Help with chosing agents

I don't think you'd force a "no" out of them if you gave them a couple weeks to respond. If the newer agent is truly enthusiastic, I'll bet he won't mind waiting while you allow others the courtesy of reading requested materiel.

Congrats, by the way.

ETA: Another shout-out for enthusiastic, new agents. My agent is relatively new, and she's sold something like 12 books in the last 4 months, 3 of which were mine! That woman's on fire.

Advise the other agents you've received an offer, and ask if they could please respond in two weeks. It is very hard to ask an enthusiastic and prompt agent to wait, but it's probably in your best interests to do so.

Two weeks will also give you time to calm down a little bit and put together a list of questions for all of them, to ensure you make the best choice.

Congratulations!

An enthusiatic agent who totally gets your work sounds little a jewel beyond price even if they are new. What more are you looking for?

I was thinking the same thing. Don't undermine the value of a new and enthusiastic agent at a good agency.

That being said I think it would be a mistake to say no the the newbie agent to peruse the larger agents. Don't worry about how long they have had it, you have an offer, they need to know about it. See where is goes from there. If a few of them say there is no way they could get to it in time then consider your options then.

Tromboli said:

Don't worry about how long they have had it, you have an offer, they need to know about it.

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This. Also, if none of the other agents match the newer agent's enthusiasm and passion, their seniority doesn't really make up for it, IMO.

Recently in the same boat. Had the offer from a young agent at a distinguished agency. Sent email to all other agents who had the manuscript, giving no deadline---one of them read the book very quickly, and was enthusiastic, too, but had a little trouble with certain aspects. Another wanted to have time to respond, but needed a few weeks---too long for me. In any case, I ended up signing with the young agent because of the enthusiasm.

waylander said:

An enthusiatic agent who totally gets your work sounds little a jewel beyond price even if they are new. What more are you looking for?

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This

waylander said:

An enthusiatic agent who totally gets your work sounds little a jewel beyond price even if they are new. What more are you looking for?

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There's a lot more to finding the right agent for you than the agent's enthusiasm. That's important, of course, since they should be excited about your work--but I'm sure we've all heard stories where that enthusiasm and commitment to sell the book faded once the book didn't sell.

And especially since Alex recently left an agent, they probably have some things they know they want in their next agent, whether it's communication style or whatever else. I think it's also useful to remember that when an agent offers, they are basically pitching themselves to you as the best business partner for your work--it's your job to ask the right questions and think about the answers and what you want from an agent/client relationship.

I'm not saying it's not hard to think logically about all of this when you're caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm. And not saying there's anything wrong with an enthusiastic newbie agent with a good agency--quite the opposite. It's definitely great to have an agent who really gets your work--but who's to say the other agents with queries won't also really get the work, and one of them might be a better fit for one reason or another. Just saying that it's still a business decision.

Alex, I second all of Sage's advice. You got a quick offer, sure, but the other agents will want to know rather than missing out on a chance to offer if they want. And since you'd like to talk to some of the other agents you submitted to if possible, the only way to do that is to let them know promptly, to give them the most time, and to avoid leaving the other agent hanging longer than professionally necessary, IMO.

alexalex said:

In any event, in keeping with all your advice, I have crafted a letter to a few of the senior agents telling them that I have an offer but could they weigh in with their thoughts as well. I didn't include a time frame but if I don't hear from them in a couple of weeks, I plan on nudging them gently. Let's see what happens.

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I think you need to give them a limit to start with, say two weeks (at most). You can't reasonably expect the offering agent to wait forever. This is a very standard protocol, and no one is going to freak out at your doing it.

And good luck!

Not sure the answer to the question but I know that not all agents report all their sales to PM.

I appreciate this thread. I'm so zeroed in on getting an offer from any agent that I sort of forgot that it's important to find the right agent. This thread provided me with an important reminder. Good luck Alex(squared).

alexalex said:

Just a quick followup.

I had six fulls out when I got my first offer for my WIP. Unfortunately for me, my other agent contacts didn't come through in the stipulated two-week period because of the intervening Labor day holidays.

So, reluctant to string along the offering agent( who has not made a single sale in my genre), I turned down her offer, deciding instead to take my chances with the more experienced hands.

One agent stepped aside sighting lack of time to delve into my book. Two others passed with detailed reasoning as to why.

I'm waiting on four more at this point.

It may all come to naught. And all of them may pass. I'll have to live with that eventuality.

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The fact that many agents did not respond within two weeks strikes me as odd. When my agent offered to rep me, I let the other agents with fulls know, and all of them got back to me with their decision within 48 hours. I didn't even have to give them a deadline (although this is usually recommended). Usually when agents know an offer is on the table, they jump right on reading your work or tell you they'll have to pass due to lack of interest or time constraints in reading the work.

Sage said:

New agents are goldmines when they're in an established agency (for example, if a new agent joined Writer's House). They have the senior agents to help them out making contacts and deciding what can sell and how. Editors trust the house and therefore the agent, even if they haven't interacted with the agent before.

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Well, for the record, here's my cautionary tale: back in 2006, a new agent at Writers House fell in love with one of my novels and I eagerly accepted her offer of representation. I thought I had it made; my favourite house, and a new, young, dynamic agent eager to make her mark!

She worked hard. But she did not sell the ms, though there was one very serious bite (Random House; eventually declined by the sales team).
After a few months she sent me a mail telling me that she was leaving Witers House, and agenting, for a plum new job in marketing. As my book had been shopped all around by then its chances were exhausted; she did recommend another agent, but not one at Writers House.

Still -- it was fun while it lasted.

So -- new agents, even at major houses, can be a two-edged sword. If they do not make some major sales pretty quickly... well, things can happen. As another example check out the Ethan Ellenberg thread, and the story of his new agent Denise Little.