I want to sell in multiple countries, do I need multiple agents?

I would like to think that all my works have international reader-appeal, but I am originally from England, currently live in Australia and have two completed creative NF WW2 stories (a PB and an 8+/YA) that have English main characters, and a creative historical biography in progress that’s set in London. While they will be submitted to Australian publishers, I have a feeling that a UK publisher could well be most likely to make an offer. I also have five ‘normal’ picture book texts completed for any readership and one that is distinctively Australian. Would you advise attempting to partner with an Australian agent, one in the UK and one in the US? Do most US agents have co-agent partners in the UK for stories that will probably find a first home there, rather than for a sale of rights after initial release in America?

NO NO NO.
You don't want or need multiple agents.
You need ONE agent who will do multiple deals.

What you don't know is that the Australian publisher will most likely want the right to publish in English around the world. That's called "World English" That then means the Aussie publisher controls the rights for the UK and the US.

You wouldn't have anything for a UK or a US agent to sell. (An Australian publisher would generally not engage a US agent to sell rights; they'd do it directly.)

Whereas if you have ONE agent, they will strategize about which publisher is best suited for your work and which territory they're best suited to exploit.

World English has some very tricky aspects and you do not want to just assume that everything will work out.


Any questions?

What to ask on agent reference calls

I'm a huge fan of the blog (have been reading it since the first time I started querying, which was more than six years ago). 3 books later, I've received several offers of representation, and am thrilled! I've asked these agents questions from your blog post highlighting what to ask in this situation, including requesting to speak to the agents' clients. My question is, (1) what should I be asking the agents' clients, and how do I even approach this? (2) Do I ask my questions via email? (3)What would the subject line be?

Let's take these questions in reverse order:

(3) What would the subject line be:
You want your subject line to be clear and informative, thus "been offered rep by Janet Reid"
would be a good way to start.
You want to leave out anything like "checking references" or "is she loony tunes" here.

(2) Yes.
Do NOT NOT NOT expect to call a client on the phone.
Do NOT do this on Facebook even in a private message. Do not do this on Twitter via Direct Message.

And if you do this in a public forum, you will find the offer of representation (at least from me) withdrawn VERY quickly. Doing that indicates you're too much of a novice on social media and will probably be tone deaf.

The best way to avoid any mistake here is ask the agent how to contact her clients.

(1) What to ask.
The first thing you want to know is what she's like to work with. How long does it take her to answer your emails. How fast does she turn around manuscripts? Does she read your work at all? Is she responsive when problems surface? Is she proactive (bringing ideas or projects to the table)

Would the client recommend her?
Would the client have any tips on building a good relationship with the agent?

I'm stunned sometimes to hear writers talk about what their agents don't do. The most startling one for me is offer any kind of editorial feedback on manuscripts. Almost nothing goes to an editor unless I've read it first, even manuscripts that are second or third books in a series.  I look at myself as the second set of eyes and the nit picky fact checker. I've caught lots of things that needed to be revised out of a manuscript. And I've heard from editors that they appreciate that what they get from me is a pretty clean draft.

Agents who don't respond to an offer notice

I received an offer of rep a little while ago, and as any loyal Reider would do, I notified all the other agents with the manuscript (and those with the query less than a month, plus those with the query longer than a month but who said they responded to all queries).

I got responses back from most within a few days—either they would read and get back by the deadline, or they would step aside—but not from two of them with the full. Should I follow up in case they didn't see the first Offer of Rep email? I worry in particular because I did an R&R for one of them, and we've talked on Twitter from time to time, so I don't want to accidentally snub them if they didn't get the first email.

Am I overthinking things? To borrow a phrase, it's woodlands all the way down.

No, you're not overthinking things.

Just yesterday I got an email from a writer who queried before the date I showed on the blog as "caught up through" but not heard back.

I had no record of a query from her, and nothing in my spam file.

Where the hell was the email?
Who knows, but it sure wasn't here.
I was very glad she'd reached out again.

Given that you have a deadline, I would suggest you reach out one more time.

With the agent you've talked to on Twitter and done an R&R for, mention that in the email too. (Yes, sometimes we forget things.)

In the end though, you're not at fault if they don't reply.  You tried, more than once. That's all decorum requires.

Don't query someone you're not willing to sign with

I plan on querying soon. I have 30 agents on my first round list of querying. I plan on sending these queries out in a series of 5 queries at a time for about 1-2 weeks. I am sending them out in alphabetical order by Agency because I would be happy with any of the agents. I do have a query etiquette question though.

I have all reputable agencies on my list, but the agents have varying degrees of expertise from the power agents to the newcomers. I added newcomers because I believe they might read my manuscript faster and if the newcomers offer me rep, that would allow me to email the other agents with an offer which will in turn speed up their reading. Does this sound shady? As I mentioned I would be happy with any of the agents, but it would be false to say it wouldn't be intriguing to pick a proven power agent over a newcomer. So to summarize my questions:

1. Does this sound shady? I hope not.
2. What benefits does a newcomer have to an "old head" power agent (I would assume the "old head" power agent's submissions hold more credibility with editors)
3. How can you tell if the newcomer is in it for the long haul with their own career and will be a power agent one day? Are there any little tricks you know in helping us determine this?

