Updating agents with submissions and/or queries

miamyselfandi · Sep 3, 2010

Colleen Lindsay tweeted a few weeks ago that when an author gets a request for a full, he or she should immediately notify any agents who have partials. I've never heard this before, and haven't found anyone else who has heard this. Though I have fulls and queries both out, I am uneasy sending updates to those with partials just to let them know that I now have fulls out, too.

Any thoughts on this?

Also, thinking ahead, since so many agents require chapters, sometimes several, with a query--if a writer ends up choosing an agent while queries are still out, should the author notify all agents with queries, or just agents who requested more material/partials beyond the initial query?

I know that agents want to be given time to read and respond if they have requested more and you get an offer; I am just not sure if at any point you notify agents who haven't yet responded to a query that you have been offered and/or chosen representation.

TIA.

IHeartWriting · Sep 3, 2010

Agent Barbara Poelle suggested something similar in this recent post on the Guide to Literary Agents blog on the WD site http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.co...ters+Can+Do+To+Make+Their+September+Rock.aspx

I wonder if perhaps this will be the new norm?

Julie Worth · Sep 3, 2010

Seems to be a one way street with Colleen. She requested a partial from me two years ago and never replied. And now she's no longer an agent, and I wonder if she let everyone know who sent her partials and fulls?

Still, she's probably suggesting this for the benefit of the writer, to shake loose some interest in the partial holders, and this is a reasonable suggestion even though I've never done it. I wouldn't notify anyone until I had a signed contract in hand (or verbal agreement if the agent works that way), then I'd notify all those agents with more than sample pages. For those with queries and sample pages, I would simply not respond to subsequent requests for material. 99% of agents won't follow up their requests anyway. On the other hand, if I got an offer from an agent that didn't feel right, I would notify all the others with fulls in the hope of getting a better one.

miamyselfandi · Sep 3, 2010

Iheartwriting--

Maybe it's the coming norm, but it still feels risky to me. We've heard too many warnings about not nudging and not pushing for me to assume all agents would respond well to such an update. What do you think?

colealpaugh · Sep 3, 2010

An agent recently requested a full. She also asked if I'd mind telling her how many other people were reading it. I gave her an honest and complete answer. She thanked me very much and said she looked forward to reading the MS.

It seemed like a good system...

miamyselfandi · Sep 3, 2010

Julie Worth said:
Seems to be a one way street with Colleen. She requested a partial from me two years ago and never replied. And now she's no longer an agent, and I wonder if she let everyone know who sent her partials and fulls?

She did seem to be clearing her decks, according to tweets, and getting back to everyone with rejections or passing good material along to other agents. However, this makes me think of another angle. Perhaps those agents who claim or are reputed to get back to everyone deserve being told when a query is no longer viable, and the ones who consider "no response" to be a good enough rejection will assume the same in reverse. (Which might, by the uncharitable, be interpreted as, if they aren't going to bother letting me know they aren't interested, I sure won't bother letting them know it's unavailable now, and if they end up reading the chapters and wasting their time, well, how unfortunate.)

Julie Worth said:
On the other hand, if I got an offer from an agent that didn't feel right, I would notify all the others with fulls in the hope of getting a better one.

I believe it's standard to always tell the agent who is offering representation that you are currently considering others, as well, and to ask for a week or two to make that decision is typical. Then you would get back to the others and give them that week to read and respond. This would be typical, even if you did not think the offer "didn't feel right."

ChaosTitan · Sep 3, 2010

miamyselfandi said:
Colleen Lindsay tweeted a few weeks ago that when an author gets a request for a full, he or she should immediately notify any agents who have partials. I've never heard this before, and haven't found anyone else who has heard this. Though I have fulls and queries both out, I am uneasy sending updates to those with partials just to let them know that I now have fulls out, too.

Any thoughts on this?

From my experience, the only time I told a requesting agent about material being read elsewhere was when they asked. If the agent requesting your full/partial asks if someone else is reading it, tell them. If they ask you to inform them if anyone else asks for the full while they're still reading, then inform them if it happens.

Telling an agent every time another agent requests material seems a little pushy, unless they've asked you to do so.

Also, thinking ahead, since so many agents require chapters, sometimes several, with a query--if a writer ends up choosing an agent while queries are still out, should the author notify all agents with queries, or just agents who requested more material/partials beyond the initial query?

Only notify the agents with requested material.

miamyselfandi · Sep 3, 2010

colealpaugh said:
An agent recently requested a full. She also asked if I'd mind telling her how many other people were reading it. I gave her an honest and complete answer. She thanked me very much and said she looked forward to reading the MS.

It seemed like a good system...

If they ask you, that's fine. OTOH, that's not the same as you going back to all the others and updating them. If an agent is really, really busy they might not mind ditching a few partials or fulls off their reading list when it looked like there was a lot of interest in a project and they don't have time right now to deal with it. They might reject at that point. OTOH, two months from now they might read it and love it, and you still be waiting for the others or have received rejections from the others, so, I'm still not feeling very supportive of this new approach.

miamyselfandi · Sep 3, 2010

ChaosTitan said:
Only notify the agents with requested material.

