90 day exclusive on a partial?!

[scully931]

Hi,

I just received a request for my partial from a respected agency. (Given a 'recommended' on P&E) Great, except they demand exclusivity for 90 days! There is a form to fill out and send back with the partial, so I didn't at all get the impression the agent was SO amazed with my work that he wanted an exclusive, but rather that its standard. The letter says they will not compete with other agencies for work they want.

In the next two weeks I'm moving so I got a batch of new queries ready to send, thinking that I'd at least be productive with that while I couldn't be writing and getting partials ready, etc.

So, I'm looking for advice on what to do here. Ninety days - that's three months! (I was always good with math :D ) If it were 4 weeks or so, I'd probably go for it. I got the impression, the exclusive part was non-negotiable. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks!

(Just realized I may have posted this in the wrong forum. Sorry!)

[LeeFlower]

I agree with Miss Snark: Exclusives suck. And on a partial? For ninety days?

If past posts on AW are any indication, that's often negotiable. Especially if you've got other queries/partials in the field. You might email the agent and explain that you're not in a position to offer an exclusive, but that you'd be happy to keep them appraised of any developments with other agents. They might not go for it, but ninety days on a partial is ridiculous if you ask me.

[expatbrat]

I am not experienced in this but I was going to say Miss Snark says exclusives suck before LeeFlower beat me to it.

Can you send out all the others first - and then send in the one for the exclusive? Send the exclusive back a few days later with a note that you have already sent out the other queries but won't send more?

[scully931]

Can you send out all the others first - and then send in the one for the exclusive? Send the exclusive back a few days later with a note that you have already sent out the other queries but won't send more?


hehe... sneaky. I like it. :e2brows:

[kuatolives]

I'd tell them to go screw themselves. But that's me.

[Oddsocks]

That does seem like an awfully long time, particularly if it's only a partial.

I'd probably run with what LeeFlower said - it's honest, and it means you can continue as you were and at the same time give this agency a chance if they decide they want it.

[SWW]

First, congrats on the request from a respected agency. If I were you, I'd give them exclusivity, and try to forget about it for 3 months by working on something else. A respected agency interested in your work, even with those conditions, is big time (well I'd feel it was if it was my partial). Go for it.

[aruna]

I would move that request down to the bottom of the stack. Exclusives suck, and 90 day exclusive suck even more.

[triceretops]

90-days on a partial? Gads, that's bending with the breeze until you break. Especially at the rate partials get deleted and rejected. Yeah, I would explain there's few out there and that you will curtail further subs. This always throws you over a barrel.

Tri

[ORION]

Is this trident? Because if it is I just told them I had it out already to other agents and they took it anyway and read it -
Another agent I liked better offered representation after that.
Again (as I said before) saying I had partials out already with other agents never was a deal breaker BUT you have to decide.

[Jamesaritchie]

Where are you going to be ninety days from now if you say no? There aren't all that many good agents out there, and passing on a good one because she asks for ninety days, which is a very short time span, doesn't make a lot of sense.

Miss Snark may not like exclusives, but many of the best agents out there demand them, and ninety days is a heartbeat. Count yourself extremely lucky if you can find a really good agent at all, let alone find one in ninety days.

In all honesty, I think most writers are against exclusives because they lack confidence in their own writing. They think, "Geeze, at that rate I'll only be able to send to four agents per year."

It's planning on rejection, rather than doing what it takes for an acceptance.

You can certainly deny a good agent an exclusive, and only submit material to the next fourteen agents who don't demand them, but odds are all that will accomplish is to give you a much worse agent at best, or fourteen quick rejection slips at worst.

Patience really is a virtue in this business. It takes time to read a partial when there are who knows how many writers in line ahead of you, and it takes time to reach a decision on a partial. When an agent puts in that time, she has the right to expect the manuscript to still be available.

Three months is a very short period of time, and you can often wait twice this long from an agent who doesn't ask for an exclusive.

If this agent really is a good one, really is one who has sold a number of novels to major publishers, then for heaven's sake give her the exclusive. Never pass up the chance to land a top agent. There aren't many out there for any given genre, and landing a good agent in three months is a heck of a lot better than landing a mediocre one in three days.

Don't think about how many agents you can submit to. That's self-defeating. Think about the best possible way to land the best possible agent for your novel.

