Communicating With Your Agent
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Question of the day: I just signed with an agent (yay!), but I'm nervous about becoming a pest, in terms of communicating with her. Are there any guidelines about what I should or shouldn't do?
Great question. And I think there's a different answer for every agent. Some like their authors to be involved every step of the way, and others prefer that they steer the ship and keep their clients posted. I know that you've already signed with your agent, but for others who are involved in their own agent query, I suggest discussing your agent's preference while you're having that initial vetting conversation: it's important that you're both on the same page in terms of communication and participation.
In this case, why not just ask? You can raise it with your agent and find out how he/she likes to proceed, especially when you're going through the submission process, which is an anxious time. You don't want to think that just no news is bad news or no news is good news or whatever. Let her know how you'd like to be involved and see if she's on board. After that, I think you really have to exercise your best judgment. Agents are super-busy people. Check in when you need to, but don't annoy her simply because you have something small to ask/deal with. When in doubt, try to deal with it on your own, and then if you can't - or you'd benefit from her advice - then by all means, reach out. Remember that ideally, an agent-client relationship is supposed to be a partnership, and like any good partnership, this requires balance on all levels.
Any advice from other readers out there? How do you manage your own agent relationships?
Reader Comments (9)
Allison, you know who I am but I'm posting anon on this one. I've had my agent for quite a while and the lack of communication while my book has been out on submission has been not good for me. I have learned that I need an agent who will correspond more with me. The agent that I have DOES NOT share editor names with me -- it's their policy. So to those looking now, make sure to ASK. If you want to know the editor names, make sure your agent will share them with you. I feel that they are keeping important information from me, and that it is not a partnership. My book has been on submission since July, and while they say it's a long process, and other writer friends do back this up, and I've only had a few rejections, I think my agent could be doing more to get my book read by editors. She's also promised to be more diligent in the communication during our last phone call and she hasn't delivered on this. I am now giving her until March 1 to step up to the table and if, in two weeks, I don't get some favorable turn-around, I'm cutting my losses. I have another ms that's almost complete and I'm going to send that out to a new batch of agents. A bad agent is ABSOLUTELY worse than NO AGENT at all.
So, to those of you searching -- ASK all the questions you want to. DO NOT EVER be afraid of your agent. You two should be partners in this. She or he is WORKING for you, and they are going to be making money off of your words. Don't ever feel like you are inconveniencing them. EVER! Good LUCK!
Ha, so much for anon posting!
S - what a valuable post. If you want to delete it and put it back in anonymously, no worries. (Or if you don't have the ability to delete it and want me to, I will.)
I've posted here before using my name, but like the first poster (above) I'm staying Anon on this one too.
The rather unpleasant bottom line with author/client communications is that, by and large, you get lots of communication from the agent when things are going well; and very little (or, in too many cases, none at all) when things are going badly. There are some agents out there who will talk you through every rejection etc. with you but most prefer not to dwell on disappointing news and instead to move on. That might mean moving on to another publishing house with the same book (yours); and it might mean moving on to another book by another author that has a better chance of being accepted. You are unlikely to know about the latter decision.
The reality that many people forget is that agents have, to some extent, to ration their submissions. And it hurts them (or at least they might expect it to hurt them) if they make too many submissions that don't stick. An agent might love a book at first, and have all kinds of plans for it, but if the response from the trade is repeatedly negative they wouldn't be human if they didn't get cold feet to some extent. Even if they relentlessly soldier on with a book that is being rejected all over town - which can sometimes yield results - it's likely that their diminishing confidence will become all too obvious. To place an author at a new house (whether with a first novel, or where a published writer is looking for a new home), an agent will often need to meet a potential buyer face-to-face; at the very least prep them at length about why the book in question is brilliant. It's harder to do that when 12 editors have already told you it's not brilliant enough.
One of the lessons I've learned over two decades in this business is: Good News Travels Fast; Bad News Barely Travels at All.
Wow, Stephanie (aka, anonymous :) I can't believe your agent doesn't share editor names with you. That just sounds so wrong...
Anon- Thank you (as always) for your wise words. All of this is very true. As the first poster indicated, and as I say here often, agents can harm you just as much as they can help you. You absolutely must, must, must choose wisely, even if it means turning someone down.
I think one of the problems is that people can get agents after months or years of querying -- sometimes they've queried on multiple manuscripts before "the call." And then they don't get a choice -- they get one option. It would be hard to turn down that one option.
