An agent wants to talk to me about representation. Am I supposed to stop sending out queries?

Tsiamon · Feb 13, 2019

If I felt like this was a firm offer of representation from an agent who has read the entire MS, I think it would be appropriate to stop sending out new queries at this point. The communication I'm getting, however, is nebulous.

I sent a full on request to this agent about 2 weeks ago. She responded this evening saying she was 100 pages in and loving it, and would like to talk about representation with the strong implication that it was on the condition I be willing to make moderate cuts/revisions.

Does standard industry courtesy dictate I stop sending out queries until I've had a full conversation with her? Is it weird to hear back from an agent in the positive before they've even finished the story?

For context, this appears to be a new associate agent at a well-regarded agency.

Thanks for any insight.

Dennis E. Taylor · Feb 13, 2019

You're probably talking about a few days of not sending out queries. If the talks fall through, you haven't lost much time. OTOH, if you get signed and you've continued querying, you may have to fend off multiple other parties. First one is less work. I'm all for less work.

aus10phile · Feb 13, 2019

I'm no expert, but I don't think you need to stop querying until you get a firm offer. Then once it's firm, notify the other agents who are reviewing your MS/recent queries.

ETA: What Dennis said is true, too... I don't think there's a wrong decision at this point. Just what you're comfortable with.

screenscope · Feb 13, 2019

No need to stop querying until you sign up with an agent, although I would certainly give this agent first refusal if anyone else bites.

Fiender · Feb 13, 2019

I think this is a good thread to have around. Tsiamon asks a good question.
It's definitely a good idea to tell agents who have requested partial or full manuscripts about an offer of representation. I'm curious though, are you expected to tell agents you've queried recently who haven't responded at all yet?

lizmonster · Feb 14, 2019

In general, I'd suggest suspending your querying until you talked to an interested agent, but there are a couple of things in this specific situation that give me some pause.

Tsiamon said:
I sent a full on request to this agent about 2 weeks ago. She responded this evening saying she was 100 pages in and loving it, and would like to talk about representation with the strong implication that it was on the condition I be willing to make moderate cuts/revisions.

I'm not at all sure how she knows she can sell the book before she finishes it. Further, I don't know how she can understand the scope of revisions she'd want while she's still reading. Maybe you'll talk to her and she'll clearly be a terrific match, but this, plus the fact that she's new, would make me think twice before I changed my strategy.

Treehouseman · Feb 17, 2019

Stop stop stop! If you want to say yes to this agent, the others are not going anywhere!

Wait for her feedback, then move on.

EMaree · Feb 18, 2019

lizmonster said:
I'm not at all sure how she knows she can sell the book before she finishes it. Further, I don't know how she can understand the scope of revisions she'd want while she's still reading. Maybe you'll talk to her and she'll clearly be a terrific match, but this, plus the fact that she's new, would make me think twice before I changed my strategy.

I'm seconding this. The strong 'implication' of rep before she's finished gives me pause, as does the implication rather than directness. It's not that it's a red flag (my agent did something similar) but that I've seen a lot of this type of thing fall through and I would never bet on it.

I would hold steady with your current strategy until you get a clear offer.

Jeneral · Feb 19, 2019

Personally, I would keep sending out queries until I had a firm offer, as it could turn into an R&R that you may or may not want to take them up on. And to answer Fiender's question, when I had an offer I notified not only agents who had material, but ones I had queried as well (that I hadn't already closed out for non-response). I figured there was nothing wrong with at least giving them the heads up.

elmoujabber · Feb 19, 2019

First and foremost, congratulations. That is such exciting news. I personally wouldn't stop querying. You never know if it'll fall through or more importantly you may get a better offer. Ultimately its up to you.

An agent wants to talk to me about representation. Am I supposed to stop sending out queries?

Tsiamon

Dennis E. Taylor

Get it off! It burns!

aus10phile

committed plantser

screenscope

Fiender

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

Treehouseman

EMaree

a demon for tea

Jeneral

Cat wrangler

elmoujabber