exclusive means "don't send it out, don't let anyone else read it while i have it". exclusives suck. If an agent wants an exclusive, you can give it, but do let him know if you have other copies out there. Also restrict the time of the exclusive. tell him, i will grant you an exclusive for x number of weeks. after that time i will contact you, and i will resume sending this out depending on your answer. don't just let them have it for how ever long cause agents are slow and you could end up sitting on your hands for months. and then your fingers will fall asleep and that's just icky. Good luck.