My Agent is Quitting and I'm on Submission

Crap. Is she offering to help you transition to another agent?

See that would be a big problem for me. If the manuscript sells, she'll have to waive off any subsequent rights that could sell - foreign print rights, film or television rights, special editions, etc. - because she won't be around to negotiate and manage those things. If you don't have that very specifically spelled out, she'll be due her 15% (or whatever her cut is) and you won't have the support expected for that payment.

Also, my agent has been invaluable in the process. I have relied on her throughout the publication process.

I do understand your reluctance to pull the submissions. I think you have to have a frank talk with her about what her expectations are where rights are concerned and how she plans to handle the specifics of what would happen if the manuscript sells on this round of submissions.

Did you have any other offers of representation or nibbles of interest before you signed with her?

If she's at an agency, are there other agents there who would consider taking your book on?

If not, can she recommend you to anyone else?

As has already been said, if she abandons your book after making just one sale for it, she's not doing her job. And you are very unlikely to find another agent willing to take the same book on for just subsidiary rights sales.

Perks said:

I think you have to have a frank talk with her about what her expectations are where rights are concerned and how she plans to handle the specifics of what would happen if the manuscript sells on this round of submissions.

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This. I think that we, as writers, default to looking at agents as "the boss" in the relationship. It's natural. They (generally) know the business side of things better than we do. But really, it's an equal relationship, and we can't be timid about these sorts of conversations. She stands to earn 15% off your work if it gets picked up. The very least she can do is fully inform you of her vision as the process moves forward.

Good luck. It's an unfortunate position, for sure.

Do you know where she's subbed to already? If not ask her for a list if you decide to go your own way - then at least you can forwarn the next agent you sign with.
Good luck, and I hope the bad news turns out to be the good news you didn't know you needed.

daisywilbur said:

Thanks, everyone. I'm still spinning from the news, but will obviously have to get it together and have that discussion with her. I feel completely in the dark about the business end of things... I have no idea how the author-agent relationship works after a sale.

But I should probably go with my gut... and my gut is telling me that her selling my work at this point is probably not good for me.

I wonder what will happen to those submissions?

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Unfortunately, you'll need to either pull those submissions or make sure that your current agent releases all contractual rights, should the current round of submissions result in a sale. See, as the agent on record, she's entitled to whatever the agreed upon percentage of works sold under her efforts, unless she relinquishes that claim. Do you have any idea how many editors have the manuscript from her at the moment? (And definitely tell her not to sub it any more until you figure this out.)

Hang in there. I switched agents in the middle of submissions with my first novel and it worked out just fine. All is not lost. Just don't let her sub it anymore - first order of business! Then get a list of who she's subbed to. This will make all the difference in how to go forward with things.

Agents typically are paid their commission on all the earnings from the deals they make. So if your agent sells this book she'll get a percentage of the advance, and then a percentage of all the royalties the book earns once that advance is earned out.

If the publisher demands all rights to the book and then sells any of those rights on, she will also be paid her percentage of all monies you are paid from those deals.

daisywilbur said:

The thing is, she's letting most, if not all, of her other clients go. To me, this means she's confident it will sell. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing anymore.

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If she's quitting the business imminently, I can't see how it could work out to a good thing. 18 submissions is kind of a lot.

Keep us posted on the talks you have with her and get stuff in writing.

Would you mind letting us know who this agent is? If you'd rather not say in public you're welcome to let me know via PM, in confidence of course.

Sage said:

It's 18 + 16, if I'm reading this right, which is really a lot. And...kinda makes me question how good she is at targeting the right editors.

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And if that's the case, it could be good news if she hit the wrong ones.

Send me a PM; please. I won't tell anyone who it is, but knowing who it is might well colour the advice that I can give you.

I'm getting worried by what you've told us, and I'm concerned that you're in the hands of a dodgy agent.

For the record, I've worked in publishing for (OMG) thirty years, and have written a few books, too. I've seen far too many dodgy agents in that time.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. What does your contract say about this situation? If the agency is closing its doors, maybe there's some sort of exit from future contractual obligations.

Oh man, what a horribly frustrating and upsetting situation! I'm so sorry to hear you're going through it!

Others with more knowledge and experience have already weighed in with what seems to me very sound advice and clarifications of what this agent would be entitled to if you decide to stick with her and your book sells.

Given the situation, what appear to be her expectations or assumptions, and the fact that she subbed to so friggin' many pubs in one batch, the whole thing really does give me pause. The way I see it is, she probably thinks your book will sell (which is good) and so, even though she's quitting agenting, she'd like to still have a chance to get a piece of the pie... which is not so good... Also, unfair. I mean... Is she quitting-QUITTING? Or will she continue to handle rights or something on her own? Because, maybe I'm being unfair and/or ignorant/naive, but if she's really getting out of the biz altogether, and will therefore effectively stop being your representative/advocate, I don't see why she should reap any future benefits from work she won't do.

I really think you need to have a very frank discussion with her about this and/or with the head of the agency (unless that's her too!). I don't know about the legal stuff and how binding such a contract would be given the circumstances, but I really do agree with others that you need to get a clear picture of her expectations and what--if anything--does she propose to do for you in the long-term.

tl;dr: I saw an announcement today on Publisher's Lunch, so I have a strong suspicion of who this person might be. If you feel comfortable doing so, I wouldn't mind getting confirmation of her identity via PM (I'm in the middle of querying and I like to keep tabs on agents). If you don't feel comfortable sharing the info, that's cool too.

Best of luck, though! I really am sorry you are going through this crap!

Old Hack said:

Agents typically are paid their commission on all the earnings from the deals they make. So if your agent sells this book she'll get a percentage of the advance, and then a percentage of all the royalties the book earns once that advance is earned out.

If the publisher demands all rights to the book and then sells any of those rights on, she will also be paid her percentage of all monies you are paid from those deals.

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The publisher can demand whatever it likes, but NO agent worth having will ever give in to such rights. I doubt very much any reputable publisher would demand all rights. I've never known it to happen, and I'd laugh at them if they did. So would my agent.

I'd ask her to pull everything from submission, with an explanation to the editors for why she's doing so.