I kind of like the idea of having a newcomer because we can grow in the industry and they should have a bit more time on their hands (my guess, this of course could be absolutely false). But there is a kind of luster with having a power agent. In addition,it seems like some authors have one agent, then their book makes it big and they switch to a power agent, so there must be something behind that. Thank you for answering these questions.

(1) It's not shady at all. The trick is to make sure you only query agents you're willing to sign with. What will damage you badly (and you won't even know it) is if you email agents with "I have an offer" and then don't actually sign with anyone. Yes, we watch for that. Yes, we watch for that cause we've gotten burned in the past.

(2) I'm not sure I want to see "old head" become the designation for those of us who aren't newcomers, but that's a rant for a different day.

Agents with established relationships with editors do get things read faster, but I can garandamntee that our young agents here at New Leaf get their work read a whole lot faster than Agent Experience at BumfuckLLC does. No matter how long Agent Experience has been in business. A good agency name carries weight. Thus it's not just if the agent has experience or not; it's where they work you want to factor in as well.


(3) Well, if they worked for me they're probably headed to the New York Times Bestseller list soonishly. On the other hand none of those agents could be remotely thought of as newcomers now, so it doesn't really answer your question.

You want to look for passion and excitement for your project. You want to find out who's backstopping the young agent (ie who she's got on her team that's watching out for her.)  And you want to ask what happens to you if the agent decides to hang up her hoverboard.  That's a fair question to ask any agent, but you'll want to know for sure if you're one of her first clients.

As to how to tell: I wish I had the answer. Some great agents I know burned out. Some pretty crappy agents I know are still around. You're going to roll the dice here. Make sure you haven't burned any bridges in case you need to sound retreat at some point and hatch a new battle plan.

Eenie Meanie (sic) Miney Moe?

 Well, all the time I spent combing through the Query Shark archives paid off: I sent out 35 queries, had 21 agents request fulls or partials, and three weeks later, am faced with four offers of representation from amazing agents.

So here's my question: How do you choose which one to sign with? They're all from reputable agencies, their clients sing their praises, they've got lists of recent sales to well-known publishers, they're all gratifyingly enthusiastic about my book. I can see myself getting along with all of them. Given that...how in the hell do I make my choice?? And how do agents feel about being rejected? (I know I shouldn't worry about this, but I ALWAYS worry about hurting other people's feelings.)

Don't worry about rejecting agents. We're much more used to this than you are. Just let them know your decision in a timely manner and thank them for their time. Don't get all apologetic or flowery. This is business, not some sort of romance.

As for how to choose: this is something no one can do for you.
You've asked all the right questions.

What to do:
Make a choice, but don't tell anyone, or the agent. See if you have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach the next day.  That means you made the wrong choice.
Sometimes your gut will tell you what your brain won't.

you didn't, oh gadzooks, you did.

Three weeks ago, I got a Full request from an agent and I quickly submitted my Full to her.

Then last week, another agent emailed me, saying she enjoyed my submission and would be delighted to read the Full, but that the agency only read on an exclusive basis.
I replied back, attaching my Full and confirmed that the first agency still have my Full but haven't yet got back to me and that I promised not to submit my Full to any other agents whilst she was considering it. I asked her if this was agreeable and also for a rough indication of timescale for reading my novel exclusively, but she didn't respond and there is no indication the agency website.

Then, lo and behold, I've just had a third request for my Full this afternoon, but have had to explain to this agent that I can't currently submit my MS to her, as it is out on an exclusive, but would she be prepared to wait for now, until I get clarification from the exclusive agent?

I then dropped Ms Exclusive agent a brief, polite email explaining that I have just received another Full request but have obviously not submitted as I agreed to exclusive arrangement and could she give me a rough idea when she might be able to get back to me?

She still hasn't replied.

I have never had an exclusive request before – I'm assuming Ms Exclusive will read my MS - she didn't reply saying she wouldn't - and I did clarify that it was only with one other agency.

How would you advise that I proceed?!

The first agent who requested my MS, e-mailed me a week ago to say she will be back at work this Monday after a week's holiday and will be in touch this coming week.

Remember when I told you exclusives sucketh the Large Lemon Drop?
No?
Ok, here's where I said it again.

And in case you need that third iteration: Exclusives Stink.

Your first (well, only) mistake was Agreeing To A Deal She Didn't Offer.
 She asked for an exclusive.
You sent the ms and ADDED: I won't send this to anyone else till you let me know.

Because she has not AGREED to your offer, you don't have a contract with her. And by contract I mean an agreement about the terms of exclusivity (duration for starters.)

