I’m a published author who recently signed with a new agent. I love her. She responds quickly to all my emails, keeps in touch and moves quickly. Lately though a few things have come up that make me wonder if I’m being scammed. When looking at her web site it seems I’m her only published author, and the books she’s promoting she didn’t even sell. My biggest concern is that recently she was getting ready to submit my proposal and told me that she could not make multiple submissions, that she’d been talking to an editor who told her that if editors learn a book is out with other houses they will simply throw it away. She said that it’s a rumor among authors that agents can make multiple submissions, but it’s not true.
Let me explain first that this is one of those cases where it’s possible you aren’t being scammed, but definite that you are in the hands of a Bad Agent. I’m not sure this agent is intentionally trying to stonewall your career, and since you didn’t mention it I’m going to assume you didn’t pay any money up front; however, this agent clearly does not know or understand how the business works. In my mind a bad agent can be as destructive as a Scam Agent, sometimes more so since a scam agent is clearly breaking the law, and a bad agent is “only” damaging your career.
Let’s look at this case logically. In reviewing recent deals made by agents I regularly see postings about auctions or pre-empts. None of those things could exist if it weren’t for multiple submissions. Let’s also look at what your friends and their agents are doing. My guess is that if you ask any of them, their agents are making multiple submissions. How can it be a false rumor if everyone else is doing it?
My advice, get out. Now. It’s not your job to teach Bad Agent how to do her job. It’s your job to look out for you and your career. Bad Agent isn’t doing you any good, and if she doesn’t know how to submit, how do you expect her to negotiate a contract.
Jessica
I have a question about why most agents auto-delete queries that are mass mailed or are simply titled, "Dear Agent."
Let me give you a short scenario:
Writer Mary has written her book. Is it any good? Maybe. Mary does all the stuff most agents recommend, she goes to critique groups, polishes her manuscript, researches all the good websites for how to write a compelling query letter, and then decides to query.
Now, we all know that 999 out of 1,000 times, her query is going to be rejected. She may have issues with the query letter, issues with her writing, or the story just isn't currently marketable (or a thousand other things). Fair enough, and I think most writers realize that these ARE the stats. So do agents. You ladies both know how the slush pile works better than I, or any other writer does.
So by agents stating online that they want a personalized letter, they are telling every writer out there to spend hours on EACH agent they choose, knowing they are still going to be rejected by almost every one of them.
So often I hear agents say things like, "It's all about the writing." Okay, fabulous. Well then, why do agents care about the heading of the query so much and not the meat? Does the heading always pre-qualify the story? If Mary has written an extremely well thought out query letter and written prose that could knock the socks off anyone, but she puts "Dear Agent" or mass mails it to multiple agents, they won't even read her query. On first blush, that smacks of hubris. It seems to uphold the fallacy that agents are prima donnas and simply must have a personalized query to stroke their egos.
But most agents I have spoken to/emailed weren't like that. So I am confused why agents want a writer to spend so much time doing something that's going to get them nowhere and why the focus is taken off the actual story and writing and onto something the doesn't really matter anyway. Agents know writers are going to query multiple agents.
I can only think of one good reason, but it doesn't address the issue for the reason.
I'm sure in your history, you've found that people who send out mass mailings do it without concern of which agent gets what story. They'll send their medical mystery to agents who only accept non-fiction or science fiction. The notion would be, "Well, if they don't care enough to personalize, then they probably don't care enough about their writing." But by telling writers not to generalize their query and not mass mail, you're not addressing this particular issue. People who do that, don't read up on the proper way to query anyway and will continue to do the same thing. I suppose that it does give you one more easy out for a query in the slush, but it almost seems a ridiculous rule.
Is this merely a way to try and stave off the ridiculous amounts of query letters you folks get? I can't imagine it would work. That slush pile is like your credit card bills: it just keeps coming at you.
