How to Find an Agent © Phyllis J. Towzey 2014 Welcome to Module Five By now you’ve researched and vetted a list of at least 10 potential agents to target,

How to Find an Agent© Phyllis J. Towzey 2014

Welcome to Module FiveBy now you’ve researched and vetted a list of at least 10 potential agents to target, and you are ready to move on to the query stage. But remember – researching and vetting agents is an ongoing process. That job is NEVER done until you sign with an agent. So even though you’ll be querying agents now, keep building your list.

The research you’ve done is important because not only have you identified agents you are more likely to want to work with – those agents are also more likely to want to work with YOU because you’ve identified their tastes and style as compatible with what you have to offer as an author.

What we’ll coverNuts & Bolts of Querying, Tracking and Follow-

Up

What does it mean when they say no?

What is a realistic timeframe for finding an agent?

Final thoughts

Module Five: Querying, Tracking and Follow-Up

Nuts & Bolts

In this section we’ll discuss how to approach the agent query process in an organized and methodical way without driving yourself crazy.

But first, there’s an important question you need to ask yourself . . .

Nuts & Bolts Is my manuscript ready?

How do I know when it’s ready?

You’ve spent months, maybe even years, writing this book. Now that it’s “done” it’s normal to want to get it out the door as soon as possible, and into the hands of agents and publishers.

But one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to query your work too soon. When you approach an agent and get a request, you want to put your best work in front of them.

On the other hand, if you polish and revise your manuscript forever, it never has the chance to be published. So how do you decide when enough is enough?

Some questions to ask yourself

Have I received feedback on my work? This can come from contests, beta readers, and critique partners – but be careful with critique partners, since they may be too close to this project to view it objectively.

Have I put it aside for a few weeks or even longer, then gone back and reread it with fresh eyes?

Have I made revisions as a result of feedback I received?

Have I polished my writing?

Have I carefully proofread my book?

Have I looked critically at the opening page of my book, and at the first three chapters to make sure I have started the manuscript in the right place, and that this “partial” – which is what a prospective agent will likely request – represents my work in a way that will make an agent want to read more?

Have I prepared a synopsis?

Have I written some basic blurbs to include in my query letters?

Is my manuscript the best I can make it?

If the answer to those questions is “yes” you are

ready to query.

Nuts & Bolts Is my manuscript ready?How many agents should I query at once?

I recommend querying 5 or 6 agents at a time.

This makes it easier to keep track of, and allows you to focus on a smaller group of agents you are really interested in.

Every time you receive a rejection from one agent, send out a new query to another one, so you always have 5 or 6 agent queries “in play.”

Another advantage is that keeping the number of active queries small allows you to “test” your query – if you are not getting any requests for submissions, consider tweaking your approach. (Maybe describing your manuscript as the greatest book ever written wasn’t such a good idea after all.)

Nuts & Bolts Is my manuscript ready?How many agents should I query at once?Keep a chart – it’s easy – but DON’T share it

online.

Using a chartYou can be fancy with an Excel Spreadsheet, or

you can use a table from Word.

I do recommend doing this on your computer rather than writing it on paper. That way you can color code when you get new info, can readily expand the space on the chart for updates, and have a searchable document.

On the next slide, see an example of how I set up my chart.

Agent Date Response Time

Response

Follow Up

Using a chartThe following are examples of my early efforts to

find an agent, and how I kept track of the actual queries


Response

Follow Up

Natasha Kern

June 14, 2008

2 weeks – if not interested, no reply

None Closed

Jennifer Jackson

June 21, 2008

2-3 weeks (July 12, 2008)

Rejected by email on July 3

Closed

Janet Reid

June 24, 2008

2 weeks – if you don’t hear from her, query her again

Rejected by email on June 25

Closed

Elaine English

June 20, 2008

3 weeks (July 21, 2008)

No response

Resend

Using a chartAnd the rest of my search . . .


Response

Follow Up

Kristin Nelson

July 8, 2008

5-10 days

Rejected by email July 8

Closed

Teri Tobias

August (RWA) 2008

Requested full, sent August 12

Follow up email 9/26.Follow up email 1/8/09.Follow up email 5/1/09.

Learned she left agency, now reps diff type books.