[aruna]

James, I submitted to some of the best agents around and not one of them asked for an exclusive - that's in the US, in the UK it's a bit different. But even then, the two who asked for an exclusivel promised to read it within a month, and one promised to read it in three days. And these were for FULLS, not for partials. Exclusives on partials are totally unreasonable.

In the three months I've submitted in the US, starting at the top, the only one who requested an exclusive immediately changed her mind when I said it was already out, said "send it anyway", and then offered representation.

It's not at all lack of confidence in my writing; I'd give an exclusive if it was an agent I really wanted, but 90 days is just too long. I think it shows lack of enthusiasm on the agent's part (and lack of respect). I'd like an agent who can't wait to read my ms; that's CONFIDENCE, not lack of it!

I think times have changed a lot since you've been submitting, James, and it really is very unusual these days.

(edit: what nonsense I wrote the first time around!)

[Momento Mori]

scully931:
I got the impression, the exclusive part was non-negotiable.

Firstly, congratulations on getting a request for the partial - that's already one foot in the door!

Now onto my substantive comment: very few things in life are non-negotiable. Personally, I'd give the agent/assistant a call and see if you can bring it down - preferably to nothing, but if you're prepared to live with 4 weeks then offer them 4 weeks.

Jamesaritchie:
Patience really is a virtue in this business. It takes time to read a partial when there are who knows how many writers in line ahead of you, and it takes time to reach a decision on a partial. When an agent puts in that time, she has the right to expect the manuscript to still be available.

I agree that patience is a virtue but I disagree that an agent should have the right to expect that a manuscript will still be available when s/he finally gets around to reading it. I'm not knocking agents - they get queries all the time and have a constant stream of manuscripts and partials to get through so it must be constantly hectic - but surely it's part of their job to manage their time and they assume the risk that a querying author has been snagged by someone else?

From what I've read on agent blogs, they know pretty well within the first couple of chapters of a partial whether they want to see the full thing - it's not the case that they read it and then spend ages agonising over whether to see the whole thing. A 90 day exclusive is simply letting them put your partial in a queue and it might very well be day 88 before they even get around to reading it. As an author, an exclusive is therefore asking you to take the risk that the agent won't see something they like before they get to your partial, snag that author and thereby fill their list so they can't offer you a spot.

scully931, if this agent is on your all time 'must haves' so that you're willing to take the risk, then take it. But if you've got other agents who you think would be an equally good fit, then I'd keep searching elsewhere.

[Soccer Mom]

Wow. 90 days is a long time with a partial. It depends on how badly you want this agent and how many queries you've sent out. Just for me, I would send the partial, but in my cover letter say that I can't agree to a 90 day exclusive. Set a schedule for what you feel is more appropriate and tell them that you will be submitting to other agents in X days, but hope that they like your partial because you are very interested in their agency. I would keep the tone very nice, but I don't know that I would grant something just because they want it.

[James D. Macdonald]

Shoot, it's just 90 days. Why not give 'em what they want?

(The form makes me suspect I know who you're talking about.)

[Julie Worth]

In all honesty, I think most writers are against exclusives because they lack confidence in their own writing. They think, "Geeze, at that rate I'll only be able to send to four agents per year."


And agents want them because they also lack confidence, knowing you will jump at a better offer if you get the chance. Slot them for last.

[aruna]

And agents want them because they also lack confidence, knowing you will jump at a better offer if you get the chance. Slot them for last.
Donald Maass says on his website that he doesn't ask for exclusives because he knows he can hold his own against other agents.
And somehow I feel this just isn't my kind of agent; I'm for generosity. An exclusive partial, AND 90 days? I'd have to want him/her desperately to do that.

[janetbellinger]

Congrats. Would you mind sharing the name of the agent privately with me? I have been waiting for ages to hear from an agent I've submitted exclusively to and I'm wondering if it's time to send out more partials.

[Homer]

I agree with both Jamesritchie and aruna. It depends on the agent. I've had two requests for exclusives on partials that I couldn't give because I had partials out to other agents. (That makes how to respond easy.) Both agreed to reveiw my work anyway. Both were with well-known agencies, but one was a younger one and the other a very well known agent. I probably would have given an exclusive to the latter under any circumstances, had I been able to, but I'm not so sure about the other one. If Binky Urban asked me for a 90-day exclusive I'd agree in a flash, were I able to do so honestly (unfortunately, she doesn't take queries). It depends on the agent.