I will continue to spend around 30-60 minutes on each agent I send to, and still garner the 99% rejection rate, but it would be easier to just craft one package and send it out.
I included the author’s entire question here because I like the short scenario. I also think that the author was sincere in asking the question and not at all attempting to be snarky.
Sometimes I’m honestly not 100% sure why I do things until called to explain. What I do know is that there is always a reason and in the end it’s what works for me. Before answering the actual question, let me fill you in on a little agent secret. We don’t actually expect each individual query to be personalized beyond much more than the name. In other words, once you craft a solid query you should be able to simply cut and paste that query into the email and add the agent’s name to the top. Yes, I know that still takes longer than writing one general “Dear Agent” query and adding 50+ names in the “to” section of your email, but that’s the way it is.
So why are we so demanding? No, it’s not about stroking the ego, that’s what this blog is for [insert grin here and prepare for angry anti-agent backlash], it’s about professionalism and making things a little harder on you. When I started in publishing, email did not exist (in publishing). Authors who wanted to query were required to write (typically type at that point) an individual query letter, place it in an envelope, add a stamp, and mail the old-fashioned way. In other words, it took a little bit of work, which meant that only those who were really serious would make the effort. Now we have email and everyone and their mother is writing a book and haphazardly sending it off to agents. You nailed it when you said that it’s a way to stave off the amount of queries; it’s also a way to ensure that people actually need to think about the queries they are sending.
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve had to send out resumes (and let’s hope it continues to be a long, long time), but I remember back in the day working hard on both my resume and cover letter. I would agonize over every little word and each formatting indentation. Each cover letter was personalized to the person and company I was submitting to. Sometimes I would simply change the name and other times I would add a line or two that gave it a little extra oomph. I think of queries the same way: you are trying to impress someone and in doing that you are hopefully putting your best foot forward. If you send a query to everyone and their mother and I can obviously see that by all the names at the top of the email, it shows that you only want to do the minimum required to get the job. It makes me wonder if you feel the same way when it comes to revisions and the writing of your book in general.
I hope I properly answered the question. What I can tell you, though, is that if Writer Mary really spent that much time crafting a query, she isn’t mass mailing to 50+ agents at a time. She’s too serious about her writing career to do that. Those who send out the mass queries typically think publishing is easy and haven’t bothered to learn otherwise.
Jessica
In February I attended a writer's conference, pitched to an agent and he asked for my full MS. We had a very pleasant and positive meeting. Eight weeks later I followed up and he quickly and warmly replied that he'd get to it ASAP. Two weeks later I contacted him again because another agent requested a partial, but as an exclusive. I let the first agent know, because I wasn't sure how I was supposed to handle the issue and to try and nudge him for an answer since he'd had my MS for ten weeks. Once again I received a prompt and warm reply. He encouraged me to send my partial to the other agent and said he was still "looking forward" to reading MS. That was four week ago.
Am I being naive thinking this guy will ever read my work? Other than not getting an answer, all my communication with him has been positive. Do I contact him again or move on?
Anything is possible. What I would focus on is moving on. It’s hard, I know, not to try to put all of your eggs in one basket, but since you are getting requests for partials from other agents I would keep querying, keep submitting and continue to touch base with Agent #1 every 3 to 4 weeks or so. By my calculations he’s had the material for about 12 weeks now. That’s about when I would think you should be hearing from most agents. While I know many will say he’s probably just not that interested if he hasn’t gotten to it yet, and certainly that’s sound advice, it also doesn’t mean he won’t be all over you with interest once he’s finally had a chance to read it. I know that frequently I’m overwhelmed by the submissions that are taunting me (and yes, they do taunt) and sometimes I find myself frozen by their glaring eyes. Even though I’m excited to read a certain submission, the shear numbers of submissions I should be reading overwhelm me. What finally breaks it for me is that one book that gets me excited to offer representation again.
Never give up, but keep moving on and checking in, with everyone who is reviewing your work. You never know when that offer will come, who it will come from or what it will spark from other agents.
