An Offer of Representation, but I Haven't Finished Querying

I agree. Don't bullshit anyone. You want to work with an agent for the long haul. You want to trust them, and you want them to trust you. Do you really want to start off by lying to them? I'd be consumed by guilt with every e-mail I sent to them.

Three weeks is definitely long. When I got my first offer of rep, I asked for two weeks (since I knew one of the agents holding a partial was super backed up at the time due to pregnancy). I regretted that approximately three days later. The time after an agent offer is super stressful.

That's why you have CPs and critique forums like the ones on Absolute Write, though--to tell you when your query is ready. Using agents as guinea pigs is risky.

Besides, it'll only tell you whether your query works for *that agent.* In my first week of querying the book in my signature, I got four requests out of five. I'd already been previously agented, had good writing credits, and a high-concept book, so with an eighty percent request rate, I felt confident in sending out more queries--surely an offer would be coming in very soon?

Instead, that request rate plummeted. Five months and many deeply so-so rejections later, I was ready to shelve the book (and possibly move to Alaska). Then I got an offer from an editor, then two agent offers. The agent whose offer I accepted turned out to be the very first agent I'd queried.

What I mean is, requests from 'guinea pig agents' only go so far. They're not representative of what all agents think, and they're not representative of what people will think of your partials and fulls. Your best shot is always to have your query critiqued by your peers, then to contact the agents you want. You do not want to be in a position where you have to turn down an offer because you end up not really wanting that agent, and no one else will bite. (Again: I've been there. It's no fun.)

That's more advice for whoever is in a similar situation and stumbles on this thread, though.

In your case, all that's left is to wish you good luck. I hope you'll end up with an agent you adore and who can sell your book like a mofo. Keep us posted!

During the phone call with the offering agent, ask some very important questions like:

1. Where are you considering sending my book and why?
You're looking to see if they're going to be putting you into the big 6 and if they know the editor's preferences.
2. (Try to find this out before the phone call, but if you don't know, ask) What have you sold last year?
3. What kind of advance can I expect / have you seen in the past year based on my genre?
4. Can I speak to some of your clients?
5. What type of communication do you prefer? Will you be forwarding me rejections or just summing up at the end of the month/quarter/another time frame who has my novel and the status?

Basically you're looking to see if you and the agent has similar goals for your book and how you gel together.

Congratulations and good luck!

Yeah, never ever lie to an agent. The agent knows why you are asking for time and they don't mind. They expect you to follow up with other agents. Mine even encouraged me to do it before I had a chance to ask for time. It really isn't a big deal, and we certainly should never lie to an agent you're hoping to build a relationship with.