I'm wondering if giving an exclusive makes it more rather than less imperative that the agent read your work as promptly as possible. That may be a benefit to granting an exclusive. I've found without exception that agents take a really long time to review partials. Any thoughts on this?

[Julie Worth]

I've found without exception that agents take a really long time to review partials. Any thoughts on this?

That varies widely. I've had an agent read a partial in one day, and then the ms in two weeks. (She suggested changes and asked me to resubmit, which I did.)

[Summonere]

“The letter says they will not compete with other agencies for work they want.”

Isn’t that a bit like a writer saying, “I’ll not compete with other writers for your representation, so, for ninety days, consider my work, only my work, and no other work besides”?

I jest. It’s their shop, so they get to make their own rules. If you think they’re the best representation for your novel, give then their ninety days. If you think some other agency is a better match, then send it elsewhere.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I haven't started subing my novel yet, in the next week or so once everything is polished, so my opinion is without the experience of james and james, but I'm thinking I'd just be happy someone wanted to look at my novel, 90 day exclusive or not.

But then I've been working on mine going on 2 years. Another 12 weeks is a cakewalk.

A nibble is a nibble, reel that sucker in.

[wordmonkey]

If this is your first/only piece to sell, I can understand your reluctance. That said, if they LOVE it, they'll likely tell you sooner than that and your assumption now IS based on a perceived eventual rejection.

Sub it and forget it.

You now have three months where you don't need to worry about that piece. Three months to start something new. Three months to finish something else. Three months where you don't have to nurse this baby.

Given how long it can take a book from selling to release, 90 days ain't that much.

[kuatolives]

In all honesty, I think most writers are against exclusives because they lack confidence in their own writing. They think, "Geeze, at that rate I'll only be able to send to four agents per year."

On the contrary I think its confidence in your own writing that should prompt you to tell an agent like this to go screw themselves. If you truly believe in your work, it shouldn't be a problem to say 'no thanks, I'll find a home for this with someone who isn't a jerk'

Again, by supporting this kind of behavior you support....this kind of behaviour. Tell these people to get bent. If you have confidence in your writing, it will be an easy thing to say.

[Shadow_Ferret]

On the contrary I think its confidence in your own writing that should prompt you to tell an agent like this to go screw themselves. If you truly believe in your work, it shouldn't be a problem to say 'no thanks, I'll find a home for this with someone who isn't a jerk'

Again, by supporting this kind of behavior you support....this kind of behaviour. Tell these people to get bent. If you have confidence in your writing, it will be an easy thing to say.

If this was some fly-by-night operation, then your thoughts would make sense. But the OP called this "a respected agency." I'm not about to tell a respected agency to go screw themselves. I think it would hurt my career more than anything else. And I personally would do whatever it takes to get in with "a respected agency." Granting them a 90 day exclusive to a partial being the least I'd do.

[DeadlyAccurate]

90 days exclusive on a partial is just plain mean. They're saying, "I may or may not want to read your entire book, but I don't want anyone else to look at any of it until I make up my mind. So what if I don't get around to it until day ninety? You're just a writer; you can wait."

Even the one agent who insisted on an exclusive on a partial from me only asked for a week. I probably would've even given it to her if I'd been able to. But 90 days? No way.

[kuatolives]

If this was some fly-by-night operation, then your thoughts would make sense. But the OP called this "a respected agency." I'm not about to tell a respected agency to go screw themselves. I think it would hurt my career more than anything else. And I personally would do whatever it takes to get in with "a respected agency." Granting them a 90 day exclusive to a partial being the least I'd do.

Who cares if they're respected or not? That's like saying you don't mind being stabbed in an alley as long as the perpetrator has a PHD. "It's....ok....officer.....he....*cough*....was respected."


And I personally would do whatever it takes to get in with "a respected agency.


I know.

[Cath]

What worries me about this is if the agent comes back saying they like it and offering representation after reading a full, you then have to make a decision without seeing what other agents think or feel about your work. This agency is not giving you the opportunity to find the best agent for you.

I think this sucks. If it were a full, I might consider it, for a partial, no.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Who cares if they're respected or not? That's like saying you don't mind being stabbed in an alley as long as the perpetrator has a PHD. "It's....ok....officer.....he....*cough*....was respected."
I don't see the analogy. Not sure how being stabbed in an alley leads to getting my novel published. But ok, if you say so.


