Going over your agent's head

I wouldn't go to the editor over the agent--it sends a weird message to both of them. Go through your agent. If you feel your agent isn't being responsive enough, be clear how you feel. But what is probably happening is that the agent hasn't heard from the publishing house, so has no news to report.

Keep biting your fingernails. . .

sportscribe said:

If you have an established agent, and your puzzled over the length of time a particular publishing house is taking, is it tacky to contact the editor directly and find out the status?

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I'm with Nomad: I absolutely would not advise doing that. The last thing you want to do is to contact the publisher for a status 20 minutes after they got of the phone with your agent--or 20 minutes before your agent calls. Literary agents are there to serve as conduits between writers and publishers, so if you do have an agent, follow the chain of command. Sounds so military, doesn't it?

Kristen

I included a very quick "Oh, and as long as we're chatting, have you had a chance to glance at ____?" in an e-mail to my editor about revisions on another novel. I felt weird about it, and I suspect I was already pushing the line even with such a "casual" mention.

I also immediately forwarded the answer to my agent when I got it, so we'd be on the same page.

I really wouldn't recommend talking to the editor directly, though. (Do what I say, not what I do ) I think, if you're concerned about the response time, you need to let your agent know and let them nag the publisher. If further nagging is needed, this lets your agent be the bad guy instead of you. Not to mention your agent will find out you went over his/her head, and may not be thrilled about that fact...

I wouldn't consider contacting the editor. I have a very accessible agent, but haven't heard from him in several weeks. My MS has been in the hands of several editors for nearly 3 months. I was concerned, too. I asked around and several people (including Miss Snark) informed me that things move very slowly at most publishers during the summer. How long has it been, Sportscribe?

Have you asked your agent whether they've followed up with the editor? If you're going to nudge, nudge the agent first. It's their job to hound editors for answers.

Sportscribe, I've been asking a lot of questions of agents lately while waiting for responses from editors on my novel. It's possible that the editor is fighting for your book "upstairs," or that they haven't gotten to it at an editorial staff meeting for one reason or another (it's my understanding that someone's usually missing during the summer). I've also learned that "We'll have an answer in two weeks" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing to editors and agents that it means to you and me.

On another note, an editor who expressed interest in my novel did give the final answer within the timeframe he said he would, and he ultimately "had to pass." So, by contrast, maybe it's a good sign for you.

I know how agonizing this can be. I hope you hear soon, and that it's good news.

sportscribe said:

Begbie,

Well, the acqusition editor of this particular publisher already has shown interest. He e-mailed my agent back in April, and said they would have would have an answer in two weeks. It's been over three months now, and no answer.

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Never go over your agent's head unless you want to be looking for a new agent. Nudging an editor is the job your agent should be doing. But patience is a virtue, and impatience usually kills. Talk to your agent, but don't bug her/him, either.

Have you shared those concerns with your agent? Some agents don't pass every rejection along to their clients...

sportscribe said:

James,

There were other concerns, though. In my reserach with publishers my agent submitted to, I discovered some of them had passed without my agent informing me. Because I hadn't heard from him, I figured 5 or 6 publishers were still considering, but found out 4 had passed and only 2 were considering.

As a client, I deserved updates. So, it wasn't just my impatience that was running low, but I had other concerns.

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You do deserve updates, but not everyday, and not just because one or two or four publishers rejected your work. You should be updated on a regular, periodic timetable.

You either trust your agent or you don't. If you do, then be patient and let him do his job. If you don't, then find a new agent, but don't expect that agent to inform you of every rejection, either.

Frustration usually comes because you're sitting around waiting. Once you manuscript is in the hands of an agent, then it's no longer in your hands. Forget about it. There isn't one thing you can do to speed up the process, and assuming your agent is any good, he's already done everything he can do to speed up the process, which is darned little. There are things you can do to rerail teh process, and it sounds like you're doing them all.

If this agent is, as you say, established, if he has a track record of sales to good publishers, the leave him alone and let him do his job. He got that track record by doing for other writers exactly what he's doing right now for you.

If you sit around waiting, you'll never find an agent you think is good enough. This is a waiting business on the agent/publisher end, but it's a writing business of the writer's end.

At this point, you should be so hard at work on your next novel that you don't have time to worry about the one making the rounds. And it may have to make a LOT of rounds before it finds a home. Your agent is probably a very busy person. he should have many other selling writers he has to deal with, and probably a reasonable number of new writers he has to deal with. He has contracts to handle, deals to negotiate, royalties to pay out, and all sorts of other things to do.

His job is to get your manuscript on the desk of the editors most likely to want it. It sounds as if he's done this. When he has something constructive to tell you, I'm sure he will.

Just do your job, which is writing the next novel, and let him do his job, which is trying to sell the first novel.

sportscribe said:

Well, if you keep getting ignored after several attemps to get an update, frustration piles up.

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In that case, it sounds like it might be time to start looking for a new agent. If he's not responding to you, and you're getting this frustrated, is that really a relationship you want to continue?

An agent can be legit and successful and well-respected, but that doesn't make them the right match for every author.

jchines said:

In that case, it sounds like it might be time to start looking for a new agent. If he's not responding to you, and you're getting this frustrated, is that really a relationship you want to continue?

An agent can be legit and successful and well-respected, but that doesn't make them the right match for every author.

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I agree. Are you asking for specifics in your contact (email)? I had the same problem with my agent, but I just sent sporadic emails instead of asking direct questions. Once I made specific requests (i.e., a list of where submitted and who'd said what to date), I got my response.

I would never, ever go above my agent and ask the editor directly, unless I was already dealing with that editor on another project.

sportscribe said:

Thanks for all your feedback. Jamesritchie, you really gave me a broader perspective on my writing career and the submission process.

Honestly, though, I don't think contacting a few editors harmed my chances of an offer. All the editors were very polite, and I don't think that my decision made one difference or another on their feelings toward my proposal.

Before I did it, though, I contacted one of my agent's other clients (author of seven books), and he said that he sometimes contacts editors regarding when they will be making their decision. He said our particular agent doesn't mind.

I agree it shouldn't be a practice, and you should have an undying patience in the process, however, I must say, my decision did give me peace of mind.

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Contacting that other writer was also something you shouldn't have done. If you want to know whether your agent minds, ask your agent.

I wasn't saying you were hurting your chances with the editors. You were hurting your chances with your agent. You and he may be in this together for a long time, and he needs to know you trust him.

And if you have to get another agent, that agent is really going to base a lot on how you dealt with this agent.

But see, sportscribe, that's why you really shouldn't be following up on your own. A comment like that from an editor makes both you and your agent look bad. It's hard to wait, but you need to let your agent do his job.

sportscribe said:

James, I understand what you're telling me. I need to think long-term about my agent, and not just about the project on submission.

I just would have liked a bit more communication. Yes, he is a welll-established agent that has been selling projects for decades, but one editor basically told me, " I told him eons ago I wasn't interested in this project."

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As Nomad says, you just made yourself and your agent look bad to someone he has to deal with on a regular basis. There may be forty or fifty other publishers who are potential homes for your novel, but I can't see a reason in teh world your agent would want to approach them for you. And certainly no reason why he'd do so in an enthusiastic manner, which is important.

To be perfectly honest, at this point I'd drop you from my client list, and I'd warn every other agent I knew to avoid you.

If you want to be your own agent, then drop this agent and do the job yourself. If you want another agent, drop this one and go looking.

Otherwise, leave the man alone and let him do his job, which he certainly knows more about than you do. He's dealt with many editors, he's sold books to many publishers, and you haven't. You don't have a clue how the process works.