Which Agent Style Do You Think Is Best?

sara_ash · Aug 19, 2014

I have two offers of rep from really good agents, and I'm struggling to choose between them. One of the main ways they differ is in the amount of editing/feedback they give.

Agent 1 marks up each manuscript and provides detailed editorial notes.

Agent 2 emails a couple of paragraphs of general notes about what works in the manuscript and what doesn't.

Could anyone tell me the pros and cons of each? Has anyone had experience with agents that supply this kind of feedback?

I'd really love any help.

Kayley · Aug 19, 2014

Honestly, it comes down to personal preference. Some writers prefer thorough critiques, while others prefer a concise overview of their work. The type of agent that fits your needs best will depend on your preference. You should also consider other aspects of each agent, such as their sales history, communication frequency, personality, etc. If those are similar, choose the agent whose edits most closely fit your vision for the book.

WeaselFire · Aug 19, 2014

sara_ash said:
I'd really love any help.

Unfortunately, you really can't get any. This is something every writer would need to decide, since no writer's needs are the same.

Personally, the amount or form of editing or feedback isn't even on my list of traits I am concerned about. I'm more worried about their track record, their enthusiasm and their grasp of me as a client.

I'm a little surprised that you have two agents already providing feedback and editing advice without you having signed a contract.

Jeff

Siri Kirpal · Aug 19, 2014

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

My suggestion: Flip a coin. Pick the agent you're hoping will win as the coin is in the air. (You can do this mentally too.)

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Old Hack · Aug 20, 2014

It's good that they provide feedback on your work but how they do it isn't that significant.

More important is if they have a good record of making solid sales, and if they routinely sell foreign and subsidiary rights for their author-clients.

waylander · Aug 20, 2014

Which form of feedback works best for you?
Speaking strictly for myself, I would go with the agent who did the full mark up

MandyHubbard · Aug 20, 2014

I'm going to make the assumption that the mark-up one is a bigger edit- as in everything from line level tightening to pointing out inconsistencies, plotting, characters, etc... and that the "a couple of paragraph summary" is just big picture stuff, that once you send it back it goes out? And NOT that you mean these two agents offer the same level of guidance, just using different mechanisms.

SO, all that said, a markup:
-Could take longer. If s/he does this for each client it can take a bit to get it. I just sent one to a client last week and am working on another this week. This is AFTER I've already read both of these books twice- it's a third round, final polish edit. So having an agent who does this level of editing MIGHT mean it takes longer to get out on sub, but...

-You're putting out the most polished work possible and increasing the chances of a sale. BUT

-You have to be comfortable being edited. I have had a couple of clients over 4 years who just didn't LIKE This aspect. They held their work close to their chest and didn't WANT my fingers in it. I would delete what I saw as redundant lines (in a redline, mind you, so they can see it all and approve/reject), or reword things to clarify/read more smoothly, and they'd spend all their time just rejecting everything. I'm NEVER a "you must change Y to Z" but the general spirit of the edit is to tighten and polish and it's a waste of both our time for me to do all that work if the writer just rejects it all.

On the big picture edit:

-It may go faster if the agent is looking for just some big picture stuff and won't be nitpicking it.

-If you prefer to hold your work a little closer then it's less intensive.

I'm very editorial as an agent, particularly as I work to break in debut authors. But once an author has several books under their belt, I might loosen the reins quite a bit as they figure out who they want to be as an author, if that makes sense.

sara_ash · Aug 20, 2014

MandyHubbard said:
I'm going to make the assumption that the mark-up one is a bigger edit- as in everything from line level tightening to pointing out inconsistencies, plotting, characters, etc... and that the "a couple of paragraph summary" is just big picture stuff, that once you send it back it goes out? And NOT that you mean these two agents offer the same level of guidance, just using different mechanisms.

SO, all that said, a markup:
-Could take longer. If s/he does this for each client it can take a bit to get it. I just sent one to a client last week and am working on another this week. This is AFTER I've already read both of these books twice- it's a third round, final polish edit. So having an agent who does this level of editing MIGHT mean it takes longer to get out on sub, but...

-You're putting out the most polished work possible and increasing the chances of a sale. BUT

-You have to be comfortable being edited. I have had a couple of clients over 4 years who just didn't LIKE This aspect. They held their work close to their chest and didn't WANT my fingers in it. I would delete what I saw as redundant lines (in a redline, mind you, so they can see it all and approve/reject), or reword things to clarify/read more smoothly, and they'd spend all their time just rejecting everything. I'm NEVER a "you must change Y to Z" but the general spirit of the edit is to tighten and polish and it's a waste of both our time for me to do all that work if the writer just rejects it all.

On the big picture edit:

-It may go faster if the agent is looking for just some big picture stuff and won't be nitpicking it.

-If you prefer to hold your work a little closer then it's less intensive.

I'm very editorial as an agent, particularly as I work to break in debut authors. But once an author has several books under their belt, I might loosen the reins quite a bit as they figure out who they want to be as an author, if that makes sense.

Thanks for this Mandy! I'm a debut author, so I feel like I need all the help I can get! My favourite part of the whole writing process has been getting feedback from beta readers: the more feedback the better. So I think that agent would probably be my best bet.

Thanks for all the replies!

Hanson · Aug 20, 2014

My ideal agent.

1/ Doesn't contact me unless it concerns potential or actual sales, or important observations regarding my work.

2/ Responds to me emails within a week or less.

3/ offers intelligent suggestions to improve my script if and when required.

4/ sells my stuff - everywhere he/she can

5/ ensures I get paid the correct amt and promptly

6/invites me too parties in new York once a year. ONCE a year.