I know.
Actually, you didn't until I just told you. :tongue

[wordmonkey]

What you have to remember is that it's all bidnis. It's nothing personal. Just bidnis.

The agent wants to do anything and everything that will benefit them. When you're client, looking after you is in their best interest. If this is a respected agency, it's respected by people who know what they are talking about. Is being offended by a 90 day clause THAT big a deal balanced against what they could offer?

However, if their terms bother you, you have three choices.
- Suck it up and deal with it.
- Negotiate and see if they will reduce that time.
- Tell them where to stick their lousy 90 days.

Frankly, I'd try the second, then fall back on the first. You can do the last, but what does that get you? If the agency is that well respected, odds are they meet and talk to other agents and stink spreads.

Even if you decide that the 90 days is simply unacceptable I suggest you politely walk away. Don't tell them anything bad, just that you reconsidered your options and have decided on a different route. But if you do that, don't even think of going back to them in six months and asking for a second chance.

As ever, you are free to ignore any or all of the above.

BTW, if the OP wants to PM me with the agent, I'll sub my book and gladly wait the 90 days!

[DeadlyAccurate]

However, if their terms bother you, you have three choices.
- Suck it up and deal with it.
- Negotiate and see if they will reduce that time.
- Tell them where to stick their lousy 90 days.


I would start with number two, then if that didn't work, tell them thanks and I would be happy to contact them again when I am able to offer them the exclusivity (meaning they go to the bottom of the list, and if I run out of other agents to query, I'll get back to them.)

Even if you decide that the 90 days is simply unacceptable I suggest you politely walk away. Don't tell them anything bad, just that you reconsidered your options and have decided on a different route.
Agreed. Always always always deal with agents in a professional manner, no matter what.

[wordmonkey]

When Harper Collins or some other "respected" behemoth of the publishing world offers you a deal for your book, but tells you it will take at best 18, but more like 24 months before they release the book, would you guys who are baulking at 90 days, walk away from that?

That is not some snide slam, rather that you have to be aware the overnight success, rushing for a launch of the next big bestseller doesn't happen that often and slow-and-steady is more the norm.

I have no idea, but the 90 day thing could well be a test. See what you do. See if you'll try and negotiate. See if you're ready to deal with the inevitable delays that happen once you make the move to the next level.

It also occurs to me that agents and their minions could well be lurking in places like this and be looking to see what reactions they stimulate. Even if you don't use your real name on the forums, I suspect it's not that hard to find out who is who.

Maybe I'm an agent?

BWAH HA HA HA HA HAR!

OK, I'm obiously not, but look on the lists of threads. How many posts vs. How many views of said post?

But I was serious when I said I'd wait the 90 days for a decent agent. I have plenty of things to keep me busy in the meantime and if all you have is your one mss then is an agent really gonna want to rep you? They are looking for a clients that will stay with them and make then a lot of 10-15 percents.

I know I'm rolling off at a tangent here, but is this another incarnation of the newby paranoia? You see this a lot within screenplay groups where the folks new to the system have spent a long time on their script then are convinced that anyone who wants to look is gonna steal it. Maybe it's the curious fear of success that always seems to bobble around.

Like I say, I'm just curious.

[DeadlyAccurate]

When Harper Collins or some other "respected" behemoth of the publishing world offers you a deal for your book, but tells you it will take at best 18, but more like 24 months before they release the book, would you guys who are baulking at 90 days, walk away from that?

That is not some snide slam, rather that you have to be aware the overnight success, rushing for a launch of the next big bestseller doesn't happen that often and slow-and-steady is more the norm.
Yes, I'm well aware of that. Once you have a contract in hand, you enter a whole new ballgame. I expect long delays and slow responses, before and after representation. But having a contract in hand and taking your time is different from holding a partial hostage for three months for no other reason than you might want to read the whole book.

I know I'm rolling off at a tangent here, but is this another incarnation of the newby paranoia?
Nope. Not even sure how you get paranoia out of it. It's just plain business for me. I want an agent who respects my time as much as they expect me to respect theirs.

[scully931]

It also occurs to me that agents and their minions could well be lurking in places like this and be looking to see what reactions they stimulate. Even if you don't use your real name on the forums, I suspect it's not that hard to find out who is who.

