Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Let’s turn the tables on those persnickety agents, who are full of questions for potential clients. It makes good business sense to take some time to ask a few questions of your own before you sign up for representation. I’ll be suggesting some questions today, but first let’s start off with an important question to ask yourself: When is it appropriate to ask these questions?
The answer: After the agent has expressed interest in you. Not before–unless you’re at a writers conference and engaged in a longer conversation with the agent, such as over a meal. Few things are more off-putting to an agent than to open an email, which is the first contact with a potential client, to find a raft of questions the agent is to answer before even finding out what project the writer has created. Considering how difficult it is to get an agent, this isn’t a good approach. As a matter of fact, an agent who has the time to answer questions before the writer will disclose the project probably isn’t a good prospect for you because that person isn’t busy selling current projects. I don’t have time to “pass” qualifying questions; I want to see the project before I’m ready to enter into the next level of conversation. Make sense?
Here are some key questions I’d suggest you ask:
1. What is the agent’s background, and why did he or she decide to become an agent? The person’s answers will instruct you in what skill-set the agent has to offer clients as well as what her motivations are in doing her job. Maybe the agent was an editor, or someone who worked in marketing. The past editor will be more likely to provide you with insight on whether your writing is ready for prime time–and to help you get it there. Not that we agents want to edit your punctuation of rewrite your project with you. But agents can offer larger-picture prompts such as, “Your plot is too complex with too many characters. It would be a more effective story if it unfolded something like this.” Or “You’ve buried the seven principles all the way into the fifth chapter of your book. They need to be the framework for your manuscript and introduced in chapter 1.” The agent with the marketing background will focus on what marketing ideas you’re presenting to the publisher. Now, obviously, a good agent will have skills in both editorial and marketing, regardless of background. But you’ll have a sense of that person’s strengths based on his or her past experience.
Regarding why the agent chose this career path reveals motivations. If one fell into agenting by happenstance and has managed to make a living at it, that’s very different from someone who enjoys introducing new author voices to the world or plotting an author’s career path.
2. In what ways does the agent like to communicate with his or her clients and how long does it take the agent to respond to a client? Some agents like to talk with clients on the phone; others prefer email. Some find a mixture works best. But you’ll want to connect with an agent who communicates in a way that works for you. If emails leave you wondering what tone of voice was used, then you’ll want an agent who’s more phone-oriented. If talking on the phone makes you nervous, then you want an email-centric agent. Sometimes I’ve used an Internet meeting room, such as GoToMeeting to have career planning sessions with clients. It’s more personal and adds the nice dynamic of visual communication. But it also tends to mean that both the agent and the client feel just a tiny bit of pressure (or major pressure) to be dressed a certain way and to straighten up the office.
Some agents are slow in responding to their clients—as in several weeks. I used to pledge that I would respond to client’s phone calls and emails within a day. But I’ve found over the past few years that the growing complexity of my job makes it hard to even get all my emails read on the day they arrive. And if they require research or thought, I’m not going to manage that one-day, self-imposed deadline. So I’ve had to pull back from the pledge to give myself more time. I don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver.
One of the reasons this is an important question to ask is that you’re letting the agent know that timeliness is important to you.
Agents pay attention to the types of questions potential clients ask. So ask about what really matters to you.
3. What publishers have you sold projects to? If the writer specializes in health books, but the agent has sold very little of that category, then you’re probably not a good match. You want to find an agent who has consistently sold your type of project. That means the agent has a strong network to approach and understands the strengths and weaknesses of each possible publisher.
What other questions occur to you as ones that would offer good insights into who this person is and how well you will work with him or her?
Love these questions, Janet. They are extremely helpful.
Is it appropriate to ask how many clients an agent has and how many of them are published (or a percentage)? Or does that skew the reality, since there are so many individual circumstances with each client?
I’ve wondered about this, too.
It’s certainly appropriate to ask how many clients an agent represents, but from my personal experience, I would add these two caveats: 1) the longer the agent has been in the biz, the larger her list. I have dear friends whom I represented for a few projects when I was first starting, and I can’t envision removing them from my list. But they haven’t produced work for years. That also goes for clients who haven’t written for years because of life circumstances. In other words, my list is cluttered. The other day, I realized at least half–yes, half–of my list fits this description. 2) Agents working in the Christian market or who sell mostly children’s projects or romance will have large lists. Why? Because each project sold will tend to have a smaller advance attached to it than a general market project that isn’t children’s or romance.
Thanks for this post, Janet. I appreciate the want to “get to know” an agent since the writer and agent are embarking on a journey together.
Great point on question #1. Personally, I hope for an agent who wants to offer editing suggestions. I would love more feedback to solidify and improve a book! Of course, having experience with both editing and marketing is ideal. 🙂
Another question I would love to ask along with question #2 is how often a particular agent wants to or expects to communicate with a client. Does he or she want to communicate during the writing process or only after a full first draft is completed? Should a writer ask questions as they come up or wait to ask all questions at appointed intervals? (I love open communication, but also don’t want to be a bother!)
Caroline, those two additional questions are great to add to the list. The agent will have a sense of the answer to the first one; but the second one might form as the relationship gets started. I have some clients who want to be in constant communication. I would encourage the to collect their questions for a day or two, or once per week. That way I’m not opening dozens of emails but can concentrate on that client’s career all at once rather than piecemeal.