You are free to submit this manuscript to Agent #3.
When (I hope) Agent #1 calls with an offer, you notify Agents #2 and #3 of the offer.


I have no idea why you thought it was a good idea to hamstring yourself with Agent #2 by saying you'd stop sending your work out to people actively asking to see it.  That gives Agent #2 more
power over your career trajectory than anyone deserves. You also let her set the terms; NEVER DO THAT. If you're agreeing to something, you offer terms that are favorable to YOU, and let her negotiate. 

Exclusives assume an agent's time is more valuable than yours. That is not true and any agent who says that (or thinks it without saying it) has a skewed view of themselves.

Exclusives are never in a writer's best interest and an agent who would ask you to do something that isn't in your best interest is not an agent I'd want to work with (nor should you.)

I will tell you that exclusives seem to be much less prevalent in the YA market where there is a lot of competition for good manuscripts.  The YA agents I know read manuscripts overnight, and have notes in the morning for the author on hot projects.

If an agent doesn't like to lose something cause they're slow, there's one easy answer to that: read faster. It's not like we are operating under varying time/space continua.

Hands on or hands off, and no I don't mean that.

On Monday 3-27, you said:

6. Is the agent hands on or hands off?
An agent should know this about him/herself. And his/her clients will know for sure. ASK.

The more you know about an agent's day to day style of working with clients, the better.
------

Will you clarify what you mean by hands on/off? I always thought "hands on" simply meant an agent who gives fairly detailed editorial feedback on the writing. After reading a couple comments on that post, I'm wondering, is there more to the definition than that? Or maybe I'm wrong and it means something entirely different.

I'm hoping "hands off" does NOT mean an agent who never or rarely communicates with clients, but is one who leaves any editing to the publisher. 

Hands on is more than just how to describe an agent who gives fairly detailed editorial feedback.
 
Some agents sell a book, then *poof* they're off to the next sale.
Editors and clients don't hear from them until it's time to re-up.

There are levels of this; some agents will stay in touch a bit more often than that, but their focus is selling the next project not managing this one.

And that is perfectly legit. Some authors want that.  

If, on the other hand, you want or need an agent who is more involved, you want an agent who is more "hands-on."

When people ask me that question, I tell them I'm involved with editing and development right up till we sell it. Then I hand off content to the editor. If there's a problem, I get looped back in, but I'm not an editor and I like to sell to editors who really know their stuff (ie a lot more than me about how to make a book better.)

Of course, I've got my long pointy nose in all the business side of things.  From royalty statements to short story contracts, to helping authors develop their brand, activate their social media presence and build platform, I'm right there in the trenches with them. That's what hands-on means.

One of the things I need to learn about every new client is how much involvement they need and want. It can be two different things, which is interesting.  Generally we find out when we hit some sort of rough spot---which is one of the reasons I have a bar in my office.

And authors need varying levels of handedness through out the year, and throughout their career. A client who needs a lot of coaching will often become a client who doesn't need much by the third or fourth book.

Or, the client who didn't need much on books one through five, suddenly needs a lot when their career is making a left turn they didn't see coming. 

How do you determine if an agent is hands on or off (that does sound weird I know): ask their clients. Ask what their agent works with them on. If it's only the contract, that's hands off. If it's editorial work up till the book is sold, then not till the next book, that's hands off. 

I reiterate: both hands on and hands off are legit choices. One is not better than the other. The trick is to know what you need and sign with an agent who does that.

Questions?   

The Engagement Period

Recently I fell in love with a novel I received on submission.
I emailed the author and said "I love your novel. How's that query process going?"

Well, the query process was going just fine thank you, and, eager to press my case, I mentioned that now during the fallow time while he waited for those other slugabeds dawdlers agents to read his work, he could use the time to ask questions.

Even by email I could hear the gnawing panic and uncertainty. What the hell to ask? As a writer, with a real live agent on the hook, you really don't want to ask something so stupid they reconsider. As a writer, a woodland creature through and through, you are certain that EVERY question, up to and including "what is the commission rate?" is stupid.

Well, let's ease your fears.  Here's a list of questions to ask a prospective agent. None of them are stupid***

1. Have you read the book all the way through?
Now I know you think this is stupid. It's not. If an agent hasn't read the entire book before dangling a hook, you know a LOT about how they work.  Of course, if the agent has sent you back the manuscript with notes, questions, comments, etc. you don't need to ask this. You know the answer.

2. What's your commission structure? 
15% on domestic sales is the norm. 20% on subrights handled by the agency.

3. Is there a written author/agency agreement? 
Is it negotiable? I have a written agreement. And it's not negotiable. Every client agrees to the same thing. Yes, I'll send it to you. Yes, I'll explain it to you.

4. Is the contract for a certain period of time? 
In other words, at the end of a year (or whatever time period specified) is representation terminated?


5. What changes do you envision for the book? 
Obviously if you've gotten notes from the agent (see #1) you know this already. If you have not, ask. Make sure the prospective agent has the same vision for the book that you do.