Maybe I'm an agent?

BWAH HA HA HA HA HAR!

No kidding! Why do you think I didn't mention the name?! "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you!" (X-files quote)

Anyway, except for telling them to shove it, because it's just not my personality, I have to say I agreed with nearly every post. No matter which side of the fence it was on!

I think I might go ahead and send it. The next few months are going to be very hectic because of some work projects, so might as well give myself a little break on trying to get bunch of stuff out. (Even though they're half ready to go).

But, looking at the larger picture, it does kind of make me wonder about the 'tone' of the agency to demand 90 days for a partial. (I agree with most people here that a full is a bit different because at that point they obviously like your writing) True, they are the ones who are financially stable in this business and not me, but it does seem to be a bit of taking advantage. I don't know, maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. I would never want to appear ungrateful for someone wanting to see a partial.

I was kind of surprised that so many seasoned posters thought 90 days was unusual. I thought a) I was over-reacting or b) people would yell at me for posting about the 90 day partial topic again.

Thanks for all your good advice! It's much appreciated!

~not posting my real name even if it is in my profile. :e2paperba

[scully931]

Shoot, it's just 90 days. Why not give 'em what they want?

(The form makes me suspect I know who you're talking about.)

Well, since you suspect and didn't say 'run the other way' I'll take that as a good sign. The last several books from this agent have been to HarperCollins. So... yeah, that's pretty good.

[aruna]

I think I might go ahead and send it. The next few months are going to be very hectic because of some work projects, so might as well give myself a little break on trying to get bunch of stuff out. (Even though they're half ready to go).



I was kind of surprised that so many seasoned posters thought 90 days was unusual. I thought a) I was over-reacting or b) people would yell at me for posting about the 90 day partial topic again.



~not posting my real name even if it is in my profile. :e2paperba

Good luck to you, then! Hope your patience pays out. I also hope this doesn;t become some kind of precendent amonog agents... the new trend - test those pesky authors by demanding 90 day exclusives on partials, then 120-day exclusives on fulls... at that rate it would take YEARS to find an agent.


Thanks for all your good advice! It's much appreciated!

[scully931]

I also hope this doesn;t become some kind of precendent amonog agents... the new trend - test those pesky authors by demanding 90 day exclusives on partials, then 120-day exclusives on fulls... at that rate it would take YEARS to find an agent.

Oh, goodness! I hope it doesn't become a habit either! Can you imagine? I have a feeling it would quickly become something that people agreed to, but didn't follow.

[Jamesaritchie]

What worries me about this is if the agent comes back saying they like it and offering representation after reading a full, you then have to make a decision without seeing what other agents think or feel about your work. This agency is not giving you the opportunity to find the best agent for you.

I think this sucks. If it were a full, I might consider it, for a partial, no.

If you've done the proper research, you should already know this is the best possible agent for your work. Submitting to an agent who isn't the best one for your work is always self-defeating. Why would you even consider sending something to an agent who isn't the best possible agent for you and your book?

Finding the best agent for you is something that should be done before a single query goes in the mail, let alone a partial.

You send to that agent first, and then work down the list. Shotgun queries, trying to see how many agent you can send to in a year, or submitting to any agent who isn't a very good match is a horrible way of finding an agent who will actually love your particular book, and work like a dog to sell it.

Trying to find teh best agent by playing a numbers game almost always means you either won't find an agent at all, or the one you do find will not be the best match.

It isn't enough, for example, to know that an agent handles mystery novels. If you really want to know how good a match that agent is, you need to find out what mystery novels she's sold to which publishers, and you need to actually read some of them and see how they comepare to your own. Agents look for marketability, but they also look at readability, and an agent has to like reading what you send them.

Then you tailr a query aimed directly at that particular agent. If your query works for more than one agent, it is not a good query. Then, when they ask for a partial or a full, you send them something that reads the way that particular agent enjoys reading.

And you give them whatever time they need to read and evaluate it properly.

But however you go about it, you'd darned well better know the agent is teh best possible one for you well before you mail a query, let alone a partial or a full. If you don't, you're just wasting everyone's time.

[aruna]

If you've done the proper research, you should already know this is the best possible agent for your work. Submitting to an agent who isn't the best one for your work is always self-defeating. Why would you even consider sending something to an agent who isn't the best possible agent for you and your book?

