A few -- just a few -- questions
When an agent offers you representation, the dynamic shifts drastically. You, as an author, go from being the applicant to the boss. Depending upon your attitude about doing business, you are either hiring someone to work for you, or looking for a partner who’s far, far more important than your next casual weekend date. Are you picky about dates?
AAR has a marvelous listing of basic questions you should ask a prospective agent. Find out about track record, complaints, client satisfaction, fees, commissions, etc …. All the normal stuff. Start there. But here are a few more questions, not to scare you, but to show there are myriad things you might not yet have considered. This isn't exhaustive, but I think it's representative of some issues best handled BEFORE you sign a contract.
1. Will you represent me, all my work and my career … or just choose a la carte from projects you like?
Some agents don’t want the hassle of actually committing to you, the writer. Instead they want only one project. So ask yourself, "if he dislikes my next book, do I really want to go find another agent … and for the next, another agent … and for the next another?" If you truly want a partner in your writing life, don’t accept the a la carte agent. Remember how hard it was to find ONE? Do you want to do that for every book you write?
2. How many submissions do you send in the first burst? How many will be circulating at any one time?
Face it, there’s a cost and a juggling act in sending submissions. Imagine an agent with a dozen clients sending out a dozen submissions for each. Tracking (and paying for) 144 submissions is tough, especially when some answers come in days, others in months. But … that’s what agents do. I had an agent whose rule was five submissions at a time; no more could go out until the last of the five responded. Well, what if that last editor took six months (which, in my case, happened)? You have ONE live submission with no possibility of competing offers/auctions, and nothing in the pipeline. In essence, you start over again –every time. If your agent happens to be entirely too submissive, he/she also won’t rattle editors’ cages to get action (another trait for which to watch.)
3. Does he she know the real rules of the game, and will he/she push those rules in your interest? Or does he/she have his own rules that reduce your chances of exposure to the right editors?
I know an agent who insists adamantly that it is "against the rules" to submit a manuscript/proposal to multiple imprints owned by the same parent. For example, the Free Press imprint at Simon&Schuster rejects you. This particular agent believed that she could not submit to any other imprint at Simon&Schuster, ever. It’s true that some houses won’t compete with themselves on simultaneous submissions; some editors oversee multiple imprints, making it dumb to keep submitting the same project to the people who’ve already rejected it. But many – if not most – major houses with multiple imprints will consider your manuscript, even if a sister imprint had earlier rejected it. One reason: What’s wrong for one imprint might be perfect for another. Find your prospective agent’s attitude by asking.
4. Will your agent actually read your work?
This seems like a no-brainer, but some agents aren’t interested in the width and breadth of your work. They understand they aren’t writers or editors … they are salespeople. And you’re hiring them for their sales ability. If they are also astute readers, savvy wordsmiths, engaged word-counselors … that’s good for you. But their first job is to sell your work.
Here’s the problem if they don’t read it: Would you buy a car from a salesman who never drove one? An expensive bottle of wine from a sommelier who never tasted it?
And if your proposal or partial manuscript piques an editor’s curiosity, will he be more impressed (or less) with the agent who can tell him exactly how the story unfolds, or explain nuances in the plot or narrative, or just compare it to a recent best-seller?
I learned the hard way. If an agent won’t read your work, how can he/she truly expect anyone else to read it? If a prospective agent gives you some caca about how reading a manuscript will harm her sales patter or take valuable time from his sales effort, find another one. Quickly.
5. How many clients do you have? How much attention can I expect from you?
More is not necessarily merrier. You don’t want to be No. 12 on an agent’s list of 12 clients. If an agent has plenty of help, that’s a plus. Don’t expect hand-holding and weekly calls, but if you can’t get monthly updates and replies to your messages, that’s bad. If the agent is flying solo and doesn’t even have a secretary … try to assess how the routine will affect your submissions. Can he/she communicate with you at comfortable intervals? Will your submissions get the attention they deserve, or will they be set aside while other writers get your agent’s most robust and freshest attention. An agent will tell you many things, but if he/she ever says, "I can’t send your stuff because I have several other submissions to send out," that’s a sign of being put on a back-burner.
6. What’s the last book you read for fun?
I’m skittish about agents who don’t know what’s selling. I’m skittish about agents who aren’t passionate readers. I’m skittish about agents who don’t have time for such things. They’re in the business of spotting good work, selling it effectively and efficiently, and anticipating supply-and-demand.
7. Who's more important ... me or the editor?
Many agents would rather make you angry than an editor. Why? They plan to go back to that editor dozens of times with other projects. Thus, the agent sees the editor as being more of a cash cow than you, most of the time. In the end, you risk having your interests subordinated. There's nothing wrong with a professional, honest agent keeping editors happy ... and in most cases, being professional and honest will do the trick. But if you feel your interests are second to the editor's (in your agent's eyes), they probably are. There's a way to balance both editor and writer interest ... good agents do it daily.
She said that I had writing talent, and she enjoyed the story, but (paraphrasing here) the book is not as marketable as it stands as some others. There's apparently not a lot that takes it out of the pack, even though it's a good piece of writing.