6. Do you have comp titles in mind? 
What are they?  Do you think they're correct? If not, talk to the agent about this.

7. Do you have editors in mind already? 
What publishers are they with? If you're envisioning a big sale to a print publisher, and the agent is talking about a digital only publisher, you want to know that NOW.

8. What happens if you don't like other books I send you for representation?
(if #4 is for a specified period of time, you don't need to ask this.)

9. How is your agency structured? 
Is it a sole proprietorship or a corporation? If the agent is abducted by aliens, what's Plan B?

10. Can I get in touch with some of your current clients?  
If the answer to this is "no", run for the hills.

11. What do you do when a client wants to change genres?
Even if you think you will write dino porn forever, you'll want to ask.

12. How long does it take to  reply to emails, and read new work? 
(Ask that of the current clients too. I'm guessing the two answers are quite different.)

13. What does the agency do for subrights, and film rights?

14. What does the agency offer in terms of guidance on promotion and marketing?

15. How does the author get paid?
Some agencies have payments divided, and the author's portion sent directly from the publisher. Some agencies process checks and pay you directly. You should know which before you go any further.


An agent should be willing to answer each of these questions for you. She's not obligated to spend hours on them, but you should understand the answer, and if you don't, ask for more explanation.

The last, and I mean VERY last thing you want to do is sign with someone you end up not wanting to work with.






***there is only one stupid question in the world. I'll leave you to come up with what you think it is.

Query Question: agencies not agents

 I've been researching agents until my file is bulging and arranged by best fit to long shot, but there is still something eluding my research, and that is the Agency itself.

A good many are venerable and thus, able to be researched.  Should the happy day arrive when I find representation, I would feel relatively certain the Agency or its agents won't be imploding the day after the ink dries.  This is not the case with new(er) agencies, agencies that post elevator music with their opening page (please don't) or where little or no information is available.  There's a surprisingly large amount of that.

As a venerable agent with a well-established Agency, you see from the inside of your industry.  Can you offer a bit of guidance where Agencies themselves remain a mystery. 

Since anyone can hang out a shingle and call themselves an agent (or agency) you're wise to understand that some vetting is very much in order.

BUT, I caution you about assuming all venerable agencies have a spiffy electronic footprint. That is not always the case. Some very good agencies have a very modest presence on the web and you'd be foolish to disdain them for that reason.

Look at who they represent. Google the authors and books. Look at who publishes those books.

The best way to distinguish between an established agent /agency who has a terrible electronic presence and a new agent/agency who has such limited experience you might think twice about querying them: how they talk about queries.

If an agency has almost no information about sales, and no address posted, and isn't trying to entice  you to query with statements about how they love authors, you've probably run in to an agent that simply isn't looking for new clients.  (Phoebe Larmore comes to mind here)

If an agency has no information about sales, no address listed and is chockablock FULL of ways to query, instructions on querying, and essays on how much they love authors, you've run in to an agency that probably doesn't have a lot of sales.

In general you want an agency that's been around for a while. My preference is for agencies that are not sole proprietors but many very good agents have solo practices. 

Remember,  agenting is not an entry level job.

If you're evaluating an agency, look at where the agents started their publishing career. Look at how long they have been in publishing. 

If that kind of information is not on their otherwise chatty website, it's fair to assume they don't want you to know cause it's not reassuring info. In other words, they didn't have a previous job, or they've been in publishing for five minutes.

There's almost no way to fireproof yourself from an agent or agency imploding but you can certainly ask some questions that might give you a heads up.

Query question: the agent appears to be digital only

 In researching agents, I've seen a few where their Publisher's Marketplace page is predominately made up of Digital sales. I know little about the contractual part of an Agent's job, and seeing "Digital" only (even with a few senior agents) caused concern.

Should I be? 

No.
They're making deals and a lot of deals are happening digitally these days.
Those may be just the most recent deals an agent has made, or more likely, the publisher reported those deals, NOT the agent. 

A colleague of mine some years back had purposely pulled back from listing deals on Publishers Marketplace (I can't remember why.)  She sold a small book to a digital only publisher, who promptly posted the deal to PM. My colleague was pretty ticked off because it now looked as though that was the ONLY deal she'd made that year. 

She then had to post all her recent deals so writers like you would not be misled.  However, if the agent (and there are some still) isn't paying attention to PM, s/he might not even know those digital deals had been listed.

It's easy to forget that a LOT of agents came into the business before it was de riguer to announce every deal and have a robust public presence.  Many of the best agents I know are still very uncomfortable with this New Visibiltiy.

Don't make assumptions here. 

Agent question: mellifluous she' aint

As you suggested, I've started querying widely, and I got a bite from an apparently-respected agent at a long-established boutique agency. While there has been no offer of representation yet, we've talked on the phone a couple of times and it's clear that she "gets" my nonfiction book, loves my platform, and has plenty of experience, expertise, and connections. She's asked for sample chapters and our next conversation will likely be The Call.