Thanks. That was my instinct, but since so many request 50-100 pages, I didn't know if that changed the approach. I suppose if they eventually read them and request more, it's easy enough to inform them at that point.

Julie Worth · Sep 3, 2010

miamyselfandi said:
Thanks. That was my instinct, but since so many request 50-100 pages, I didn't know if that changed the approach.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to inform them. Just a quick form email telling them it was no longer available. No need to tell them why. But for those with 5 page samples, don't bother. It would probably be more of an annoyance anyway. And if you keep all these details in a spreadsheet, it shouldn't take more than five minutes.

Jamesaritchie · Sep 3, 2010

Tell them. It can them time and trouble, and can save you a burned bridge, should you ever need that agent. It can also move your partial to the top of an agents TBR pile in a hurry.

cagedrobin · Sep 4, 2010

If you get an offer you should send a short note to everyone with whom you have open queries--fulls, partials, or simply query letters. Just a request for a full? I wouldn't.

Julie Worth · Sep 4, 2010

cagedrobin said:
If you get an offer you should send a short note to everyone with whom you have open queries--fulls, partials, or simply query letters.

I don't get this. Sure, if you have reservations about the agent making the offer, then you'd like to have more than one offer. But otherwise you're taking a risk. Say the agent develops reservations about you while you're keeping her waiting and doesn't send you the contract, and all the other agents, hearing that you have an offer, scratch you off their list. Where are you then?

colealpaugh · Sep 4, 2010

cagedrobin said:
If you get an offer you should send a short note to everyone with whom you have open queries--fulls, partials, or simply query letters. Just a request for a full? I wouldn't.

If you receive an offer from an agent, it is standard to notify all agents who have partials and fulls (not queries). The courtesy keeps them from wasting time. Imagine an agent reading a full then finding out you just accepted representation by someone else?

Write "I have an offer of representation" in the subject line. They will greatly appreciate you taking the time and is seen as very professional. Most will respond promptly, either passing or asking for a bit more time to read your MS.

Corinne Duyvis · Sep 4, 2010

Say the agent develops reservations about you while you're keeping her waiting and doesn't send you the contract, and all the other agents, hearing that you have an offer, scratch you off their list.

Honestly, if they develop reservations about you if you ask them to hang on a few days, they're probably not the agent for you, anyway.

Same with agents who cross you off if they hear you have an offer. If they were interested, they'd offer as well. I don't think that hearing someone else is interested will make them change their mind one way or another - just get to that conclusion faster.

miamyselfandi · Sep 4, 2010

However--I just heard through a friend that her agent currently has over 700 queries backed up. The agent got some publicity and was buried. The agent wants to read them all but....

You can't tell me that agents who are in high demand and have so many queries they feel burdened by them might not be tempted to let one go in this kind of circumstance. She told me, "Don't make it easy for them to say no." In fact, she threatened me bodily harm when she thought I might even consider sending out updates to let agents know I have fulls out along with the partials.

You can also say, this would give that agent a reason to read yours ahead of the other 700. But, you just don't know how that agent will react at the moment your update comes through. "I don't have time to read as quickly as I'd need to for this, so, it's a rejection," or, "I need to see what this one is about."

It's a roll of the dice. Either you're turning up the heat so that the agent knows others are interested too, or you're giving them an easy reason to cut you loose.

Do ya feel lucky, punk? Do ya?

Giant Baby · Sep 4, 2010

Julie Worth said:
I don't get this. Sure, if you have reservations about the agent making the offer, then you'd like to have more than one offer. But otherwise you're taking a risk. Say the agent develops reservations about you while you're keeping her waiting and doesn't send you the contract, and all the other agents, hearing that you have an offer, scratch you off their list. Where are you then?

This isn't the norm. Agents expect you to let them know if you have an offer, and thus, they expect you'll let others know if they're the first agent offering. It's a very small industry. Those (reputable agents) who don't know each other are usually only separated by one degree. I know of many agents who actually make it clear in the offering conversation that they expect you'll need to contact anyone else reading. Otherwise, the generally accepted code is, "I'm very excited about your offer. May I take a week to consider and get back to you on _____?"

If the agent doesn't want to compete, s/he should be reading exclusive only. If an offer gets rescinded because a writer doesn't jump in the initial conversation, that's just shady behavior. I don't care how reputable the agent is.

Just as the agent will usually want a conversation to determine if you're a good match, it's up to the writer to talk to as many interested agents as possible to make sure you sign with the best advocate for your book and your career. All things being even, of course you'd want to go with the first agent to offer, but that's really not always the case.

Giant Baby · Sep 4, 2010

miamyselfandi said:
However--I just heard through a friend that her agent currently has over 700 queries backed up. The agent got some publicity and was buried. The agent wants to read them all but....