.

I actually believe that it;s impossible to know if a particular agent is the best possible agent for my work. The best possible agent is the agent who loves my story, and there is no way on earth I can find that out by research; not even by reading every single book a particular agent has sold. It's something intensely personal and subjective.
I actually think that research of the art you suggest is not really feasible. In order to research and compare so as to find that "perfect" agent I'd have to read hundreds of books, and even then I can't tell if a particular agent will love mine. So I read interviews with agents, blogs, articles about them. I try to find out as much about them as I can. And even that is not really possible - there just is not enough information out there. And it's far worse in the UK, where agents seem to hide behind a stone wall.
Sometimes, a simple sentence on the agent's website does it. An agent says something which I find is EXACTLY how I feel about my book. And I think, Bingo! And send in th submission. Other agents say things which are totally alienating. I know for a fact that the agent who asked for a 90 day partial exclusive would not be the right one for me; this sounds like a fearful and suspicious agent, among other things,.

I certainly don't do scattershot submissions. I choose very carefully, not by reading the books they sold, but by who they are. I guess I rely more on my intuition. And it has worked.

(Apart from that, to know if someone is "the best possinble" agent I'd have to know every single agent personally! We just can't know.)

[Doctor Shifty]

The posts here from JamesRitchie give me much encouragement.

I subbed my novel to a particular agent when I noticed that they listed many of their works on their website, and among them I found a particular book that I had bought soon after it was published. My novel has some resonance with the themes of that book, which was also a first novel. In my query I could draw some lines from one they had already managed to my own. I got an email the same day asking for a partial.

It has been six weeks since I sent the partial, and I am giving myself the task of waiting for twelve weeks, call it a self-imposed 90 days exclusive, before I go hunting further or seeing if they are ready to make a reply to me. This is with a very significant agent and I am happy, though fidgety, to wait it out.

Kim

[aruna]

The posts here from JamesRitchie give me much encouragement.

I subbed my novel to a particular agent when I noticed that they listed many of their works on their website, and among them I found a particular book that I had bought soon after it was published. My novel has some resonance with the themes of that book, which was also a first novel. In my query I could draw some lines from one they had already managed to my own. I got an email the same day asking for a partial.



Kim

The best of luck to you, Kim. I think a self-imposed exclusive is a different story altogether. When I first began querying for this novel, I read Donald Maass' book Writing the Breakout Novel and felt strongly that we'd be conpatible, and that my book fell within his orbit. So I chose him as my Number One, queried, and got a partial request almost immediately. He didn't ask for an exclusive, but wanted to know how many other agents were also looking at it. I had already decided that this would be a voluntary exclusive and told him so (that is, I told him he was the only one).

He read it in two weeks, and it was a rejection, but with personal comments. Basically, he did not "fall in love" with the MC, and that is the elusive X-factor out of our control and beyond all our research skills.
The agent I finally got DID fall in love with the MC.

I think that is as impossible to predict as it is to expect love-at-first-sight in an arranged marriage. The two partners might rationally be perfect for each other, but we just can't create love. It's even harder with a ms, because the agent reading one is usually hurried and actually LOOKING for flaws in order to reject - whereas the marriage partners are usually desperately hoping to find love.

So, Kim, I do hope that your ms and your agent have the perfect chemistry!:).

[Cath]

I actually believe that it;s impossible to know if a particular agent is the best possible agent for my work. The best possible agent is the agent who loves my story, and there is no way on earth I can find that out by research; not even by reading every single book a particular agent has sold. It's something intensely personal and subjective.
What Aruna said - I certainly wasn't advocating mass mailing agents without doing research, but I think there are factors that can't be evaluated until you have interaction with the agents in question - personality and attitude toward your (my) work in particular.

However, I have considerably less experience in this area than many of you, so I'll just shut up. :)

Good luck with the sub, Scully - hope it works out for you.

[wordmonkey]

I think I might go ahead and send it. The next few months are going to be very hectic because of some work projects, so might as well give myself a little break on trying to get bunch of stuff out. (Even though they're half ready to go).

Hey, whatever you do, best of luck to you. For my money, the worst you lose is a little time, and you can do a lot in 90 days, so I'd look on it as 90 days of time you've been given.

But that's just me.