I may be getting ahead of myself, but I'm panicking because as great as this agent looks on paper, and as much as she seems to respond to my work, I found her really annoying on the phone--she talks nonstop in a whiny voice and won't stop bragging about her other clients and the great deals she's landed them.

I know she's trying to impress me as much as I'm trying to impress her, but I cringe when I imagine her pitching MY book to editors in the same way. Clearly, though, she's the real deal and has managed to represent plenty of writers effectively. I still have queries out there, but I've also had some rejections; would I be crazy to pass this up?

Yes.
Most agents pitch by email, and no one cares what she sounds like anyway. Editors care about the books she's bringing them. 


The other thing to realize here is you've talked to her only a few times.  If she's making deals, she's on the phone to editors a lot, and they've gotten used to her voice if they ever noticed it at all.


And you're right to realize she was trying to impress you as much as you were trying to impress her. 


We've all got flaws. If this agent gets your work, and you think she can sell your work, that's what matters.

Query Question: On Second Thought

I have a full request out with one of my top-five favorite agents.  After my heart soared from the full request, I read everything left on the internet that I hadn't read prior about TFFA, over analyzing the garbage out of whether or not TFFA would like my manuscript, but I was disappointed to find (buried in a very recent interview on a little-read blog) my book contains something that I am almost certain she will reject. And it's not subjective. It's a bloody book, and she seems pretty clear on her inability to handle gore. TFFA even gave comp titles on level of acceptable and unacceptable gore.

To complicate matters, my current WIP (which is drafted, through edit 7, critiqued, and on its way to a final draft in the next 2-5 months) is literally RIGHT up her alley. It's in a different age range and genre that she represents FAR more often (still scratching my head as to why she requested my bloody full) and despite there being no guarantees, it just seems like a far better fit.

Now, I know the  answer to this question (or at least I think I do) but I'd rather look stupid asking a question than look stupid doing something silly.

1) Based on what I know, should it be on my radar at all to retract my full for fear of TFFA getting the wrong first impression and not wanting to touch my second (very non-violent) book with a 10 foot pole?

2) Or should I just wait it out and let her reject or (by some miracle of gastric fortitude) accept my blood soaked pages?

3) Has a first impression in terms of genre/style/common trope/pet peeve in writing ever set you off badly enough that you had a lurking impression on future submissions?

4) (and you can feel free to answer this one quietly) Am I... perhaps... just a tiny neurotic bit... over thinking this?

Let's take the questions in reverse order.


(4) No you are not over-thinking this.  This is a serious question of strategy.

(3) Sure, but that's not what this is. First impressions when someone says "please get back to me soon" are the ones you want to avoid.

(2) NO

(1) YES



Here's what you do. VERY SUCCINCTLY (and I think we can agree that this question to me was NOT THAT) you say "I believe, upon further research, that this novel will be too violent for your stated taste. Rather than have you invest time in reading this, I have another novel that I believe is more suited to both what you sell, and your preference on levels of gore. Thus, I'd like to withdraw this novel, and query you for TITLE."


Here's WHY you're going to do this: I'd rather read the novel that most suits my taste FIRST.  There's time enough later on to get the novel I don't like as much but since you're already a client, will have to just suck it up and sell.

Query Question: how many clients is too many?

I should say first, for the record, I have an agent who I love. I am completely happy with her, and I have no complaints at all. That being said, she is fairly new (4 years in, now) and has a growing list of clients. I noticed that you have 20 or so clients listed on you sidebar on the blog. I think my agent already has more clients than that.

I know there's probably a balance you strike between further developing your clients careers and signing new clients (vertical versus horizontal development), and I know that I personally want an agent who has time to dedicate to my work, and I am sure most authors would agree. I also understand some clients may only write one (perhaps non-fiction) book, while others may require much more time and effort.

My question is this: at what point (if any), for my friends who are currently seeking representation, should an author be concerned that an agent is signing too many clients? I wonder whether newer agents might sign too many clients (perhaps some who aren't really ready to have an agent) and therefore not have enough time to really represent any of them very well? Should a prospective author even worry about that?

Of course a new author IS going to worry about that. Writers are woodland creatures who worry about every single thing they can think of and when that isn't enough, they look for newly discovered things to worry about. Particularly attractive worry targets are things over which they have no control. This is one of those things.


There is no way to know when an agent has "too many" clients. 15 may be too many for some. 105 may be just right for another.  And 105 one year might be 75 the following year.  Client lists ebb and flow like every other living thing. I've been as high as 44 and as low as 0 (although that was the year
I decided to come over to the Dark Side, not at any point during my career....so far anyway.)

The only thing you can measure is how your agent works with you. Is she prompt on replies? Does she get work turned around quickly, or at least on a timeline or schedule? Can you talk to her about these things?