Closed

Ethan Ellenberg

January 12, 2009

2 weeks – not int = no reply

Deadline: 1/26

Closed


Response

Follow Up

Molly Friedrich

January 21, 2009

Sent nice rejection email 2/23

Closed

Tama Rydzinski

January 30, 2009

Rejected by email on 2/5 bec reality tv is hard sell

Closed


Response

Follow Up

Josh Getzler

February 3, 2009

Req 50 pp partial on 2/20, sent same day, responds in 6 weeks

Deadline: 4/6Folo up 5/1, resp 5/20 still interested but busy; Follow up 7/28, he changed agencies, resp 12/2 still interested.

Never actually rejected, but I moved on


Response

Follow Up

Irene Goodman

June 23, 2009

1-2 months

Deadline: 7/23.Rejected 7/9

Closed

Jenny Bent

June 26, 2009

None Closed

Nathan Bransford

July 13, 2009

Rejected by email 7/16

Closed

Jessica Faust

July 14, 2009

Rejected by email 7/22

Closed

Jonathon Lyons

July 17, 2009

3 weeks if interested

None Closed


Response

Follow Up

Paige Wheeler

July 20, 2009

Resp 2-3 weeks, if no resp requery

Deadline: 8/10. On July 22 request for partial, synopsis and bio, sent same day, Nice rejection email 9/6

Closed

Mary Louise Schwartz

Aug 8, 2010 , sent full request at Nat RWA

Offered Rep Aug 15

Decline offer


Response

Follow Up

Marisa Corvisiero

Aug 8, 2010 , sent full request at Nat RWA

Said running behind

Withdrew my project 11/2010

Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein

Aug 9 sent query + per guide-lines

6-8 weeks

Req full, sent 8/25, folo up 10/4

Signed with agent 11/2010

Adding it up . . .All in all from January 8, 2008 to November 2010 I

sent out 22 queries, got 6 requests, and 2 offers of representation. The process took me almost 3 years.

Some of my mistakes:Slowing down my search because an agent seemed

really, really interested and had the full manuscript and I was sure they were going to be “the one”

Focusing all my efforts on one project when I actually had two manuscripts ready to go (in the end, my agent signed me because of the second one, which I told her about when it won the TARA)

Bumps along the road . . .Several times an agent who had requested

material from me changed agencies – in one case, completely changing the type of projects she represents

I was excited about an offer that turned out to be too good to be true . . . Fortunately I did my research, and politely declined.

And encouraging moments

I received some very encouraging rejections, that made me feel that even though I hadn’t found the right agent for me yet, I was on the right track.

I got to know some agents who, although they didn’t end up representing me, were still very much worth getting to know and remain great contacts in the industry.

Approaching the agent query process like a business made me feel like an industry professional, and made the pain of rejection feel less personal.


online.

You never know who might be watching . . . .

Why not blog about it?Don’t put your agent chart on your website and don’t

blog about it. There’s such a thing as TMI (too much information).

Do you want an agent who is considering representing you to know how many rejections you’ve had? How long you’ve been looking? Of course not.

The 50th agent you contact does NOT need to know that she is the 50th one.

And whining about the process online just makes you look unprofessional. What impression do you think it makes on an agent who sees you complaining about how rude another agent was by not getting back to you quickly enough? Will this agent want to work with you?

A word about websites for aspiring authors

I know I’m going against conventional wisdom here, but my advice is don’t have one. It’s like opening up a storefront when you have no goods to sell. (The exception would be if you have a platform that supports your fiction).

If you do insist on having a website, don’t put excerpts of the book you are seeking representation for on your website. No, agents do not go trolling around the internet looking for the next great writer on unpub’s websites. Their inboxes are already overflowing with queries, so why would they?

Agents want something new and fresh. A book that’s been excerpted on your website for the past 5 years isn’t going to look “new” and “fresh” to the agent.


online.Send appropriate follow up emails at the

appropriate times.

Hurry up and wait.That’s what it feels like.

You’ve been working on this book for months and maybe years, and honing your skills as a writer for a long time before that.

Finally, finally, finally your book is done.

And now you target your agents and send out your queries and . . . wait. And wait, and wait, and wait.

Stop thinking about it.Get busy now and work on another book.

When do I follow up?DO

Check the guidelines on the agent’s website to see what they say about timeframes (some say silence = no)

If they request material and you submit it, send a short email when they are 3-4 weeks PAST the time they indicated they’d respond.

