New vs. Old: Which Matters More?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011 Question of the day: Curious of your thoughts on the strategy of targeting a senior agent, with the expectation that, if they pass, your ms will be handed down to a junior agent. Does it often occur this way, or is the best strategy to target the newbie first?
Obviously I'm not an agent, but in my experience - and to the best of my knowledge - it doesn't work like this often at all. A senior agent likely has a reader: an assistant or someone else who vets the manuscripts and passes along the ones that the assistant thinks will strike a chord. If the assistant doesn't love it, you'll get a ding. Before the senior agent even lays eyes on it. So if you're counting on the senior agent passing it onto someone more junior, you already have to get through the first gate-keeper, and then you then have to take the leap of faith that said agent is going to like it enough (but not love it enough) to want to pass it along but not sign you. This requires a lot of time and energy from an agent, and to be honest, they're primary vested interest isn't in helping the aspiring writers whose work doesn't click. NOT that they don't wish you success, but they have a slew of other things on their plate.
Yes, from time to time (and I know my agent does this), he or she may recommend a different agent to pitch - say, a colleague at another firm who represents the genre or who is looking for this type of book. But again, this is the exception, not the rule. Nearly all of the time, if an agent is passing, you'll get a form letter indicating as much - and occasionally, you'll get a few personalized comments.
So do you target the senior agent or the newbie from the get-go? I can't say because I'm sure that there are no universal blanket statements to be made. In my opinion, you should research them both and then see who best fits your needs - I'm guessing that seniority aside, there are going to be other differences too.
What say you, readers? Which agent do you target first? The newbie or the senior agent? Has your work ever been passed from one agent to the other?
Agents
Reader Comments (10)
I am thinking that when the time gets closer, I will personally prospect agents within my genre, regardless of seniority.
Perhaps I may be secretly more hopeful in getting a response with the junior agent but in the grand scheme of things I don't think limiting to only pursuing one over the other is all that advantageous.
The more options the better I say.
Thanks, Allison. Great insight as usual. You've totally changed the way I am looking at seeking agent representation.
Melissa - my pleasure! Good luck with it!
Agents don't hand off projects to one another if they don't want it for themselves. They just trash it. They don't care about you and don't care whether or not you get published, especially if they don't think you're good enough to represent by themselves. As for established agent vs. newbie? This is a very tough question. I think you are much more likely to get signed by a newbie, but they have less chance of selling your ms (especially for good money). Therefore, I will only go with the biggest names now...even though it is less likely to get signed by them. Once you do, I think you're much better off. Yes, new agents are "hungry," but they are also not as wise.
An agent I pitched to at a conference had me send her my ms, then suggested I send it to another agent. Both turned it down, unfortunately. But it was exciting for a short time.
If you truly believe you have done the best job you can on your manuscript, go for it. If you think your ms could do with some tweaking but you want to get it out there anyways, don't. Don't put anything but your best effort forward, and if you don't feel writing is strong enough yet, then take more time at the craft of writing to get it there before you start shopping. Too many people start shopping before they are ready. If you are ready, Go for the top.
Lissa - I'll gently disagree. Sometimes, the senior agent is truly the best pick, but I have a few friends who signed with big-time agents and got lost in the shuffle because the big agents were busy taking care of their big clients. If a younger agent has the right resources and connections (and mentors), they can really go to bat for a client. Five years ago, mine did. And now she's a big-time agent...and I'm glad to have ridden the wave of success with her. And I'm glad that I trusted my instinct that young or not, she was the right agent for me.
Should you trust that you've done your best on the ms, or should you have editor go over it before you query an agent. I struggle with this because an editor is very costly, however since this is my first attempt I'm not sure if my writing is good enough to stand on its own. In my mind it is but I may be bias'.
Hi Orlando - I always suggest that you find a reader to give you objective feedback. It doesn't need to be someone you pay - even a critique group online can be helpful. If not, you're operating in a total bubble, and as you noted, it's very difficult to be objective in that bubble. Good luck!
Allison, that sounds like great advice. Just curious: what if your story has a main character who is older, say in her 40s, but the younger agents are well, young, and don't feel a connection with the MC because of the age difference? Do you see that as a problem or do you think that the younger agents would still be interested, as long as it's a great story and something he/she can sell? Thanks!!