[Julie Worth]

Hey, whatever you do, best of luck to you. For my money, the worst you lose is a little time, and you can do a lot in 90 days, so I'd look on it as 90 days of time you've been given.

But that's just me.

That is, indeed, just you. Though I can imagine a judge saying it: "I'm giving you ninety days!"

[Philip64]

Take it, unless you don't really want this agent, and are sure you can do better.

And if that's the case, why the hell did you submit to this agent in the first place?

Get your next submissions lined up; and spend the next 90 days turning your partially written ms into a finished one.

[Homer]

The most interesting thing about this thread is that the published authors are the ones by and large saying take it, and it is unpublished authors by and large who are taking umbrage at 90 days.

[Cath]

Oh, I'm published - just not in novel format.

Fine line. ;)

But in general, yes.

[Del]

Give them the exclusive and go write something else.

I agree that giving an exclusive can be seen as confidence in your work. All the other people that have blown them off have made room for you.

[aruna]

The most interesting thing about this thread is that the published authors are the ones by and large saying take it, and it is unpublished authors by and large who are taking umbrage at 90 days.

Haven't noticed that distinction but I'm pubished and I know I would never do this. My time is as valuable as his, and for me 90 days is a LOOOONG time. (That sounds terribkly arrogant but it's true. I'm a working author, have lived from my income for six years, and time IS money for me.)

[aruna]

Give them the exclusive and go write something else.

I agree that giving an exclusive can be seen as confidence in your work. All the other people that have blown them off have made room for you.

Yes, but taht confidence means i want to see eagerness onthe part of agents. I want an agent who can't wait to read it, based on my query. And that's what I got!

One of the last agents I queried asked for an exclusive on the partial. I wrote her back to say it wasn't possible because several mss were already out with other agents.
By return of mail she said, "send it anyway, and I promise to give it a quick read."
She read it in like an hour, asked for the full, and a few days later offered representaion. THAT'S the kind of timeline that interests me! I want an agent who feels a buzz on reading the query and "knows" this is for him/her.

Several agents replied to my query within one week, and those that did read it within two weeks. That already shows me the chemistry between ms and agent is working.

When I ws offered representation there were still five fulls and [artials out withagents - all good agents, but I wouldn;tknow how to choose between them without meeting them in person, which would be impossible. They;d had the ms for three months, non-exclusively,. This tild me that they werenb;t that enthusiastic from the start to give it a quick read. So I had already mentally moved on, and started on my second round of querying.

[aruna]

I seem to have repeated myself somewhat on this thread. Sorry for that.

I just hate it when a hard and fast rule is made that has to be valid for ALL authors. We will all find different ways to publication and what is right for me may not be right for you and vise versa. What I feel means confidence for someone else means lack of the same.

The rules are not written in stone.

Listen to what others have done, listen to yourself. So many factors play into the decision; how much you want THIS agent, how much you might want ANOTHER agent.

The best-case scenario, of course, is more than one agent wanting your ms and you being able to make a choice - which is only possible with non-exclusives.

I think you've made up your mind anyway. Go for it, and good luck!

[lostlore]

If Binky Urban asked me for a 90-day exclusive I'd agree in a flash, were I able to do so honestly (unfortunately, she doesn't take queries). Is this still true, anybody know? She replied very personally to mine, although ultimately couldn't offer representation.

[icerose]

I'm with James and Uncle Jim here. I've had my manuscript with Baen for 9 months now. I'm just now reaching the point of their response period, I expect it will be March or further before I actually get a response. What have I been doing all this time? Writing. It's not a waste of time if you focus on something else, but it's your call.

[Monet]

On the flip side of the coin, I can't imagine an agent letting a publisher have an exclusive for 90 days. Hmmmmm, I'm picturing no more auctions on manuscripts because of publishers requesting exclusives.

Back to the topic. I think the same goes for writers and agents. You really don't know for sure if the agent is the right person for you until you get into the talking stage. And if you have a handful of top agents that you feel are right for your book, the choice is tough on turning down the others who haven't even seen your work. I can deal with a limited time on an exclusive on a full, but a partial, that's a close second to letting an agent have an exclusive on a query letter.

[Manderley]

Reading these kinds of threads makes me really appreciate the fact that I don't have to deal with agents, but can go straight to the publishers. And that they won't take longer than eight weeks to get back to you. And that most of them will accept simultaneous submissions.

