I have an offer. What questions should I ask the agent before I sign?

What commision she works works on. Normal is 15%. If she will supply the copies of your manuscript or if you will. How often she will contact you - best to get this out of the way. When I first signed with my children's agent I was like a fish out of water. You could also talk about where she might submit the book.

The main question however is commision. And knowing what is in the contract. Some don't offer a contract but I love contracts and most big names will give you one. My contract says all of my children's works have to be seen at her desk before I send them out. Just in case she wants to rep those too. My contract also says it's good for 18 months and renews itself if no one wants out on said date. But of course - it is in much more confusing lingo! =)

Above all - conragtulations! Many times it is the infamous agency name that sells books and not so much the agents name.

Does she charge any in-house fees for postage and copies and such? Who keeps the rights if you part ways? How does she plan on marketing this to editors? Does she have any particular editors in mind and if so, who?

If he/she has no editors in mind, QUESTION this. You want it to be a good fit for the editor, not just a random "Hey, I think I'll send this to so and so and see if it sticks." Most good agents will already have 3+ editors in mind.

Ask him/her how 'hands on' they are. Do they like to edit before sending off? Hardly touch it? Also ask how they prefer to communicate and how often.

Iry's right . . . great advice, iry.

I think Jessica Faust at Bookends has one of the very best summaries of the things you should discuss with an agent before signing:

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2007/04/questions-to-ask-before-signing-with.html

I think everyone else has covered the basics, Prawn, but I just wanted to say congrats and good luck!

Try to do as much research as possible yourself--for instance, if it says on the website that the agent charges a 15% commission, you'll look as if you didn't do your homework if you ask this question.

One of the most important questions, in my opinion, is "what are your marketing plans for my book?" Not only will this give you important information on what you can expect if you sign with this agent, it'll give you a sense of how the agent sees you and your book.

- Victoria

Definitely do your research, and look up ALL of the clients listed. Trust me on this. One of the most embarrassing moments I've had so far...

My agent called me to offer me representation, and I was going over the laundry list of questions to ask. I asked "So have you sold anything in my genre?"

There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Then he said, "Well, a little book called XYZ" that happened to be a *very* popular book and has very large print runs and a lot of critical praise. I googled the author afterwards and was totally humiliated.

Luckily, he was very nice about it, but it made me look like an idiot that hadn't done their research. So do it for your own peace of mind.

Yes, definitely talk with a couple of her clients. I would also ask this agent when she plans to start submitting your book, how she plans to keep you informed of editor responses, at what point she'll stop submitting your ms, and her overall communication style.

Do any other agents have your manuscript right now? If so, you should contact them right away, let them know you have an offer on the table, and ask if they're still interested in your project.

Best of luck!

I have an agent who is very interested in my novel. She recommended 4 editors, two of which are associated with her agency, and each asking $12,000+ to edit the manuscript. I am in the process of finding my own editor.

sharonw said:

I have an agent who is very interested in my novel. She recommended 4 editors, two of which are associated with her agency, and each asking $12,000+ to edit the manuscript. I am in the process of finding my own editor.

Click to expand...

This is a huge red flag. Do a search for the agent's name in the Bewares, Recommendations and Background check section before you do anything.

sharonw said:

I have an agent who is very interested in my novel. She recommended 4 editors, two of which are associated with her agency, and each asking $12,000+ to edit the manuscript. I am in the process of finding my own editor.

Click to expand...

She's interested in fleecing you, not representing you. Run.

Yeah, thirding. That's outrageous. And surprisingly obvious, for a scam. Search around this forum and you'll see this happens way, way too often.

I know it's really, really hard to have someone like your book and then turn them away. Just try to remember that this person doesn't actually like your book. Scammers know authors tend to be attached to their work and that makes them very soft scam targets. I'm sure you've put a tonne of work into the book, so treat it like your prize product. It doesn't deserve to be in business with these sorts.

You might want to read this thread, with special attention to the most recent updates.

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?24034-Agents-recommending-editing/page2

Just to reiterate the point:

No reputable agent would ever ask you to pay for editorial services. There aren't exceptions to this rule. Do not sign with this agent and do not pay for editing. This is a scam.

Absolutes are rare, but this is one of the ones that actually do exist and will serve you in good stead.

sharonw said:

I have an agent who is very interested in my novel. She recommended 4 editors, two of which are associated with her agency, and each asking $12,000+ to edit the manuscript. I am in the process of finding my own editor.

Click to expand...

WHHAAAT. My agent got me a very reputable editor FOR FREE.

Also 12K will edit 6 books, not 1.

