How Long Will An Agent Wait?

This is just my opinion. but if you have agents who only have the query there's not much you can do. You can email them as a follow-up and say you've received an offer of representation, but (again, JMO) chances are they're not going to leap on you at the query stage (although I could be wrong.)

If other agents are reviewing the actual proposal, by all means call or email them and tell them you've got an offer. This is standard procedure. Give them a week to make a decision and get back to you.

Tell the offering agent that you're very pleased to have the offer, and you'll give them a reply on (date. It's usually about a week, honestly. You don't want to let it sit much longer than that).

That's what I know for fiction, anyway. The query/proposal thing may well be different for nonfiction, but what to tell the offering agent and contacting the others with materials is pretty standard.

Congratulations! I'd been wondering why I didn't see you around much of late.

December has a lot of good points.

But I would also add, if the agent who offered you representation is awesome, has a good track record, is someone you feel really understands your work, I say just go with them. I mean I suppose you could wait around to compare and contrast, but if the agent checks all the boxes, I can't see what the point would be.

I've written about this extensively elsewhere on this site, but I'll say it again here: If an agent offers you representation and you tell him or her you "just want to make sure none of the other agents is interested," you've going to kill his or her enthusiasm and may, in fact, lose the chance to work with that agent. So take that path with great caution.

You submitted to that agent because you believed he or she would be a good agent for you, right? You researched him or her before you submitted, right? So why not take the offer in hand, rather than holding out for one or more in the bush?

JMHO,
Z

Listen to Andrew.
My agent (Dorian Karchmar of WMA) says exactly the same thing...the lesson here is to not query agents you wouldn't be happy working with.

Ditto what Pat, Adrienne and everyone else said. If you DO happen to have multiple offers fall your way at about the same time, then by all means, have a discussion with each of them and decide which of the offers you've got is truly the best fit. But if you've got an agent on the line, and you're leaving him/her hanging, hoping a better offer comes your way, well . . . that's bad form.

And as Pat says, ideally the agents that you queried are all agents you'd like to have rep you anyway -- so an offer from only one should still be one more than enough.

Hopefully, the agents you queried are ones you have hand-picked and not just blasted your stuff to. If one of your fave agent offers, the protocol is to let your other fave agents know, and then you decide from there.

An agent will not withdraw his offer to represent you simply because you didn't say YES! on the spot. They know if they are offering representation, there is a great chance others will to. Do not be afraid to interview agents and make a sound decision.

For more on this topic, please do check out my articles on finding an agent.

http://www.cynthealiu.com/2006/05/22/35/how-to-find-a-great-agent-for-your-book/

I disagree with Andrew and Orion. If you have proposals out with other agents and are interested in them I think it's professional to let them know that you have an offer and allow them to respond with their own offer. Part of this is because there's only so much you can learn about agents on the internet and third hand and so an agent who looks good on paper might not be the best match for you once you speak on the phone. To me, it's important to find that good match.

shouldn't one also ask for some recent
sales info as well as current clients to call
as referals?

i know there's sales info out there, but not
everything is necessarily online.
and i thought speaking with current clients
would be pretty essential?

I feel I would be remiss if I don't say here that when my agent (OMG!) offered representation I accepted immediately. He's definitely one of the "If you can't just say yes I'm going to lose interest" types (in a totally good way, lol.)

But honestly--several agents had the full already. He got back to me in two days. That enthusiasm meant a lot to me, and was what I was looking for.

When my agent asked if I would like her to represent me, I almost jumped on a plane to hand deliver the agreement. I settled for express post though.

The majority of first time authors have very little in way of offering as bargaining power. As others have said. Don't go querying those you wouldn't want to represented by. And take the first offer that comes your way.

After you have accepted write to the other agents who are considering your work and thank them for their time. They may give themselves (or their assistants) a kick for not getting back to you sooner.

JJ

kristen nelson offers her take in two entries.

and she doesn't expect the client to accept in
the initial phone call.

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2007/02/youas-agent-journalist.html

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2007/02/agent-calltake-2.html

i think as with all things in this industry,
it really just depends on the agent, client,
situation, etc etc.

I'm in a similar situation atm. A new but reputable, well-connected, and most importantly enthusiastic agent has offered representation. However, since several other agents were currently considering the manuscript, and I had been up front with her when she requested the full recently, I let her know when we spoke on the phone that I didn't feel I could accept her offer without at least contacting the other agents first to let them know. She was very understanding and let me know that she was not in a rush for me to make a decision, which I thought was very classy.

It IS a very big decision and as we are constantly reminded to remember--this IS a business. Now, that said, I'm not trying to use her offer to angle for other agents to offer, I'm just trying to give fair consideration to everyone who had already expressed interest, keeping in mind that not every agent has the same schedule as others or can read as quickly. I HAVE given a time limit of a few days for needing responses from the other agents, and have promised the agent who offered I would make a decision by the end of the week. Right now I am leaning toward signing with her, and while I have twinges of guilt for not immediately accepting her offer (I'm a people-pleaser), overall I DON'T regret taking the extra few days just to make sure this is the right business decision for me.

I understand that others, including agents, might disagree. I can only speak for myself.

ExposingCorruption said:

. . . should I wait for replies to the dozens of other queries that I have sent out?

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I think it's appropriate to check with agents who have your proposal, but I wouldn't consider those who just have your query.

Second and third questions: How long will the agent wait once he/she has offered representation to an author? Is the agent's offer of representation on the table indefinitely?

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I was in that situation. In fact, the first agent who called assumed I was in that situation. After all, if she was interested it was logical to assume others were as well. I asked for a couple of days to consider the situation. I contacted the agents who had my proposal and all responded to me within a day. It seemed to me all of them viewed this as standard procedure. Nobody got annoyed.

What if one agent has expressed an interest, asked for some changes, but has not yet given an offer of formal representation (no signed contract) and another agent, more expereinced in your genre, your dream agent calls and offers you a contract?

Toni1953 said:

What if one agent has expressed an interest, asked for some changes, but has not yet given an offer of formal representation (no signed contract) and another agent, more expereinced in your genre, your dream agent calls and offers you a contract?

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If it's a no brainer for you to choose the second agent, then you accept their offer and thank the first agent for their time and consideration, but you've accepted an offer elsewhere. Goes for any other agent who is reviewing requested material.

If you're not sure who you'd choose, then you tell the first agent about the offer from the second agent. Either they'll also make an offer, or step aside. If they make an offer, you've got a big decision to make. If not, then you can think about accepting the offer from the second agent.

Good luck, and let us know what happens.