a "hypothetical" scenario...

karo.ambrose · May 2, 2009

This is a "hypothetical" scenario wink wink nudge nudge

Let's say Agent X who works for Awesome Agency requests your full manuscript back in October. The writer sends the full, and doesn't hear back. So writer sends a status query in January without reply. And then another in February, another in March, and another in April, all without a reply.

But back in January, a new agent joins Awesome Agency, let's call him Agent Y (it took me a while to think of that alias...). This agent is totally perfect for the writer's manuscript--everything this agent looks for is exactly what the manuscript is. But the writer cannot query this Agent Y, because his manuscript is stuck in purgatory with Agent X.

Basically, the writer wants to pull the manuscript from Agent X in order to query Agent Y.

Have you ever seen that Seinfeld episode where Jerry is dating the non-laugher, and her roommate is the chick who thinks he is hilarious? And so Jerry tries to think of a way to seamlessly break up with one in order to be with the other.

But I don't think a menage a trois is going to work in this case. *sigh*

That's what this feels like. I, er, I mean, the writer, wants to find a way to break free from Agent X without being like blacklisted or something at Awesome Agency. Because it seems like such poor etiquette to pull a full from consideration, only to send a query to the agent in the office one door over.

Any ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks a bunch.

ChristineR · May 2, 2009

Dear Agent X:

I am writing you concerning my book, which you have had since October. As I have not heard from since, should I assume that you are not interested? I am especially anxious for an update from you since I see that Agent Y has joined your agency, and I would like to query Agent Y for my book. I think Agent Y might be interested because of blah blah. Of course I will not do so if you are still considering my manuscript. Please let me know if you would like some more time to finish reading my manuscript.

Thank you for considering my work.

My guess is that unless Agent X is a total jerk, that there would be no problem with something like this. Or call and ask Agent X's secretary if she knows if Agent X is finished with the book and tell her why.

melaniehoo · May 2, 2009

I like Christine's advice. Maybe also throw in a line that if you don't hear from Agent X within a certain period of time, say a couple weeks, that you'll assume Agent X isn't interested and will go ahead and query Agent Y.

Good luck.

suki · May 2, 2009

First check the agency's submission policy. If the agency has a "no from one of us equals no from all of us" submission policy, I think you're SOL. But, otherwise, you could status query with a line of "Unless I hear from you by _____ I will assume you have no further interest in the manuscript." Then, if that date passes without response, query agent 2.

I'm not sure I would mention the other agent in the status query. Agent who has the manuscript could be a good person and pass it on, OR, agent who has the manuscript could be a mean person and sabotage you with second agent, especially is second agent is an up and coming superstar. May be my cynical read, and without knowing the people involved, I'd tread carefully.

I would NOT however, call agent or her secretary and ask where she is or explain. That, IMO, is a big no no.

So, if the agency doesn't have a no from one is a no from all policy, I'd status query with a firm deadline, but without mentioning the second agent, if it were me.

~suki

Cyia · May 2, 2009

suki said:
I would NOT however, call agent or her secretary and ask where she is or explain. That, IMO, is a big no no.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

Do NOT call them.

Giant Baby · May 2, 2009

I wouldn't. None of it. You've made it to the full stage with Agent #1. I recommend you respect that and leave it be.

It's like you're standing on third base, jumping up and down for a chance to go back and swing at the ball again. Get back on your base, Karo! You're gonna you get ejected.

karo.ambrose · May 2, 2009

From inside my writer's circle, Agent X will only read fulls if another offer for representation is on the table. He is notoriously slow and unresponsive.

The agency does have a "'no' from one equals 'no' from agency" policy. That's why I'm trying my best to step lightly, so as not to burn any bridges. But Agent X WON'T respond, and I know this from other friends who have had full requests from him. However, as soon as you mention you have another offer, Agent X responds in under a day.

Oh, and I would never, under any circumstances call the agency. That just reeks of desperation and other attributes of a novice.

Maybe I should pull my manu from his consideration, allow some time to pass, and then after a few months, query the other agent?

RainbowDragon · May 2, 2009

Would you still want agent X if he offered representation? If so, wait. If not, withdrawing is an option. Either way, query other agencies. You might get the offer somewhere else entirely.

Just because agent Y's bio says "I love books just like yours and nothing else" does not mean he will even reply to your query. This I know from experience.

My advice is to be glad you got the full request you got and ride it out. And Agent Y can be plan B.

jclarkdawe · May 3, 2009

A lot of this involves deciding how bad is the downside. Worse case scenario is that you lose an agent who is lukewarm to your manuscript (at best) and is of questionable promptness. He's also shown that he has no balls at dealing with problems. (In other words, if he's representing you and your next book isn't working, it's unlikely he's going to tell you this. He'll just not answer you.) Then you have a potential agent that's worth targeting, but you have no real information that he'll like your book.

So downside is you lose these two agents. Personally I'd like to lose X and Y isn't exciting me that much.

Personally I'd send agent Y my query letter. Last paragraph of my query letter would be an explanation that agent X of the agency has a full which he has had several months and hasn't responded to about its status. Then, to avoid being rude, I'd CC agent X with the letter/email.

Worst case scenario is I don't hear from either guy for the rest of my life. Maybe get lucky and get a no so I can move on. Best case is agent Y likes my query, and go grabs the full from agent X.

But no matter what happens, I'd be moving on from the situation.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Danthia · May 3, 2009

I'd query others and put this one out of your mind. From your comments, it doesn't sound like Agent X is someone you'd want to work with now anyway, and Agent Y being at the same agency could be problematic. It seems like anything you did to pull the full and send it to another is going to come off wrong no matter how delicately you do it. If there's any friction at all, the agency is likely to say no just to keep the peace and avoid potential hassles between agents.

It's an icky situation, but there are a lot of other agents out there. And if you really like agent Y, you can always try them if nothing else pans out. By that time, you'll probably have a resolution from X.

karo.ambrose · May 4, 2009

I withdrew from Agent X and queried Agent Y. I'll let y'all know what happens.

Odds are, I'll continue to get ignored, or I'll get rejected. I'm just hoping for some sort of closure. But hey, maybe something can come of this?

*does not hold breath*

melaniehoo · May 4, 2009

Good luck.

a "hypothetical" scenario...

karo.ambrose

._.

ChristineR

What happened?

melaniehoo

And thus we begin the edits

suki

Opinionated

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny

Giant Baby

Oh, the humanity.

karo.ambrose

._.

RainbowDragon

Perpetuous Revisasaurus

jclarkdawe

Feeling lucky, Query?

Danthia

karo.ambrose

._.

melaniehoo

And thus we begin the edits