Time to break out the cross-stitch and hang it on the wall: "If It Ain't Free, It Isn't To Be"

Addendum cross-stitch pattern if you want to make a matching pair on your wall:

"If They're Asking For Money, Something's Funny"

sharonw said:

I have an agent who is very interested in my novel. She recommended 4 editors, two of which are associated with her agency, and each asking $12,000+ to edit the manuscript.

Click to expand...

As others have already said, this is not how good agents operate. Run from this agent. Do NOT sign with her. I know how tempting it is to do what she asks: it's so hard to find an agent, and the longing to see your book published can be so strong. But there is no point signing with her: she will not sell your book, and will not do well for you. All she will do is take your money and string you along. At best she'll take all the money from you that she can, for editing services and other things, and when that's done she'll find you a vanity press and expect you to pay them too.

This is not how good publishing works. Good agents will often edit their clients' works but they do it for free, knowing that a well-edited book will sell better. Good agents make their money from selling their clients' books, not from charging their clients for work they should do for free. You deserve better, and I hope you find it.

I hope you'll consider letting Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware! know about this agent, because trying to fleece a new writer for so much money is disgraceful. Really bad.

I am in the process of finding my own editor.

Click to expand...

I have worked with many, many new authors over the years and I wonder if you're ready for this yet. In my experience writers at the beginning of their journeys do better workshopping their writing: it's free, and it teaches you far more about refining your work than paying an editor will.

Why don't you hang out in our Share Your Work section? You can't start your own thread there until you have at least fifty substantive posts here: but you can help others with theirs, and that's such a good way to learn.

(I might split this discussion out of the original one, as you deserve a thread of your own for this, I think; and because we prefer not to raise old threads from the depths of the forum. But I'll give you a day or two to make sure you can find your way back.)

I'm wondering if you're doing your research on these agents before you query them. Did you check on the P&E (Preditors and Editors) or the Bewares section like others mentioned? Make sure you do some digging around before you send out your work. So this type of scam doesn't happen again. And dear God, 12,000 dollars??? That's enough to buy a new car, or a down payment on a house! NOOOOOOO way. Even if it's a little bit of money, no way. Could you imagine making payments on this and your book is already out and still having to pay? What an awful thought, but unfortunately it happens to some. Don't let it happen to you!

Many of the questions suggested in here, can be answered by just reading the contract.

Punkin said:

Many of the questions suggested in here, can be answered by just reading the contract.

Click to expand...

When one has that initial phone conversation with a literary agent there's not often a contract in hand: it usually comes later.

ETA: And much of what you need to find out from an offering agent isn't contained within a contract. That conversation is meant to help both agent and author decide if they can work well together, and if they share the same vision for the book under consideration, which aren't things a contract can define.

To put things in a different perspective, $12,000 is a "nice deal" in sales terms for when the book is actually sold. You might not even get an offer for that much. Most first-times novels sell for around half that.

Assuming the book sold for $6000, of which your agent would get $900 with a standard commission, that leaves you with $5100, assuming you get the entire advance at once, which you likely won't. (part on signing and part on delivery or publication is more likely). You've got to take out the taxes, so estimate another $1000 off the total to make it an easy number. This leaves you with $4100. On a book you potentially paid $12,000 to have edited. Meaning you're $7900 in the red, and your agent and editors are the only ones who have made a profit.

Of course, the chances that someone with this sort of scheme going could even sell your book to an actual publisher are slim to none.

Old Hack said:

When one has that initial phone conversation with a literary agent there's not often a contract in hand: it usually comes later.

Click to expand...

My point exactly. Read the contract, and you'll be equipped for an intelligent conversation.

Punkin said:

My point exactly. Read the contract, and you'll be equipped for an intelligent conversation.

Click to expand...

No.

9 times out of 10, you will NOT have a contract to read before the phone call. Most agencies won't send a contract without reasonable expectation of signing, and they don't get that until after the phone call when you give them confirmation that you're going to choose them as your agent.

Some agencies actually have policies preventing their contracts from being read by / sent to non-clients. It's a form of non-disclosure. (legit, enormous agencies like WME) And you can't trust any sample contracts you might find online.

It's best to sit down and write out several questions that you would like to ask a prospective agent in advance. A good number of them wouldn't be the sort of things spelled out in a contract, anyway:

What's your commission?
What changes do you foresee needing to be made in the manuscript?
Do you read yourself, or have a reader?
How long is your average response time / how long do you generally take editing a piece before it goes on submission?
How long do you generally keep a manuscript on submission?
Which editors do you work with?
Would you possibly be able to put me in touch with an existing client?
What's your agency's position on self/assisted publishing? If I want to experiment with something, will you help me get the manuscript in order so I can publish it myself (for a commission on sales, of course)?
Should you retire, what's the agency policy on retaining authors?
etc, etc, etc.