I will tell you that I'm so behind on email and reading right now I'd probably fail this test if asked to take it.  It's going to get better soon, but like all living things, my inbox and To Do list waxes and wanes.

Worry only about things you can control. Assess a prospective agent's behaviour, and talk to her existing clients.  Evaluate based on information received, not worries churned up to distract you from
the plot hole on page 300.

Rant: personalization is a waste time

I've studied through the archives on both your sites, getting my query lean and mean, giving a preview of my story that's tasty and enticing—250-some words, spare and clean-looking on the page—and now, ready to send. But.....

In my preparation I've also read a lot of agents I must respect to whom it's nothing more than common sense that all queriers explain "why I queried." So, my first batch is six—including three solid references—and I came up with one very short rationale for querying each and stuck it at the end of my carefully honed, muscularly worded, winsomely teasing query.

Now my query looks terrible. It looks like a big fat book-report, where some kid threw in EVERYTHING he had in order to fill up the page. It blobs the whole landscape. To speak aesthetically, it's OVERWEIGHT.

I know you've discussed this before, but for the love of mercy, please discuss it again. Do we REALLY have to do this? If this or that well-desired agent says, "Of course you MUST give me some special reason you queried: you MUST do ten minutes of research, and you MUST prove to me you did so....."

Must we? On aesthetic grounds I object.

Thank you for giving me the chance for one last rant this year. Here it is: Personalization is a waste of time.


I started thinking about this a while back. It was prompted by a post at Quartz.com about ineffective, spammy PR pitches. Here's the post I was reading: Dear PR person who just sent me a robo pitch

Robo pitches are the kiss of death in PR. Since my career path was via book publicity I've known that since forever. When I read that post, I was strategizing how long it would take to get an in-house PR person up to speed if starting from scratch, since you absolutely cannot just email everyone you know with "hey, here's my book, how about a nice review in your next column/blogpost/twitter feed."

And the answer was a substantial number of months if not a year would be required to build a data base from scratch.

The only reason that didn't make me run screaming into the night, is that once that data base is built, it's usable for other clients and other projects. It gets MORE valuable the more you work it and use it, because you end up with lots of contacts and lots of information that you can use and reuse.

When I sold my PR business, what I was selling was the data base of contacts and the information about them.

That's the same kind of data base that many of you are creating for querying.

Except, once you have an agent you don't need it anymore. One thing that makes a PR date base worth building well is that it GAINS value over time and use.

One thing that makes an agent data base less worthwhile is that it ceases to have value once you have an agent.

Another value to a PR data base is one person is pitching different writers. A columnist/reviewer who doesn't respond to Thriller A may well respond to Thriller B from a different writer.

An agent data base that you're building is for one writer: you.  An agent who doesn't respond to your Thriller A can't be queried for Thriller B the next day. Your pitching inventory is one project at a time. When I worked in PR I was pitching five or six books in any given month.

Thus, asking queriers to have individual details about individual agents to put in a query letter means we're asking you for months if not a year of work that will benefit you once, then not again.

Think about that for a second.
Well, no, think about that for a minute.

If you had to pay someone to do build that data base, would you? If I had to pay someone to build a PR database that's usable for just one client would I? No. It doesn't make any business sense to do that.


That's when I realized that asking writers to build a data base of agents wasn't a good use of time or resources, unless you think you'll be querying ten books in two years.


The good news for writers is that an agent isn't going to reject your work if you haven't included some personalizing detail or reason for querying. Write well- that's all that matters.


And frankly that's why ANY time spent building a data base of agents likes/dislikes etc is a bad use of time: writing well takes an enormous amount of time. Taking time away from that is not in your best interest. And frankly it's not in mine either.

You'll serve both our interests in spending as much time doing what you're good at: writing. I'll serve both our interests by doing what I'm good at: keeping you chained to your desk and demanding pages.

Query Queston: other agents if first agent does not respond

An agent has my full and disappeared. I sent nudges timed appropriately and haven't received any response. They're not a no-response-means-no agent, either (supposedly.)

I haven't pinned hope on this one agent, and have other fulls out. However, there are others at this agent's agency who I think would be interested. The main reason I queried the first agent before the others is because I was given a referral. How long should I wait before querying others at their agency? Can I not query them if this agent just never responds to me? 

 Oh lord referrals. They are troublesome things they are. The good ones are when an agent has read your manuscript, knows it's not for her/him for X reason, and says "query so and so at AgencyAuctionLLC"

In fact, I'm now cackling with glee reading the reviews of a book where that exact thing happened. I read the manuscript, loved it, knew it needed what I didn't have, sent the author to one of my favorite competitors; they had a fistfight in the office over who got it pounced on it with glee. The rest is happy publishing all around.

The other kind of referrals are the ones that start "Such and Such said this was your kind of novel" and I've not spoken to Such for five years. Such hasn't read your novel and is just trying to get you off her query pile and onto mine.


