Do agents who have assistants actually see all their queries, or do the assistants have the discretion to reject queries without ever running the queries by the agent? What about partials and fulls?
Agents with Assistants
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It really depends on the agent and their preference. Plenty of assistants screen everything, including fulls, before it ever reaches the agent. Others just stick to queries. Some assistants only help in responding to the queries, so the agent would still see them, but those are rare.
Jennifer_Laughran
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I'd say every agent works differently. I have an intern, but she doesn't look at ANY queries. I look at ALL of them, because I don't trust anyone else to know my weird taste.
She does, however, give me a second read on requested fulls, and reads my client material along with me as well (I just really like to be able to discuss thoughts with somebody else who has read the stuff.)
She does, however, give me a second read on requested fulls, and reads my client material along with me as well (I just really like to be able to discuss thoughts with somebody else who has read the stuff.)
I can think of at least one agent on my list that requests queries be sent directly to her assistant. He screens them for the unpublishable queries (no grammar, derivative, etc.) and then she can focus on the rest to see if there are any that strike her interest.
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I just had a query read by an assistant/intern or the like, she requested pages, then requested the full, and finally sent me a form reject "We just don't think this is right for us"
And I too wonder, did the material ever get infront of the agents eyes? Probably not.
And I too wonder, did the material ever get infront of the agents eyes? Probably not.
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Just because you're only corresponding with the assistant, doesn't mean the agent never saw your work. The assistant is acting as the agent's secretary, handling all the tedious work of writing email responses.
At least, that's my take on it.
At least, that's my take on it.
No, not always. It really depends on the agency. Some assistants do all the work, including reading the requested material. If they think it's good enough, then they pass it to the agent. I know assistants who will even inform the writer that they liked the work and are passing it over to the agent. Other assistants (I think mostly interns) only screen through the queries and then pass the good queries to the agent who then decides whether to request material or not.
I guess it depends on what the status of the "assistant" is - whether they are an intern, a new recruit, or a junior agent working under the guidance of a veteran.
In an age where shop assistants are called "customer care associates" and other daft titles, you can't tell what people's real jobs are any more
In an age where shop assistants are called "customer care associates" and other daft titles, you can't tell what people's real jobs are any more
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When you consider that something like 60~70% of all submissions are going to be rejected on the basis of lack of basic writing/grammar skills or stories that are just derivative or unoriginal, I see no problem with an assistant sorting things out. On top of that, you can add genres that the agent doesn't rep--i.e. sending a romance novel to a fantasy agent. Those are easy things to check for.
Generally speaking, I don't have a problem with assistants doing reading for an agent because a lot of times an assistant that's properly trained will be able to tell whether or not a book is going to be good enough. If your book is in that top few percent, chances are you're going to be seen by the agent, so the goal is to get in that top echelon, right?
I'm not overly concerned that an assistant might randomly throw out something that's incredibly good just because they aren't as knowledgeable.
Generally speaking, I don't have a problem with assistants doing reading for an agent because a lot of times an assistant that's properly trained will be able to tell whether or not a book is going to be good enough. If your book is in that top few percent, chances are you're going to be seen by the agent, so the goal is to get in that top echelon, right?
I'm not overly concerned that an assistant might randomly throw out something that's incredibly good just because they aren't as knowledgeable.
I've spoken to several agents about this, and they've all given me roughly the same answer.
Not all agents let their assistants filter the slush, as they consider it an important part of their job.
If they do allow their assistants to deal with queries, it's only to weed out the ones they can't deal with: so, the non-fic queries for agents who only represent fiction, the children's books for agents who don't represnt those, and so on. You'll notice that this doesn't allow the assistant to reject work on the basis of quality, just on the basis of genre.
Most agents reject the majority of the submissions they receive because most of them just aren't suitable for the genres the agency represents, or because they're just not good enough.
Not all agents let their assistants filter the slush, as they consider it an important part of their job.
If they do allow their assistants to deal with queries, it's only to weed out the ones they can't deal with: so, the non-fic queries for agents who only represent fiction, the children's books for agents who don't represnt those, and so on. You'll notice that this doesn't allow the assistant to reject work on the basis of quality, just on the basis of genre.
Most agents reject the majority of the submissions they receive because most of them just aren't suitable for the genres the agency represents, or because they're just not good enough.
I've corresponded with agents who have interns/assistants to give them second reads on requested material, I think that's pretty common.