Send timely emails if there’s new relevant info – the project they are considering won a contest, an event happened that ties in to your project, or another agent offered representation to you.

DON’T

Call their office and ask for status.

Make a pest of yourself via email or facebook

Follow up one day after the date they said they’d get back to you

Remind them that they are taking way longer than their website says to consider your project (it takes very little time to say “no” – don’t tempt them to reject you rather than put up with your nagging)

What do I say?Keep it simple and professional.

Usually email is best, and this is the one time you DON’T trim. If prior communications between you and the agent are there when he/she scrolls down, it’s a great reminder of who you are and what your submission is about.

Suggested email: “I’m following up on your consideration of the partial you requested for my romantic comedy, LOVE IS LIKE A POMEGRANATE. I wanted to let you know the project is still available, and I look forward to hearing from you.”

Share any relevant news “I thought you would be interested to hear that my

romantic comedy, LOVE IS LIKE A POMEGRANATE, which you are considering for representation, recently won first place in the TARA RWA chapter contest.”

“You are currently considering my romantic comedy LOVE IS LIKE A POMEGRANATE. I just wanted to let you know that another romantic comedy I’ve written, LOVE IS NEVER A TURNIP, just finalled in the Maggie RWA chapter contest.”

Just wanted to let you know that my blog, The Fruits and Vegetables of Love, just received it’s one millionth follower. I thought this information might be helpful in your consideration of my romantic comedy, LOVE IS LIKE A POMEGRANATE, as I believe my blog followers would be an excellent reader base for my book.

Things you should NOT say

I was surprised to see you listed on a panel for the upcoming RWA national conference. Since six months have gone by since you promised to ‘get back to me next week,’ I had assumed you died.

Why haven’t you gotten back to me yet? Your wesbite says three weeks. Three weeks. Well, it’s been THREE MONTHS.

This is the third email I’ve sent you this week. Why don’t you try being more professional? I’ve also left you seven phone messages, none of which you’ve returned. Do you want to represent me or not?



appropriate times.What if they never get back to you?

You should have a good cry, crawl under the covers, and give up

writing forever.

Just kidding. If they don’t get back to

you, put a smile on your face and move on.

Some agents don’t send rejections – their standard approach is to only respond when they are interested. Often they say that on their website.

If you really think they didn’t get your query, or may have lost it, by all means, send it again, with a polite note.



appropriate times.What if they never get back to you?What if the agent wants revisions?

To revise or not to revise First of all, is the agent agreeing

to represent you if you’ll make the revisions or just agreeing to take a second look at the material?

If he/she is willing to represent you, then the first step is to decide if this is the agent you want to sign with. Part of that analysis involves whether you think the suggested revisions make sense.

If you decide to move forward, then give the revisions your best shot. Sometimes an industry professional sees something we don’t. Even if you are initially resistant, you might be surprised how much you like the final product.

If the agent is NOT committing to representation, then you need to think about whether the revisions make sense.

A lot depends on what kind of feedback you have been getting from other agents, and if there is any other interest in your project.

Unless you feel the revisions would really take you in the wrong direction, why not try it? But make sure you save your original draft in case you end up feeling that the revision didn’t work for you.

Just don’t fall into the trap of believing that one agent’s opinion is the absolutely right way to go.



appropriate times.What if they never get back to you?What if the agent wants revisions?What should I do if they ask for an exclusive?

Forget about those guys – just deal with me.

So, should I?A lot of people will tell you no, never give an

exclusive.

But hey, if this is your dream agent and they want first dibs on your project for a reasonable amount of time, then why not?

Most agents don’t ask for exclusives, but some do.

The reason they ask for them is that they don’t want to waste their time reading your manuscript and seriously considering working with you, only to call you up excited about the project and find out you just signed with someone else.

Remember . . .You’ve already done your research. So if you are

querying this agent in the first place, chances are this is someone you really DO want to work with.

My advice is give them an exclusive, but certainly not an open-ended one. Put a time frame on it. Thirty days is probably reasonable. After all, in the grand scheme of finding the right agent, 30 days really isn’t a very long time.

But what if other agents already have my

manuscript?If someone else is already considering it, tell the

agent. “Another agent does have this material already, but I‘ll hold off sending it to anyone else, and if I do get an offer I will contact you first before accepting representation elsewhere.”