Of course, I would appreciate this even more if I could just finish the damn manuscript and get it in the mail...

[maddythemad]

Depends. Are you willing to give up querying for three months for this agent? Are they that "good"? I guess I would base it on how many partials requests I was getting-- if I got one for every two or three queries I sent out, I would say no to 90-day agent, but if this was the first partial request I had ever gotten, after sending out 50 queries, I would say, "Hell yes, and here's a box of chocolates too!"

Just my two cents. Let us know what you decide. ;)

[maddythemad]

Oh sorry, saw that you already posted what you were doing, Scully (I have GOT to stop posting before I read the whole thread!) Well, I hope it works out for you and that fabulous agent says "YES!!!"

Keep us posted. :)

[icerose]

Good luck with your submission, I too hope it's a yes.

[expatbrat]

This thread is from ages ago... so what did you decide in the end?

Did you land the agent?

Has agent sold the book yet?

Are you rich and famous yet?

[MMcC]

There is nothing wrong with questioning the request. Contact them, say you were surprised by the request, and ask if there is wiggle room.

It's a bit like asking for more money. They can say no, but if you are respectful and polite they aren't going to tell you to go to hell.

[Prawn]

I would be scared of the 90 days. Couldn't they request the full for another 90? Now your ms is sitting with them for six months.
P

[Wallflower]

Like expatbrat, I wanted to know what happened! Did you hear back before the 90 days?

[swvaughn]

And here I thought this was a new thread. I was all ready to comment, too!

Drat. I'm really slow sometimes. Er, Miss Snark says exclusives suck (to reiterate the previous advice), and hey, it can't hurt to ask if they would mind reviewing on a non-exclusive basis, or shortening the period of exclusivity (now there's a mouthful of a word!).

[Novelhistorian]

[quote=DeadlyAccurate;879019]I would start with number two, then if that didn't work, tell them thanks and I would be happy to contact them again when I am able to offer them the exclusivity (meaning they go to the bottom of the list, and if I run out of other agents to query, I'll get back to them.)

That's what I'd do, too. It's a business, but a two-way street--and I say this as someone who's going out of his mind because an agent is reading my full ms. on a two-week exclusive, which is due to run out in a few days.

[scully931]

Ok... many months later...

I decided to go for the ninety day exclusive. However, I had a partial with another agency. So, in all fairness I wrote that in my cover letter to the 90 day guy and sent it off all ready to begin my three month wait. One month later, I got my partial back with a handwritten note stating that they don't accept partials that are with other agencies and to feel free to send it when it was available. Grr.... one month wasted. In that month I had done some rewriting and found that I really wanted to change the middle section. So, I REsent my partial (having since heard from the other agency) and the ninety days was up as of March 31st. Have. Not. Heard. A. Thing. So, I'm going to drop them a note, but they will certainly not get another ninety days.

However, the two month break I took from the book was probably the best thing that could have happened to it. (Besides being sold and made a best seller) I hadn't taken a break on it for three years and it gave me much perspective.

Anyway, I'm still surprised more people haven't encountered this 90 day thing. Honestly, when I posted this I expected lots of people to say it had happened to them as well. The agent probably smelled a sucker. :gone:

So, just what my two cents is worth and in case anyone else happens upon the ninety day exclusive... I am glad I did it only because it led to some good rewrites and because it came at a time when I was overwhelmed with work and moving into a house. But, I'm not likely to do it again. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement! :e2flowers

[Just Me]

Anyway, I'm still surprised more people haven't encountered this 90 day thing. Honestly, when I posted this I expected lots of people to say it had happened to them as well. The agent probably smelled a sucker. :gone:
No, it's not just you. :) I got one of those, too. I don't know if it's good manners or not, but since I've had good luck getting requests, I decided to put that one on ice while I go through the rest of the list. If I'd known in advance that they would want a three-month exclusive, I probably wouldn't have queried that agency in the first place unless I was COMPLETELY POSITIVE that they were my absolute Grade A #1 best possible choice. I'm not sure of that as yet (although this agent does have a very good reputation), so... there it is.

~JM.

[scully931]

Ahh... good to know I'm not alone. I agree about not doing unless you are absolutely sure he's the best one. It's so hard to determine that in advance, of course. But, if they respond saying they never received my chapters or lost them and demand another 90 days... to the bottom of the ol' request pile.