweaking my proposal per the rejecter's notes. Will wait to see what proposal reader #2 says before I move on that. (I may possibly rework the manuscript itself, depending on how I feel.)

I still believe in my project.

[OTHER EDIT] One thing that I like, but also is a potential problem, is that my proj isn't easily classified - it's a hybrid between a dating book, satire, with a touch of memoir.

According to the agent's feedback - my proj may not be attractive enough to women, who are the only people who buy dating books. And I shouldn't write exclusively about MY experiences.

I may take her advice - but for now, I think the project's strength (and weakness) is in just being itself. I've rethought it many times, and have concluded (as of right now) that it is what it is.

Don't know what I'm rambling here - just thinking out loud, I guess...

iSAM · Aug 25, 2006

Two agents on the same schedule: The second got back the same day, and said, "This is a hilarious idea, and well done, but I'm not confident it would stand out in today's crowded marketplace."

I'm pressing on!!!! Victory shall be mine!

Kristen King · Aug 26, 2006

That's very encouraging! Good luck!

Kristen

SHBueche · Aug 29, 2006

When trying to think "like an agent," remember the agent forum also.

iSAM · Aug 29, 2006

Have you ever IMMEDIATELY realized you screwed up on a letter the INSTANT you sent it?

Well, I did. I'm the biggest moron in the world!!!! Okay, not literally, but I feel like it!!

Another agent asked for my proposal via e-mail, and what did I do? I MISSPELLED her last name in the e-mail! What a buffoon. I immediately caught my mistake and send a follow-up apologizing for the gaffe, and a tiny joke about it. (She has a very tough last name, so it's quite possible this has happened before - NOT that that lets me off the hook.)

I was very tired, and working late to tailor the prop to her specific needs, and taking into account my feedback from the previous agents. (Again, no excuse - this is all my own damn fault, and after she sounded so enthusiastic...)

I've basically written her off - I've been kicking myself for the past two days - I'm just crying here, hoping someone - ANYONE - has been in my shoes.

Wordworm · Aug 29, 2006

Please don't say you've written her off just because you spelled her name wrong. Really?

iSAM · Aug 29, 2006

No - not really. Just bracing myself. I'm always hopeful....

Kristen King · Aug 29, 2006

iSAM said:
Have you ever IMMEDIATELY realized you screwed up on a letter the INSTANT you sent it?

Well, I did. I'm the biggest moron in the world!!!! Okay, not literally, but I feel like it!!

Another agent asked for my proposal via e-mail, and what did I do? I MISSPELLED her last name in the e-mail! What a retard. I immediately caught my mistake and send a follow-up apologizing for the gaffe, and a tiny joke about it. (She has a very tough last name, so it's quite possible this has happened before - NOT that that lets me off the hook.)

I was very tired, and working late to tailor the prop to her specific needs, and taking into account my feedback from the previous agents.

I've basically written her off - I'm just crying here, hoping someone - ANYONE - has been in my shoes.

Sweetie, you are not alone. Particularly if she has a hard-to-spell name, she's used to it, and it happens. You did exactly the right thing by making a joke of it and letting it go. Don't panic. Think about the smile you put on her face when she saw your "Ooops!" message. This isn't necessarily a deal breaker.

Kristen

iSAM · Aug 29, 2006

Ah, thanks, KK! I feel much better!

You're awesome.

aarthurco · Aug 30, 2006

Don't feel bad! This happens, I did it once and kicked myself in the butt a thousand times, but got a positive response and request for more information.

While you want to avoid mistakes in your proposal and query, the fact is a hard name IS sometimes misspelled. Look at it this way, you probably won't do THAT again

I LOVE that you made light of it, good move!

-----------------------------

Kristen King · Aug 30, 2006

I usually (but not always!) get the names right, but I frequently say "Blah blah blah is attached" and then click SEND without attaching anything! I feel like a dummy every time. So then I send a message with "Oops! Attachment." in the subject line, say, "Just kidding, here it is," and off it goes. The first time I totally burst into tears and thought I was going to die, but I get messages like that all the time from other people and it's really NOT a big deal.

It's kind of like when your little kid trips and falls. If you freak out, the kid bursts into tears. If you say, "Whoops! You're okay!" he's fine. Most of the time people gauge their reactions to situations like this by how YOU react to it.

Kristen

Please help: Two agents asked for my proposal nearly simultaneously....

iSAM

Tish Davidson

iSAM

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!

iSAM

iSAM

Talia

Contract Killer

iSAM

iSAM

Tish Davidson

Talia

Contract Killer

iSAM

iSAM

Kristen King

SHBueche

What happened to my LIFE?!

iSAM

Wordworm

Impotent Omnipotent

iSAM

Kristen King

iSAM

aarthurco

Kristen King