How much contact is too much?

Ask your agent how they prefer to work. This is supposed to be a long term relationship and you're allowed to ask them now that you're a client.

Brookie, I wish I had an agent, if I did I'd give you the advice you seek, I wouldn't slam the door in your face and tell you to go ask your agent.

But just hang in there, I'm sure you'll get some valuable responses soon.

But hey, you have an agent, woo-hoo!

congrats on landing your agent!

I'm not agented, but from what I've read, you can ask your agent "how often can I expect to hear from you?" which might give you a starting point. I've also read that it's ideal to lump questions together in emails rather than fire one off every day or week. Hope this wee li'l bit helps!

Congratulations on signing with an agent!
I think a lot of the contact has to do with where you are in the submission process. When I first signed with my agent, and he was selling my book, I talked to him almost every day. Then, once he'd sold it, I only talked to him once a month or so because there was nothing much to say. Now that we are working on covers and so on, I am back to talking to him frequently. One of the things I like best about him is that when I do e mail him, he always responds the same day. But you are starting on a new relationship and it takes time to figure out the rules. Best to be up front about it all. Congratulations again!

Ziljon said:

I wouldn't slam the door in your face and tell you to go ask your agent.

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Waylander didn't "slam the door in [her] face." The advice is perfectly sound. There's no one correct answer, because agents are individuals with different styles. What if waylander's agent prefers contact by smoke signals and only on the third blue moon of the year? Is that the right answer? The correct answer is to ask your agent what she prefers.

I have no idea what would constitute too much contact with my agent. I try not to bug her unless I have a specific question, but I'll request an update about once a month if I haven't heard anything (unlikely, since she's great about getting word to me regularly). If I'm bugging her, she's too polite to say something.

Brookie, you should try to fit "my agent" into any conversation, regardless of context. I took a writing class in which the author teaching it joked that the only reason to get an agent was so you could casually say at a cocktail party, after answering your cell phone, "Oh, that was my agent." If you can fit in phrases like, "negotiating deal points," and "striking contract clauses," even better.

DeadlyAccurate said:

Waylander didn't "slam the door in [her] face." ...The correct answer is to ask your agent what she prefers.

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Exactly.

That's one of the things you talk about in your initial phone conversation.

If you are in the thick of the selling process to publishers, as a benchmark you have every right to hear from your agent once or twice a week. He/she should be out with multiple submissions to different publishers. If, say, he/she sends out one big batch to eight editors, there may be a subsequent lull of a few weeks while the editors look at your work.

Obviously if you get an offer, you'll probably hear within 24 hours from your agent. But even if you're rejected, these days, publishers usually send rejects back to agents via email, often with some specific comments on what they liked and didn't like. Your agent should be forwarding this feedback to you (though he/she will probably delete the email addresses of the editors). This feedback can be very useful if several editors cite the same reasons for rejection.

During the thick of the selling process, it is perfectly okay to drop a line to your agent if you don't hear anything for maybe ten days. If the initial round of submissions doesn't hit, then the pace of things will slow down quite a bit, as the agent will probably only be able to make occasional new submissions, maybe when he/she meets a new contact.

This is one of those things where you will probably know when too much contact is too much, and you'll know when not enough contact is wrong.

A good agent will answer any questions you might have.

But a good client will probably ask only the most pertinent questions, especially in the early stages.

It's important to realize that these folks have other clients, and they also have personal lives. There are a lot of fears/anxieties/mortal horrors that you'll experience as a writer during the run-up to your agent submitting the book. A lot of these fears SHOULDN'T be shared with an agent; share them with a family member, a friend, your mother.

An agent, remember, is a businessperson first.

Your agent will become your friend, I'm sure, but the best friendships are built on trust. You shouldn't rush to your agent every time you have a moment of paralytic self-doubt; trust him or her to work as hard for the manuscript as he or she possibly can.

Contact

Don't call and bug her with pointless questions that are the equivalent of "Are we there yet?"

If you have something to say, call. If not, be patient.