And when the time period for the exclusive is up, send the agent an email reminding him/her that you granted an exclusive and the time is now up, so you would like to move forward submitting the project elsewhere unless they are interested in discussing representation.

What if they ask for more time

Well, it’s up to you. Remember, there are no hard and fast rules. Do what feels right.

Just don’t wait forever for one agent to make up their mind.

It depends on how badly you want to work with this agent, how much time they are asking for, and where you are in your agent search.



appropriate times.What if they never get back to you?What if the agent wants revisions?What should I do if they ask for an exclusive?What about references?

Should you ask for references before signing

with an agent?Certainly you can ask for references. But if you’ve done

your homework, you already know the names of some authors they represent.

If you ask an agent for references, they will of course give you the names of clients who are happy with them, so don’t expect to learn any earth-shattering information.

It makes more sense to look at the list of authors and see if there’s anyone you know, and contact them confidentially.

Sometimes, though, the best “reference” is the information you already gleaned from Publishers Marketplace and other sources: their history of sales.



appropriate times.What if they never get back to you?What if the agent wants revisions?What should I do if they ask for an exclusive?What about references?Final vetting – ask people in TARA

Before you sign . . . The last thing you want to do before you sign is to take

advantage of the contacts you have right here in TARA to help with final vetting of the agent.

By that, I do NOT mean post a general query on the loop!

We have lots of published authors who are TARA PAN members and would be happy to speak with you confidentially by phone or email about what they’ve heard from others about a particular agent.

Contact them personally and ask. Remember to assure them that whatever they tell you won’t go any further. One of our TARANs may know of a bad experience an author friend had with a particular agent – information that is helpful to you in making your decision.

But remember . . .Just because one author had a bad experience

with an agent DOES NOT mean this is a bad agent. It also does not necessarily mean this agent is not right for you.

You need to make the decision that is best for you, taking all available information into account, and weighing it.

That’s the best way to ensure that the agent you sign with will help you move your career forward.


Nuts & Bolts of Querying, Tracking and Follow-Up


You should have a good cry, crawl under the covers, and give up

writing forever.

What are you thinking! We went over this before!

The fact that one of these agents – or even 50 of these agents – rejected your project, IS NO REASON TO GIVE UP!

There’s plenty more agents.

Well, maybe not that many, but you get what I

mean.Sure, rejection hurts.

Remember, it’s not personal.

But as Meg Ryan explains to Tom Hanks in YOU’VE GOT MAIL, it can sure feel like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DN57r3-xzE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DN57r3-xzE

It’s not you.That’s the most important thing you can remember.

The agent didn’t reject YOU.

He or she rejected this particular project.

There could be many reasons for that – not to the agent’s particular taste, already represents something similar, not sure where he or she could sell it . . . The list goes on.

Bottom line – if this agent isn’t 100% in love with your project, then THIS ISN’T THE RIGHT AGENT to represent this project. Keep on looking.

And remember you can always query this agent again on a FUTURE project.





The answer is: as long as it takes

There are no magic short-cuts.

Some people will find an agent very quickly, others will take years.

There’s a lot of luck involved – having the right project get in front of the right agent at the right time.

Don’t measure yourself against others.

Just move forward efficiently in your agent search, and in the meantime, KEEP ON WRITING.

The biggest mistake people make is giving up

too soon. An acquaintance of mine some years ago was very

excited about his first book. He was sure that NY would gobble it right up. NY didn’t.

He queried one – that’s right ONE – agent. That agent rejected the book, and the author then decided to self-publish.

He ended up with boxes of books in the trunk of his car, and no way to market them.

No, I’m not saying that it’s a bad idea to self-publish. Lots of people do it for lots of reasons, especially through ePub.

What I am saying is it’s a bad idea to make the decision to self-publish based on the fact that the first agent you contacted didn’t immediately snap up your project.





Final thoughts

Good Luck!I hope this workshop was helpful to you.

The search for an agent is complicated and time-consuming and certainly frustrating.

But finding the right industry professional to represent your work and guide your career is well worth the effort.

Having been there and done that, I’m happy to provide any advice I can – and hopefully help you avoid the pitfalls I encountered.

- Phyllis

Documents

How to Find an Agent © Phyllis J. Towzey 2014 Welcome to Module Five By now you’ve researched and vetted a list of at least 10 potential agents to target,