It's hard for you the querier to know which one you have, of course, but my guess is you've got the second one based on the agent's behavior.  She's "disappeared" which means she's probably trying to figure out what to say other than  form rejection. (It feels awkward to form reject a referral which is why you guys are so hot for them of course.)

Here's what to do:

Step one: withdraw the manuscript from Agent Absent. Politely of course.  I'm sure you know how to do this.  If you don't I know I've posted wording previously.

Step two: submit the manuscript to Agent BetterChoice.  At this point, there's no need to mention Agent Absent. Absent has dropped the ball here and you should NOT let that have an impact on you.

This is your career. Even if Agent Beta calls you up at midnight to spew and splutter that you are RUDE RUDE RUDE to submit this manuscript, it won't kill you, and two, you have my permission to say "horsefeathers BetaBreath."

This querying process is starting to resemble elaborate rules of court in some crazed Balkan country. This must be done, that must be done. Double space this, and make sure your font doesn't frolic on the page...yikes!

A query is a business letter. If the person to whom you are proposing a business arrangement fails to respond to your overture, and three polite follow ups, then time to move on to the next person on the list.  As long as you're polite and observe the guidelines posted on the website, you're fine.  And even if you don't and you're not: There Are No Query Police!

Query Question: one at a time, vs all your work contracts with agents

In researching agents, I found two categories: those who rep "one book at a time" and those who take on a writer for a contracted amount of time, or perhaps "career." What is the benefit of the former situation? 

One book at a time means the author and agent contract with each other for the one book (and presumably for the option book if there is one.)  The other option is the author and agent contract with each other to work for all the work a client will do.

The benefits of One and Done are:

1. If you decide the working relationship isn't to your liking, you're free to seek another agent at the end of the project.  When querying for the next book, it's a whole lot easier to say "my previous agent
repped books one at a time" rather than "my previous agent and I didn't get along."


2. You're not committing blindly to a future you know nothing about.  You're in for a year or two at most.

Both of these are true from the agent and the author point of view. If the client turns out to be a troublesome diva, well, the next book isn't automatically your problem.

I offer contracts for careers, not books. The reason is I've found over years of experience that first book may not be the first one I sell.  I prefer to be in for the long haul at the start. I want my clients to know they can have confidence for the long term.

Of course, there's a 30-day termination clause so either of us can end the representation agreement without cause at any time.

There's a lot to be said for both types of agency agreement. When you're interviewing all the agents who offer on your book, ask them why they offer the type of contract they do.  Make your decision based on that.

Query Question: offer of rep from an agent I'm not sure of

I've been querying my novel for a year. Several agents loved the concept of my novel, but ultimately came back not loving the book enough to rep.

Unfortunately, the one who has offered is not my first choice. She showed strong interest in the MS and then left me hanging. My email nudges went unanswered and finally she said they were in her spam box, also stating she had a huge list to consider and she would let me know. I kind of  forgot about her and forged on.  After another two months, she contacted me to say that she was still interested  and she would like to make the call to discuss representation.

I queried the owner of the relatively large and successful agency (Agent A) and (Agent B) is the person who initially asked for a partial. She was an intern two years ago and I can't seem to find who she represents, or anything she has sold since signing on as an agent. She's not very active on Twitter nor does she have a blog; two things I like and want in an agent.

My question is this: do I sign with an agent that I'm not thrilled with just to have an agent? I'm at the point where I am about to shelve my novel. I don't want to lose the opportunity to have this thing out there because I worked my ass off on it.

And I love it and self pub is not an option for me. At the same time, am I wasting my time with an agent who is flaky? Is a flaky agent better than no agent?? Should I just take what I can get??

No.
No, you don't just take what you can get.
No, a flaky agent is not better than no agent.
and No, you aren't wasting your time, because you've learned something.


But, just because an agent isn't on twitter and doesn't have a blog and takes a long time on queries does NOT mean she is flaky.

The best way to find out who she represents and what she's sold is to ASK.  If she's offered you a place on her roster, you should be asking those questions, and she should be answering. It's entirely appropriate for her to share the information with you.  If she hasn't sold anything and doesn't represent anyone, well, you get to be first.  Five lucky writers were my first five clients, long before
I'd sold much of anything or had anything but enthusiasm to offer them.

That said, do NOT sign with someone you don't have confidence in. Don't sign with someone you don't trust to conduct your business well.  The last thing you want is to be second guessing your agent. And trust me, she doesn't want it either.

Query Question: No, I want the other one

I attended a conference where I found an agent from a very respectable agency*** had an open pitch time slot. My pitch got a request for a full. My research after the conference showed that the agent had no sales in my genre. I did not send my manuscript, and many months have passed since the conference. I would like to query another agent at the agency who represents many authors writing in my genre.

What to do? Do agents keep track of conference requests? The agency website says nothing regarding querying multiple agents. Is querying the second agent acceptable? If so, should I mention the first agent in my query to the second?

That odd sound you hear if you tilt your head to the left is me tapping you none-too-gently on the noggin  with a clue-by-four.