Your agent is your business partner. Would you be afraid to bother your accountant? Your doctor? They're busy people too, but if you had a question you likely wouldn't hesitate to ask. Start by asking your agent, "What is the best way to communicate if I have a question? Phone or email? I know you're busy, so what is a reasonable time if I haven't heard from you to follow up?" I try to make sure I have clear expectations with my agent- if something is on submission- can she check in once a month and just give me an update- even if the update is "nothing's happening."
The mantra I give people is THIS IS YOUR CAREER. Nothing is going to matter more than it does to you. Good luck
I'm posting this one anonymously, too, because you never know who's reading!
First of all, I totally understand where the first poster is coming from because I am there, too. Not with submissions, but with all the waiting associated with revisions, and then waiting for answers to my questions about the revisions, and then more waiting for more revisions, and waiting for answers again. I'm crazy now; I can't imagine how difficult it will be when I'm on submission, especially since I don't think I'm receiving as much communication from my agent as many do from theirs. Or, I don't know, maybe the idea of an agent who responds to clients' emails within 24-48 hours is just a myth?
As for what Judy said, I also completely agree. We're told not to sign with just anyone, but after so many manuscripts and so many months and so many rejections, it's hard to hold out for the one perfect agent. Suddenly they all start looking pretty good. And when you ask their clients about them and hear only positive stuff (because who's going to put negative stuff in an email to a stranger, right?), and you ask the agent and of course they say what you want to hear, even if you find out later that it's not totally accurate, well, it all comes down to this: It's hard to know until you're actually in the relationship. I thought I was getting a good communicator. I thought I was getting someone who would encourage me and hold my hand sometimes when I needed it, because I do on occasion. But that's not what I got, and I can't exactly send an email saying, "Do you still like me? Huh? Huh? Huh???" The truth is, though, I can't blame what other people told me. I WANTED to have an agent, and this one offered, and she seemed good, and I heard what I WANTED to hear.
It seems like so many people have a starter agent - someone they're with at the very beginning, before they figure out what qualities are truly important to them. When I was looking for an agent, I thought I wanted particular qualities, so that's what I focused on. I didn't know better. All I could do was imagine what it would be like to be agented, and to read websites that told me what to look for. Now that I am in this relationship, I have a better idea of what's important to me.
Sometimes, on the days when I'm waiting...and waiting...and waiting for a response on a quick email I sent days before, I imagine a new list of questions I would ask if I were looking for an agent again. Questions that are specific to what I need in an agent-author relationship, not what a website on queries tells me to look for. Because now I know what's important to me. But I couldn't know that until I was on this side. And as I go through submissions, and sell (I hope!), and then through edits and the publication process, I will learn more about what I need/want in an agent.
I know this is already really long, but I also wanted to address the original poster. First of all, congratulations on your agent! I hope it's a wonderful relationship, and that these comments don't scare you. As for communicating, don't be afraid to. When I first signed up with mine, I actually asked Allison about communicating with my agent re: revisions. Her answer was wonderful. She suggested that, yes, I should write to her with my questions, but I phrase my responses carefully. For example, when I'm going crazy because I have no idea if my revisions will come today or next week or in a month, I write to say that I'm trying to prioritize, and I want to make sure that I have my desk cleared when the revisions come so that I can make them my first priority. Much nicer than writing what I really want to write, which is, "I'm going nuts here, checking my email every five minutes, because I want to see if you hate the changes I made, and why won't you answer me, why, why, I'm going crazy, why?" As writers we're so used to being supplicants when it comes to dealing with agents. Sometimes it's hard to change that power dynamic to more of a partnership. I know I've had trouble with it. Another friend of mine has the same difficulties, so we forever advise each other not to be afraid of our agents, and to JUST ASK. Oh, a few more tips: Find out when your agent tends to use email the most. For mine, it's about 7 or 8 my time. That's when I email her, because I'm most likely to get a response. If I email her overnight, I think what I wrote gets buried by the time she next checks her email. Also, sometimes quick questions are easier to answer. It's tempting to write a huge email in which you lay out eight different questions because you don't want to be a pest and keep emailing over and over again, but I've had better luck with quick questions. I think long emails are intimidating, or else it's easy to overlook parts of what's been asked.
There. So is this the record for longest comment ever? ;-)