Jessica
I have a question I hope you can help me with. After passing on book 1, an agent at an esteemed house offered to consider any future work of mine. I told her about my WIP (book 2), and she said she'd like to see it when the full is ready. Subsequently, another agent at the same house (which allows non-simultaneous queries of its agents) requested a full of book 1, which she still has. It's only been two months since I sent it.
Now, book 2 is about a week away from being query-ready, and it's admittedly much stronger than book 1. I don't want to lose the chance of working with this agency because I'm waiting on a weaker book. Is full disclosure best in this case? Should I send the first agent book 2 with a disclaimer that a colleague is still considering book 1? Or should I status query the second agent, and mention book 2, as well as the outstanding request? Or something entirely different?
Uff-da. This is a tricky one and one of the reasons why BookEnds doesn’t encourage querying multiple agents at the same house. I thought about this for a while and ultimately decided that I think you have two possible options. Of course you might come up with more, but here’s what I’ve determined.
Your first option is to send the first agent a query thanking her of course for her interest and reminding her that she had suggested you requery, and then explain the situation and see what she wants to do. She might simply suggest you contact the second agent since she is already considering book 1. I know that if a situation like that were to occur at BookEnds our advice would be not to have two books out with two agents at the same agency at once, and we would suggest you simply send book 2 to the agent who already has book 1. The only thing you lose here is the possibility of working with the first agent, so, if it’s really important to you, or if your dream is to work with that first agent and you feel you want to give her first dibs (so to speak) I would suggest you move on to option #2.
Option #2 is simply to wait it out. The second agent has had the manuscript for two months, you are still about a week away from querying. Since she’s requested the full I would think you should be hearing at the three-month mark. If not, it’s perfectly appropriate to nag at that point. Start your query process and hold off on that agency for now, but give yourself a deadline. If you haven’t heard from the second agent either by the time their suggested response time is up or in four months (from submission) I would go back to option #1 and see what happens.
Ultimately it sounds like you are in a great place. You are clearly writing work that’s garnering a lot of attention and catching agents’ eyes. In my mind you aren’t going to lose by going with either option #1 or option #2, it really just depends on what feels most comfortable to you.
Good luck!
Jessica
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RUN. Run fast. Run now.
I had a bad agent and it sidelined my writing for well over a year. You don't owe loyalty to someone who doesn't know how to do their job. Especially if they can ruin your career.
I think the natural assumption is that if an agent isn't on Preditors and Editors site that they are okay -- I know that's what I thought. But a clueless agent can do just as much if not more damage, because it takes you that much longer to figure out how inept they are. If you are also new to the business, there's so much you just take their word on.
My bad agent wouldn't submit to multiple houses, told me to write in Courier 12 point -- thereby bloating my ms by fifty pages a whack, had me send hardcopy mss to him/her "just in case an editor didn't want it sent as an attachment," and didn't think negotiating was "polite" so demanded I take the (very low) advance offered for the one thing he/she sold -- because otherwise no one in the industry would want to work with me.
The agent is still out there, happy little website, signing people.
Great advice.
Thank you for your blog.
ann
RUN! Run like a citizen of Tokyo fleeing Godzilla!
My BadAgent didn't want to submit multiply either. He also said, "It's not professional to follow up." (After months had passed since his only contact with the editor.) I had to hound him to do either of those things. When we were inches from a deal and the publisher suddenly withdrew it, he refused to make a phone call to find out why. "I don't want to irritate them," he said. Why? What's going to happen--we might get rejected?
Because of my Bad Agent, other agents didn't want to touch that manuscript afterward because it wasn't fresh. He derailed my career by a couple of years by doing what your agent is doing. RUN!
ugh. I'm stressed out just reading that post and these comments.
I wish we could get the names or at least initials of these agents so we won't waste our time & careers with them, but I know J likes to protect her peers...talk about AGENT FAIL!
