Signed and Waiting

Reece10

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Hi All,

I signed a contract with one more than a year ago for a picture book that caught the agents eye. I am still waiting to hear that its found a home. I've sent further manuscripts and had no acceptances from publishers so far. Is this the norm? Any advice??
 

SBibb

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Have you been having contact with the agent at all? Have they been sending feedback on the manuscripts your sent them, and where they're submitting those manuscripts?

I'm not familiar with picture books, and haven't personally worked with an agent, so hopefully someone with a little more experience can step in here.
 

waylander

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Talk to your agent.
You're on the team now and allowed to phone them/e-mail them to ask what's going on.
 

kenpochick

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Are you saying that you signed on with an agent and you haven't heard from them in a year??
 

newauth

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Hi All,

I signed a contract with one more than a year ago for a picture book that caught the agents eye. I am still waiting to hear that its found a home. I've sent further manuscripts and had no acceptances from publishers so far. Is this the norm? Any advice??


I don't know much about picture books but, in general, 30%+ of manuscripts never sell. This is even the case for the knock-it-out-of-the-park seasoned agents: they have their share of authors whose manuscripts they are not able to sell (i.e., no editor/publisher shows interest).

If your agent is reputable (i.e., has industry contacts, works at a well-known agency, etc.) and is actively trying to sell your work, then this is fine. Keep at it.

On the other hand, if you are not comfortable with the agent or feel he is not trying his level best, you should have a talk with him/her so that you can take your current/future work elsewhere. (Ideally, in this scenario, you also want a list of editors/publishers your current work has already been shopped to, otherwise any new agent will be hesitant to take them on.)
 
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Jamesaritchie

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I don't know much about picture books but, in general, 30%+ of manuscripts never sell. This is even the case for the knock-it-out-of-the-park seasoned agents: they have their share of authors whose manuscripts they are not able to sell (i.e., no editor/publisher shows interest).

If your agent is reputable (i.e., has industry contacts, works at a well-known agency, etc.) and is actively trying to sell your work, then this is fine. Keep at it.

On the other hand, if you are not comfortable with the agent or feel he is not trying his level best, you should have a talk with him/her so that you can take your current/future work elsewhere. (Ideally, in this scenario, you also want a list of editors/publishers your existing manuscripts have already been shopped to, otherwise any new agent you go to will be hesitant to take them on.)


With some agents, eighty percent of manuscripts never sell. Some sell so infrequently that everything they have is treated as slush, or ignored completely when things are hectic.
 

newauth

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With some agents, eighty percent of manuscripts never sell. Some sell so infrequently that everything they have is treated as slush, or ignored completely when things are hectic.

Yes, there are those, too. Any agent who's been at it 4+ years and is at a reputable agency may still have a poor batting average.

When you're trying to land an agent, you just have the agent and 1-2 of his/her colleagues to please. When an agent is trying to land an editor/publisher, it is a whole different ballgame. You have multiple editors and business people involved in the book acquisition process (even marketing teams are involved). There are meetings--multiple meetings--over every single book. And it only takes 1 person to say no for the whole process (for that one book) to get derailed.

Publishing is a business. It's as hard for an agent to sell your book as it is for you to land a reputable agent. Their job is knowing exactly which editor to sell to at each publisher (i.e., which editor likes what). Their (relatively new) job is also helping you make your manuscript as good as it can be. All agents are definitely not made equal, but don't take that to mean that they don't have to work their ass off to sell a book.
 

Quickbread

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And are you saying that you're submitting subsequent books in the same genre to publishers without going through your agent?

If you really haven't heard from your agent in all this time, it might be time to review your contract carefully and see how bound you and your manuscript are to this person. Have you checked in with them and gotten no response or have you just been waiting? Either way, though, a year is a long time to not hear from them.
 
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Lena Hillbrand

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If you've heard from your agent, you could ask her what's going on, if it's normal, etc. Nowadays, I don't know that a year is a long time on sub. You might want to check out the Next Circle of Hell thread in Rejection and Dejection http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?306747-The-Next-Circle-of-Hell-Vol-2. There are a lot of us on sub, and at least you can commiserate and perhaps even find out norms for different genres. I don't write picture books, so I'm not sure I could help, but I bet someone could offer advice. Good luck!
 

Reece10

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I think we need some more specific background info from the OP. The original post leaves a lot open to interpretation.

Thanks everyone,
The whole thing is my agent signed one PB story more than a year ago. Since then, it’s done the rounds, got feedback and been laid to rest. So, the PB that dazzled, got me an agent and contract was in a word ‘unsaleable.’
I have since sent more PB’s in which have and are doing the rounds and I am getting feedback.
I was wondering whether I should I stay with my agent or find a new one, but as someone surprisingly said here: With some agents, eighty percent of manuscripts never sell.
which I was not aware of.
 

heza

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Thanks everyone,
The whole thing is my agent signed one PB story more than a year ago. Since then, it’s done the rounds, got feedback and been laid to rest. So, the PB that dazzled, got me an agent and contract was in a word ‘unsaleable.’
I have since sent more PB’s in which have and are doing the rounds and I am getting feedback.
I was wondering whether I should I stay with my agent or find a new one, but as someone surprisingly said here: With some agents, eighty percent of manuscripts never sell.
which I was not aware of.

It's not uncommon that the book that gets you the agent is not the book the agent is first able to sell to a publisher. Sometimes it's the second or third or fourth. I think if the agent has demonstrated that she/he is doing their job (which is to sub your MS to the appropriate people), then you won't necessarily be better off with a different agent. All they can do is sub; they can't force the editor to buy. It sounds like your work is being subbed appropriately, if I read that right, and your agent is keeping you informed. If, however, that's not the case, then I would reevaluate the relationship.
 

Thedrellum

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I don't know if 80% is a valid figure, but I'm on my second manuscript with my agent, the first having made the rounds and been put aside. She's making sales for other clients, so I have a lot of hope for my manuscript--she clearly knows what she's doing.

If you trust your agent, then stay with them and be patient. At least that would be my suggestion.
 

LIMAMA

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Books don't sell for many reasons. But it appears that your agent is doing his/her job. The only thing you can control is your writing.
 

mellymel

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NM. Didn't see your second post.
 
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