Becca C. · Aug 20, 2014

A more succinct, bigger picture edit isn't necessarily going to be shallower than a line-by-line markup. In my recent revision for my agent, her feedback was only a couple paragraphs long, but she provided a new lens to view my manuscript through. Her feedback was more relationship/backstory development in the MC's family, fewer mundane "getting from one place to another" scenes. That's really all, but viewing the manuscript through that lens helped me beef up character relationships a LOT, and cut 8,000 words through cutting not just the specific parts she pointed out as less interesting, but other scenes like it or trimming paragraphs that became exposition-y like the one she pointed out.

I was definitely a fan of the big-picture edit since it helped me reshape the manuscript, but in an organic way where I was doing all the work rather than being shown every step of the way.

Aggy B. · Aug 21, 2014

My agent doesn't mark up my MS (although he did send back a list of twenty some odd questions when we were hammering out synopses for possible sequels).

I haven't found the lack of nitpicking/detailed edits to be a hindrance to revising, but I also feel I have a pretty solid grasp on the "basics" so it's natural that most revisions would involve more plot and character development.

But the biggest question is which method works best for you at this point. That's the agent you should choose. (Assuming their vision for your book matches yours and they have a good track record, etc.)

Jamesaritchie · Aug 21, 2014

My ideal agent doesn't touch, mark up or critique my writing in any way. I'm the writer, and the publisher has editors. The agent is neither.

I write the work, the editor critiques it, marks it up all over the place, and edits the crap out of it. Neither of us needs a middleman who tries to do the same thing.

Putputt · Aug 21, 2014

The main flaw I have with my MSs is always, without fail, too little world-building. So for me, my ideal agent would mark up spots throughout the MS where she thinks would be a good idea to slip in a bit of world-building. My agent did that with my first book, as well as other LBL editing, which no doubt took her a lot of time and effort (it took her about one month to give me those edits). I really appreciated it, especially since she repeatedly assured me I did not have to accept edits which I didn't feel comfortable with. All in all, I think I took about 75% to 80% of her edits, and I think the MS came out a lot stronger for it.

But obviously this varies from writer to writer. I like hearing from my agent, even if it's just little updates to let me know she's halfway through my latest book. Others might only want to hear from their agents when there are super important news. Also, like OH pointed out, I think other factors like their sales record are more important. If both agents have equally impressive records, then I would think about "Hmm, which editing style do I prefer..."

Either way you go, congratulations!

Bolder · Aug 21, 2014

I would prefer the second one, it looks like he will leave it up to you to make the changes or fixes. I wouldn't want an agent that was too involved with every little sentence.

MandyHubbard · Aug 22, 2014

Hanson said:
My ideal agent.

1/ Doesn't contact me unless it concerns potential or actual sales, or important observations regarding my work.

An agent should be doing a HELL of a lot more than simply selling the work and getting you paid. That's a small portion of my job, actually.

MandyHubbard · Aug 22, 2014

Bolder said:
I would prefer the second one, it looks like he will leave it up to you to make the changes or fixes. I wouldn't want an agent that was too involved with every little sentence.

I definitely think it varies from one author to the next how much they want editorial guidance, but for the record/just to be clear, I'm not in there rewording sentences.

usually it's comments like:

-I don't know who X is. remind us of their relationship?

-She already got out of the car two paragraphs earlier. Tweak?

-This seems inconsistent, since earlier she WANTED X. Now she doesn't? Why the change of heart?

-Can we get more dialog tags here, and/or actoins that convey his reaction/feelings? Surely, he's reacting in a visceral way to these comments.

-This one page covered a major turning point. I think it could easily cover 4-5 pages-- we need time to process! It should be super dramatic and heated, and right now it feels a little too glossed over. Can you better develop this scene?"

etc, etc.

So yes, my particular style certainly is involved, but my goal is that an editor never has a "wait, what?" reaction, becuase where a character is at emotionally doesn't track well, or there's lines that aren't clear, or whatever. I want it all to flow smoothly and I want the dramatic moments to be as punchy as possible, etc.

It's not for everyone, and I pull back as the author's career develops and they don't need as much help. I'm very thankful my agent was editorial in the beginning of my career. She's since left the biz and my agent now is not editorial at all, but after 11 books that works better for me.

I've had tremendous success breaking in debuts, and I think a small bit of that success is due to the editing (and the vast majority becuase I have awesome authors on my list!)

Hanson · Aug 25, 2014

MandyHubbard said:
An agent should be doing a HELL of a lot more than simply selling the work and getting you paid. That's a small portion of my job, actually.

Of course. Long as I don't hear about it.

Beginning to feel I'm gonna have to look for a tongue-in-cheek emoticon, or refrain from flippancy.

still, this guy has helped in the past.

Jo Zebedee · Aug 25, 2014

I have an editorial approach agent. As a new writer, that suits me. But she also tells me what neeeds done and leaves me to decide if and how I do it.

It depends what you need and want..

pellshek · Sep 29, 2014

Jamesaritchie said:
My ideal agent doesn't touch, mark up or critique my writing in any way. I'm the writer, and the publisher has editors. The agent is neither.

I write the work, the editor critiques it, marks it up all over the place, and edits the crap out of it. Neither of us needs a middleman who tries to do the same thing.

Well, this approach might work for you, but for the vast majority of unpublished authors on this site it is absolutely awful advice.

Which Agent Style Do You Think Is Best?

sara_ash

Kayley

Someday.

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

MandyHubbard

Once Upon a Time....

sara_ash

Hanson

Becca C.

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think

Jamesaritchie

Putputt

permanently suctioned to Buz's leg

Bolder

MandyHubbard

Once Upon a Time....

MandyHubbard

Once Upon a Time....

Hanson

Jo Zebedee

space opera-popcorn lover!

pellshek