Do you think Agents can smell desperation?

Not if you keep your query short, sweet, and to the point. And when (see--I say "when" not "if") the agent offers representation, you stay calm but do a snoopy dance when you hang up.

I've been practicing. Just.in.case.

I'm pretty sure that agents have a highly developed olfactory sense. I'm not quite sure what desperation smells like, but I'm pretty sure they can smell it, no matter how good your query is.

Hmmm....I hope not. Cuz I have a whole lot of it...

Not that I even have an agent, but I work in a field where I am on the other end of handing out acceptances and rejections of contracts.

I think the key is to self confident. Even though you want their business, you must realize that they will benefit from you as well. That if they do not choose you, it is also their loss.

Yes, that is easier said than done, but in these types of matters and markets, if you have a product that is viable then that is a powerful truth and force. Even if there are other products that are comparable, it still does not mean that your product is still not viable and that the agent will not benefit from it.

Doing the short story thing, I think I was a little more desparate early on, but now I'm starting to believe more in my stories and hopefully they are getting 'better' than what is out there, and when that happens, it will truly be 'their loss'.

Not to say I will be an arrogant prima dona A-hole, but if we 'believe' in our product and that our product will benefit them as well, then that should subconsciously come across to the agent. They should be able to feel that confidence on a primal level.

anyways, that's my 0.02 cents

Mel...

that's why i put deoderant on all my queries, blondie!

unscented.

What makes you think they aren't desperate for you?

stormie said:

Not if you keep your query short, sweet, and to the point. And when (see--I say "when" not "if") the agent offers representation, you stay calm but do a snoopy dance when you hang up.

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Aw, don't act too calm! I think they appreciate a little excitement.

Think of all the people they have to reject. They like being the heros every once in awhile!

Yes, agents are the gatekeepers, and you have to work hard to get past them.

But on the other hand, without writers, they have no job at all. They need us more than we need them.

I've been to a couple of conferences, met agents face to face, eaten lunch with them, even. It helps a lot now to think of them as Just People instead of as the tenth-level boss of some video game guarding the gates of oblivion.

A few years ago I was in line for something at a writer's conference and found myself chatting with a very personable woman. When a posse of buff and good-looking firemen walked through the lobby we joked about how their presence was causing a stir, as the conference was mostly attended by women romance writers. Then I glanced at her name tag, saw it was Ms. Big Agent, and grew so flustered I could barely talk.

I laugh about it now. After all, they are Just People, as JudScotKev points out.

yes.

it's not a smell, though. it's a different sense.

i don't know how to stop it.

A very well known agent who used to keep a very popular blog said, "You are not a supplicant in this business." Maybe just that thought keeps the smell of desperation off our work, queries, synopses, etc.

So, conversely then, they should also be able to smell success.

Which means, keep on truckin' with the subs.

Bwahahaha!

Um, seriously, I have wondered if a query can be overworked. Not sure if that's the same thing, but I bet it's related. I'd consider trying xiao's suggestion - it worked for her!

Shady Lane said:

Aw, don't act too calm! I think they appreciate a little excitement.

Think of all the people they have to reject. They like being the heros every once in awhile!

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You're right. Just stay calm long enough to discuss the book, you're future with them, etc, then get escatic. They don't mind. They do like it and usually get escatic along with you. (Been there, done that. Only we parted ways a year ago. Kind of like an amicable divorce.)

But the query? Nah. Short, sweet, to the point. I think agents just know that we're sweating it out; they don't smell it from the query. They just know. (Cue Twilight Zone music.)

stormie said:

Not if you keep your query short, sweet, and to the point. And when (see--I say "when" not "if") the agent offers representation, you stay calm but do a snoopy dance when you hang up.

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I'm afraid I babbled in incoherent fragments when my agent phoned without warning to offer representation. Turned out she made the offer anyway. I was just lucky I didn't conclude she was a telemarketer and hang up on her.

Really, I think what agents can sense is craziness. At least, they hope they can sense that. They don't need loon birds phoning them or clogging up their e-mail.

I don't think it matters what they can and can't smell. Bad vibes, good luck, right impression is nothing - the work is all that matters. They'll read the work and make their decision accordingly.

Just make sure you've got a four leaved clover under your mouse mat as you type and there's no need to worry.

You are querying an agent, therefore you are desperate. Think of querying as going to the hospital needing a new lung.

I think all they can smell is money. And if they don't catch a whiff... it's into the dustbin for Johnny.

-MM

I spray all of my queries heavily with Glade room deoderizer to mask the odor of terror and desperation. The e-mail ones are a bit trickier, so I've taken to just a light spritz of Febreeze across the screen before hitting send. I think it transmits well.

tomothecat said:

You are querying an agent, therefore you are desperate. Think of querying as going to the hospital needing a new lung.

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And heart. And brain. And....

stormie said:

And heart. And brain. And....

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And a tampon!!

Agents are people, too. They want to make a living, and if in the process they discover a new talent, great. So desperation or not, they are looking for that gem of a ms. they can sell. You aren't trying to get a date with an agent.

I've had a talent agent for a number of years. He's not my best friend. He's not even a good friend. He's a business associate. He sells a product, which is "me." He doesn't care if I'm desperate or lazy; he doesn't care if I can actually act. All he cares about is that there are enough people who would book me for a job, and that puts money in his pocket. And I appreciate that, because I know he's the one who's going to get me jobs!

Make your query and your ms. shine. The rest is irrelevant.