Let's see how you got to that point:

(1) You pitched an agent you didn't know. 

(2) You assumed that because you could not find any sales in your genre, there weren't any.

(3) You didn't sent the manuscript.

(4) and now, you want to know if it's ok to query another agent at the same agency and mention s/he asked for the full but you declined to send it to them.

You've behaved rudely here. You've made some assumptions that have prompted you to act that way, and I hope you'll stop doing that.

For starters, not all deals are reported.  My Publishers Marketplace deal listings are sadly out of date, and not just cause I'm lying around eating bonbons and watching telenovellas. Some deals aren't announced till foreign sales are made. I'm waiting to announce one now cause I want to use the correct title, and I know the publisher is changing it. Never assume you know how many deals an agent has done, or not.

Second, you didn't write to the agent and say thanks and withdraw the manuscript.  When I get those emails, I don't ask why (I don't particularly care.) It does mean that I don't email the author and ask what happened.  I ALWAYS do that if a requested full doesn't show up because it's easy for mail with attachments to go astray.

Third, you're assuming the agent with lots of clients is a better fit.  And taking new clients.

And you're counting on the agents not talking to each other. Here's where that gets tricky:

Agent B: thanks for your query. This sounds terrific, but my list is pretty full.  I've passed this along to my colleague Agent A who is actively looking for projects in this genre.

Agent A: whoa, I recognize this. Didn't I ask for this at that writing conference? How come B has it a year later?


I can absolutely tell you that if you'd dissed any of my younger agents this way, and queried me, I'd have said no thanks pretty quickly.  I think my younger agents are often a better match for new writers than some of the rest of us: they're young, hungry, fresh, and eager. And they don't have "many clients" to torment daily.


You've screwed up royally here.  There's nothing to prevent you from querying Agent Two but you'd be very foolish to mention you've already talked to Agent One and decided s/he wasn't worthy.




***and what is a "respectable" agency? Do you mean reputable? I can assure you the best agents I know are very rarely respectable ladies with white gloves and delicate little handbags.

available here

Query Question: What do I do with multiple offers

I attended the Pikes Peak Writers Conference and got up my guts to pitch the heck out of my latest manuscript. I got two requests. I was on the plane home with one of the gals and she remembered my pitch, mentioned specifics about the plot that intrigued her, and reminded me to send--which I take as a good sign. I also got to chat with the other NOT about books; we hit it off and hung out for three hours talking about life and giggles. I take it she will remember me too.

With the manuscript now in their hands, I came to the nervous realization that I don't know what I'd do in the {extremely unlikely} instance they both made offers. Is there a way to handle this? Do I just ask for a week to think about it or do I tell them both that the other offered (and should I name names)?

Lastly, how the heck am I supposed to know who I'll work better with? I've chatted with both and thought them perfectly delightful people. Are there things a wise writer should ask before signing on with an agent?

We're all perfectly delightful people when we're out in public. It's how we are in the throes of client despair that you want to hear about.

That's why when you get an offer from any agent, the first thing you do is ask if they are ok with you contacting clients to see what being a client is like. If they say YES, you do so. If they say NO, well, that's not such a good sign.

If someone wants to know what it's like to work with me, I direct them to my client roster on the right hand side of this blog. They can email any one they choose. I don't give the clients a heads up either. If they loath me at the moment the prospect calls, well, ooops.

Generally speaking however, my clients like me and will give a prospect a pretty good idea of what life here in the Reef is like.

Also, there are lists of questions to ask prospective agents. Most of them are designed to weed out the ne'er do wells, and you sure want to do that. Attendance at a conference does NOT mean an agent is good. (Some conferences are more lax about this than others.)

Some years back I did a post about the questions you ask after that. 


And yes, you do this for multiple offers as well.
And you tell an offering agent if there are other offers.
And yes you can tell them who's in the scrum.  

UK/US editors

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton is being released in 30 countries and I'm reading it in large part because I think there's lots a writer can learn from a book that sold so well. In her acknowledgements, she thanks both her UK and her US editors (both belonging to different publishing houses). I know it's being translated in some countries, but the multiple English-speaking editors surprised me.

Do multinational releases have editors in different countries that result in slightly (or not so slightly) different versions of the book being released?

Maybe.  It depends on how the book is initially sold.  For example, if an agent sells only North American rights to the US publisher, the UK rights can be sold to a UK publisher, and the editor there is not working in concert with the American publisher.


If an agent sells World English, generally the editor who buys those rights  here will make a deal with a UK publisher and they will decide how closely the UK edition will match the US edition.  Often there is tweaking but only for what we fondly call "britspeak"--garden means yard, bonnet means hood, lorry means truck, and do NOT ask what a fanny pack means in the UK.

How much Britspeak is understood here is always a subject of debate, most recently in the Bouchercon anthology where two of the contributors are from the UK. We decided in this case to let most of the UKisms stand because crime readers are used to it.