How to Find Publishers and Agents and Get Published by Gini Graham Scott

Author:Gini Graham Scott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: publishers, publishing, agents, query letter, writing a book, selfpublish, publishing a book, publishing advice, promoting a book, pitching a book
Publisher: Gini Graham Scott

Chapter 9: Deciding What Agent to Work With

Say you have sent out queries to agents and now have to weigh offers from multiple agents or decide if you want one interested agent to represent you. Ultimately, your decision may come down to a matter of personal chemistry – who you would like to work with. But before you trust your intuition or gut to make the decision, find out what you can about any interested agents and weigh what that agent can do for you.

In some cases, writers living near an agent may get to meet personally, but normally a face-to-face meeting with an agent isn’t common or necessary. You can easily use the phone, fax, email, Skype, or mobile apps to communicate. And for most agents, it’s fine that you are considering multiple agents at the same time. They recognize that choosing an agent is a little like getting married or at least getting involved in an exclusive dating arrangement. Before then, the agent is assessing both your manuscript and what it will be like to work with you, just as you are assessing whether this is the right agent for you.

Normally, figure on a few days to make your assessment. In the event, you get a request from an agent for an exclusive period to look at your manuscript, such a request is rare and is usually from a smaller agent, who may not be your first choice anyway. So unless an agent asking for an exclusive really is your first choice, I would regard these requests this way. Just because the agent has asked for an exclusive, you don’t have to say “yes” to an offer of representation, and I typically regard this request for an exclusive as more like asking for a right of first refusal. You should not let such a request hold you up from following up with other agents at the same time.

Generally, there is no reason to tell other agents what other agents have expressed interest in your manuscript, just as you don’t need to tell a person on a first date about who else you are dating. The one exception is if the agents are from the same agency. Then, you need to tell both agents or if you have already sent your material to one agent, tell the agent who contacts you next that you have been in touch with this other agent. Additionally, explain that you didn’t know who to contact in that agency, and if that agent wishes he or she can talk to the first agent and they can decide between them who might like to represent you. Then, weigh that agent against any agents who have expressed interest in other agencies.

To help you determine what to do, keep a list of the agents who have expressed interest in our project, along with their agency name, website, and contact information.

Then, once you have determined what agents are interested, the next step is to do some research both by asking the agent some questions and by doing some research on the Internet.

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