You can't tell me that agents who are in high demand and have so many queries they feel burdened by them might not be tempted to let one go in this kind of circumstance. She told me, "Don't make it easy for them to say no." In fact, she threatened me bodily harm when she thought I might even consider sending out updates to let agents know I have fulls out along with the partials.

You can also say, this would give that agent a reason to read yours ahead of the other 700. But, you just don't know how that agent will react at the moment your update comes through. "I don't have time to read as quickly as I'd need to for this, so, it's a rejection," or, "I need to see what this one is about."

It's a roll of the dice. Either you're turning up the heat so that the agent knows others are interested too, or you're giving them an easy reason to cut you loose.

Do ya feel lucky, punk? Do ya?

As others have said, I'd absolutely send an update when a full is requested to any agent who asks for it (either directly, or on their website, blog, twitter, etc.). But, otherwise, no. Maybe things are changing and this is becoming the norm, but I don't think we're there. I doubt it would really get you kicked, but it sort of yells noob.

cagedrobin · Sep 4, 2010

Not to belabor this point, but there are some agents, even some mentioned in these boards, who request lots of fulls, and send lots of (even very sweet, detailed) rejections. One has something like an 18% full request rate. A request for a full can be part of a looooong process, a fishing expedition for some. (It can also lead to an offer in an hour.)

I did send emails to all the agents I queried, whether they had requested or not, and many sent messages thanking me--requesting fulls,sometimes,--one even mentioned "professionalism" in the note back. If an agent easily dismisses you, try another! Someone who has a backlog of 700? Seems like a big crowd to me.

In my experience, agents who prefer exclusives let you know on their websites and sometimes with the request. But like most things, it's usually negotiable if their interest is piqued enough from the query.

nickspalding · Sep 4, 2010

The way I play it is that if I'm asked to send a full, I won't inform any of the other agents who have also requested fulls at that stage. After all, requesting a full is not an offer of representation, merely a request to read the rest of the work. I don't think another agent will be that impressed by this really and the chances of it bumping up the list on the TBR pile isn't great. However, an offer of representation is met with a 'give me a couple of days to think about it' and a hasty email to other agents with the full telling them so (unless the agent who's offering is a top banana, in which case it's an acceptance of the offer and an email to tell the other agents this.)

colealpaugh · Sep 4, 2010

nickspalding said:
The way I play it is that if I'm asked to send a full, I won't inform any of the other agents who have also requested fulls at that stage. After all, requesting a full is not an offer of representation, merely a request to read the rest of the work.

Yeah, I agree totally. I mean, I'd be more than happy to do it otherwise, but I think agents assume fulls are being read. If they care to ask, then fine. If an agent wants an exclusive read, then it seems logical they should ask.

Just my two cents...

IHeartWriting · Sep 5, 2010

miamyselfandi said:
Iheartwriting--

Maybe it's the coming norm, but it still feels risky to me. We've heard too many warnings about not nudging and not pushing for me to assume all agents would respond well to such an update. What do you think?

At the moment it's not something I'd personally be comfortable with. I can't see bugging them with something so inconsequential.

As an aside, when I signed with my last agent I let the others who had my manuscript know I had an offer. I had one agent ask me who the offer was from and then he never got back to me either way.

Lydia Sharp · Sep 7, 2010

I asked this exact question to Mark McVeigh at WriteOnCon and he said the professional thing to do is let any agent reading your ms know when another agent is now "in the game" as well. I've been doing just that and have not received anything less than a positive response from the agents involved. As someone else mentioned, it can move your ms up to the top of the reading pile, or change a partial request to a full. Competition can get things moving more quickly.

You're not bothering an agent by keeping them informed, and if they ever say that you are or give that impression, I'd look elsewhere. Either they're too busy for you or they're not as passionate about your work as you need them to be.

miamyselfandi · Sep 7, 2010

Lydia Sharp said:
Either they're too busy for you or they're not as passionate about your work as you need them to be.

If they haven't read it yet, they have no reason to be passionate about it. If they are swamped and somebody tells them, "I've received an offer and need to know if you're interested in a week," agents sometimes wish the writer well and let it go, NOT because they're not passionate about the work (they haven't read it so that is an unanswered question), but because they are too busy that week to drop everything and read it. This could be anything from more clients than they can handle to being ill themselves or having a RL issue, or having a client in the middle of a crisis...

At this point my feeling is, if I have an offer, it's worth that risk. But if all I have is an agent who has requested a full, I don't think it's worth that risk. Just because an agent is too swamped to drop everything and read right now does not mean they wouldn't be passionate about me and my career and that I wouldn't get plenty of attention if they were allowed time to explore my material according to their own schedule.

At least, that's the way I feel about it today. Ask me again tomorrow.

Lydia Sharp · Sep 7, 2010

The agent doesn't necessarily *have to* bump up your ms to the top of your reading pile. That's not what I meant.

All agents are busy and they all have their own system for reading requested material, but a good agent will appreciate being kept in the loop. If an agent sees your quick informational email as a bother, then I would not want that particular person as my agent. Just my feeling on it.

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