What exactly would I say if given an offer?

Hi Everybody,

I'm asking some advice here because I've got four full mss and two hefty partials (75 word apiece) out to agents and am actually beginning to think I might get an offer soon.

What exactly do I say if I get that most coveted call offering representation? How do I phrase it that I am DELIGHTED but want to let the other agents that have the full know and allow time for other offers? I am so afraid that I will get an offer from the least desired and then offend that agent while trying to say I'd like to talk to other agents if they are interested. Is there an accepted way to say this without sounding ungrateful for the offer? I'm probably worrying about nothing.

BTW, can I just say I am tickled pink with the agents reading my work? I am seriously stoked about 5/6 of them - several of which I queried thinking they'd never give me a shot. They are all well established agents except for one, and even she worked for an established agency before opening her own agency. I have been doing the happy dance all over my house every day just because they are reading my mss, because even if they don't offer representation I feel validated by their willingness to read it.

Thanks in advance for the advice. I know I may not need it, but I want to be careful and know what is okay to say and what is not. Like do I tell the agent offering representation that I need a week or two to let others who are reading the full know, or is that a slap in the face to that agent? Is there any industry jargon to use or way to say I want to give the other agents a chance to respond? It sounds like there is a way to do this, but it feels so weird to me to tell them to wait while I check in with others.

Thanks again.

Thank you so much Rugcat and Clara. The blog was super helpful as was your advice. Just to set the record straight, I would be delighted with any of these agents. Just that one is significantly less connected than the others. I truly queried the others thinking they would not look at my stuff. ANY of these agents would be great. It's just that now that these other ones have picked up my work, I'm hoping to be chosen by one of them and the lesser experienced one isn't AS appealing... Though I know I'll be lucky if ANY of them offer representation!

Thanks again for the advice and the link to the blog.

Thank you, Deadly Accurate, for the words to use (I may read right off my notes that I've copied off of here and the blogs I've been directed to!) and assurance that it's okay to say these things.

Thank you, Mommy Writer, for being excited with me!