Very helpful post, thank you.
As far as I can tell, agenting is one of the few completely unregulated professions. There's no requirement - no education, no credential, no licensing. Any one who wants can hang out a shingle and say they are an agent. There's also little accountability.
That said, if I ever get an agent, I will thoroughly research them first. I will also insist on meeting them in person prior to signing for representation. Randomly querying people and signing with someone you've never met just strikes me as dangerous - especially if you plan to have a long-term career in writing.
I imagine that it's so enticing to finally have an agent say 'yes' that people just jump at it. And I bet I'll feel the same. But hearing stories like this makes me want to move much more slowly and thoughtfully.
Oh, that's not to say there aren't agents out there that I truly respect and would love to work with. But they may not choose to work with me, so I might be searching outside the agents I know.
But in dealing with the reality of the situation, I'll be careful.
Always do your homework on an agent before you sign with them.
Talk to their other clients, ask questions about hwo they work, for example, how they send out submissions.
And when you get an offer, talk to the agent on the phone, and have a list of questions to ask. If and only if they answer your questions to your satisfaction do you sign with them.
It's your career, take control of it right from the beginning.
You are in the driver's seat. You are the boss.
I wish we could get the names or at least initials of these agents so we won't waste our time & careers with them, but I know J likes to protect her peers...talk about AGENT FAIL!
There are wonderful resources out there for writers regarding bad-apple agents: Preditors & Editors, Victoria Strauss's awesome website, and the AbsoluteWrite board.
But the best resource is ourselves. We need to take control of our careers and educate ourselves so we know what a reputable agent looks like: Even a new agent should have a solid background, either working as an assistant to a reputable agent or working previously as an editor at reputable publishing house. They should have a list of sales to publishers you've heard of, not micro-presses or vanity presses. An agent who offers representation should be willing to share his/her client list with you, so you can contact them and ask questions.
I think the best protection is to not allow ourselves to become so desperate, we miss the signs and red flags.
I met a wonderful Agent at an expensive conference. In less than five minutes, I gave my pitch as was told to send a submission package. I politely e-mailed the Agent every month with a request as to the progress of my submission package. After almost six months, the agent admitted they couldn't find the submission package, please send it again.
Within a week, I was told my manuscript would be too difficult a sell at this time, thank you very much.
I was devastated and wonder about Agents in general at this time.
There is nothing inherently wrong with new agents. Sometimes the fresh perspective and "fire in the belly" makes for a really good match. A new agent has more time to devote to their smaller client list, and often they are more willing to take chances.
What isn't okay is an untrained new agent.
If I were to walk into McDonald's right now, I'd need to be trained to work effectively. I'd need someone with experience to show me the ropes, how to use the headset, how to make sure I didn't kill someone by serving them undercooked food, etc. An agent should have training credentials too. An ongoing relationship with a mentor, an internship at a credible agency, and experience and education in the publishing world. These are things that can be sussed out during the interview phase...but being new doesn't mean not being really good.
My agent (before I learned things on my own) was so bad he directed me away from an editor at Ballantine Books that wanted my manuscript. Story on my blog. I have spent years backtracking.
I think agents are held accountable for their actions. The word gets out soon enough, they can't get any clients, and it only takes a little research to find this out.
A safe bet would be to only deal with them if they are AAR members.
OMG, ruuuun!
My bad agent story (many years ago): After one rejection, she quit the business! Quit. After one rejection! Yikes.
Can't stress enough... do the homework *before* you sign with an agent! Know his/her track record of sales.
Excellent information. The only agent that so far has requested a full from me has a great reputation. Guess I should count my blessings!!
Thank you for sharing this story. I hope it prevents others from falling into the same trap.
Since I'm fortunate enough to be represented by an excellent agent, it makes it even more distressing to see stories like this. I echo the advice already given by others: run like the wind.
I'm wondering if your questioner ran the name of this agent on the Predators and Editors site.
Wowsers. Just goes to show that no agent is better than a less-than-awesome one.
To previous commentors -- the problem with publishing the names of "Bad Agents" as opposed to "Agents that are doing Illegal Things" is that one is criminal, (kickbacks for referring to edit sites, charging reading fees for ms they don't read, etc...), the other is not.
I had an agent dump me after I complained about her lack of response -- she never returned emails, didn't submit work, if she did submit it, she refused to follow up on subs. Editors had my ms for over six months, but she was put out when I asked if she'd nudge them. I found out after I left that she'd treated many writers this way. It wasn't just me.
BUT, she also has big clients, and has had big sales. So, clearly, those clients are happy with her. Which client would you believe? The one with a quarter of a million dollar book deal or the one who can't get her emails returned or work sent out?
There's three sides to every story. Two sides and the truth.
Well said writergrrrl--writers are the best resource, as are awesome agent blogs such as this one.
You don't just want any agent, you want the right agent. Remember, you're the one doing the hiring.
I was devastated and wonder about Agents in general at this time.
Anonymous 11:33: Unfortunately, stuff like that happens sometimes. It's frustrating, but you just have to keep going. Don't pin all your hopes on one agent. Keep querying (and if you don't get any bites after 10 or so queries, revise it). Don't grant an exclusive unless you feel it's absolutely necessary (and if you do, put a time limit on it). Don't expect personalized rejection letters. Do expect that some agents won't respond at all. It took me about 20 queries until I got an offer of representation. I know many writers who queried 50 or more agents.
Most important of all is to KEEP WRITING. Good luck!
"It took me about 20 queries until I got an offer of representation."
You mean 20 different drafts of the same Q letter, or you only had to send the same letter out 20 times before an agent offered representation?
You mean 20 different drafts of the same Q letter, or you only had to send the same letter out 20 times before an agent offered representation?
Oh, sorry. I didn't explain that very well. I sent out 20 query letters (same query) to 20 agents. I actually sent out the letters in small batches to make sure the query was working--so I didn't query 20 agents at the same time. More like 6 at a time. Several requested partials, a total of 6 agents requested fulls. (Some of those full requests came after the agent had reviewed the partial.) Out of those full requests, one agent offered representation. (The book didn't sell, but that's another story.)
Probably more than you wanted to know!
Wow.
I have to say I agree with the "Run" suggestions.
It's good you recognized the red flags before too much time passed (and too much damage was done). The good news is that if she hasn't been doing multiple subs, then the MS is probably still viable.
Get a list of who she's sent it to (to give to your next agent) and get out now.
You always give such good, clear-headed advice :)
"I met a wonderful Agent at an expensive conference. In less than five minutes, I gave my pitch as was told to send a submission package. I politely e-mailed the Agent every month with a request as to the progress of my submission package. After almost six months, the agent admitted they couldn't find the submission package, please send it again.
Within a week, I was told my manuscript would be too difficult a sell at this time, thank you very much.
I was devastated and wonder about Agents in general at this time.
11:33 AM, January 12, 2010"
Actually, your story is different from the OP. And your conclusion (that all agents are bad) is quite faulty. This doesn't tell us that the agent is bad. Agents, especially last year, had a record number of subs due to the economy driving more people out of their jobs. You were just one of many and good agents do lose those submissions in their huge slush piles. They don't usually have the resources to follow up on all the emails asking how's my submission doing.
It took them over five months to catch up (not at all unusual for slush+, which is what you were) and when they did, your manuscript did not strike them as something they could sell.
That doesn't mean you aren't a good writer, or that another agent wouldn't like your work. It means you didn't do your homework. With all the resources on the web for free now, you should have queried several agents and not stop at one.
Writing is all about rejection. You have to build a tough skin, get over it, learn. Think of it as basketball. If you're knocked over by another player, you don't cry. You get up and try to shoot another basket.