I know some writers who are convinced that any agent will do – they don’t plan on asking any of these questions because they’re planning on signing with the first agent who offers. I understand that they are eager to become agented, but to me, that just doesn’t make sense. You always want to make sure you can have a good working relationship before entering into a business relationship with anyone. Thanks for these ideas on what we need to know as authors.
I agree with you completely. And yet, I found that when I had to choose between two agents, I could ask some questions to determine which was best, but another time, when I only had one offer, I asked questions, but it didn’t really matter what the answers were. Not because I was desperate and was going to sign with anyone, but because I loved the person who loved my writing.
After being turned down by several, when you find an agent who loves your writing and is excited about signing you, you fall in love with the agent, and you’re willing to work around any difference you might have in communication styles and whatnot.
At least that’s how it was with me. And I think that’s how it is with human nature. We love God because he first loved us.
I hope all those writers have a great connection with the first agent who asks to represent them. I’m not unaware of how hard it is to get the offer. But I’ve also had a number of clients approach me about representing them after they’ve lost precious publishing years with a bad agent. (Bad agents are worthy of a blog post in and of themselves.) But to summarize, these are people who never send out projects; who don’t know how to negotiate a contract; who lack moral compunction. And sometimes writers sign with agents they’re afraid of so they never ask questions or have a true dialog. They just agree to whatever the agent says. So, you can see how not asking questions can actually derail a career rather than launch it.
Janet, I appreciate the questions you shared, and why it’s good to ask them. Seeing what I can learn from a prospective agent’s answer helps me to know what to look for. I’ll have to think on questions I might want to add to this list.
If any questions occur to you while we’re talking about this post, feel free to add them.
I will be saving this post for later when I’m looking for an agent – thanks so much for sharing! I have wondered what types of questions I should be thinking about. Number two was particularly helpful — I don’t want to pester anyone, so it’s helpful to have a basic idea of what to expect time-wise.
I’m glad the post helps to prepare you for the Big Agent Conversation…not that the agent is large, but you know what I mean.
I’m surprised people would ask the questions before they pitch their projects. It’s a buyers market. We’re trying to sell our stories. Why would we screen the buyers before they are interested? Once they make an offer, we have to make sure they have enough money in the bank to pay, but before the offer is made, why would we ask anything? We should have already researched and found out quite a bit about the agent, anyway, prior to pitching, so we shouldn’t have to ask too much.
It’s such an interesting business, though. Finding an agent is a thousand times harder than finding a husband. Why is that? 🙂
Hahaha!! Good point Sally! Too bad we don’t have Agent Matchmakers to find us a find or catch us a catch.
That sounds like an internet business in the making, Jennifer: Agent Mingle.com.
Sally, you show good business savvy in understanding why you shouldn’t try to eliminate options before you really have any.
My sense is that the people who want to interview an agent before sending their project to the agent are fearful the idea is so great the agent will steal it.
While I’d like to guffaw at that possibility, it does occur to me that, if an agent had a significant client who wrote in the category the new writer’s project was in, an agent might decide to present it as a possibility to the client who could make a significant advance on that idea.
The problem, of course, is that the new writer has to eventually trust some agent with the idea. So he/she just as well take the plunge and put it out there. And, as you might suspect, the writers who are worried about protecting their ideas generally have ideas that have been done multiple times–or the ideas are…well, cockeyed.
Being me, the first “agent question” that popped in my vacant, echo chamber of a mind was “How long were you in jail?”
Cough.
On a more mature note…I would ask about the agent’s flexibility with writers who have children and or elderly parents. Family comes first and sometimes life happens. Would there be a failsafe in the contract that would provide for emergencies, even if a deadline were critically close? I do understand that publishing is a business, but sometimes bad things happen and everything has to stop.
You touch on an important point, Jennifer. And it’s good to let the agent know if you have potentially extenuating circumstances in your life. The agent can’t offer anything in the representation contract, but the agent can discuss with a potential publisher that, if life happens to interrupt the writing schedule, the deadline will need to be extended. Contractual clauses can be inserted to protect the author. But some publishers can’t make those concessions because of cash flow, limited releases, etc. The agent would need to steer clear of publishers that are unlikely to be able to be flexible.
And, Jennifer, fortunately most agents have only experienced jail by playing Monopoly.
I noticed you said *most*. Hmmm.
😉
Good blog today Janet?
Along the line of #3. My question would be, what are some of the authors in my genre (in my case thriller/suspense) have you or your agency represented? Most agencies, including yours, list a limited number of of the authors and their books on their Web site. Some I recognized most I do not.
That is an excellent question, Lori. Agencies won’t be able to show the full range of what they represent on their websites; so, unless they specialize in, say, romance, it can be hard to ferret out whom they represent in your genre.
Excellent post, Janet. I appreciate you sharing this information with us. I’m unlikely to sign with someone who I don’t feel I will get along with well. Asking some questions ahead of time will help me get to know that person and make a better decision.
I might ask what they see as the most important aspect of their job. I feel it’s similar to the first question, in that it provides good insight into where an agent’s stregths lie. How she views her job will ultimately impact how she interacts with her clients.
Thanks for staring the week off with fabulous information.
I agree, Cheryl. Asking what an agent what she feels is important helps a writer to see if values match up.
That is a good question, Cheryl. Thanks for adding it to the list.
Will she buy her clients ice-cream at writers conferences? A true tell tale sign of a good agent.
Ha! Love this!
I agree!! Chocolate of course.
So insightful! Thanks for the chuckle. 🙂
Shawn, stop giving away my secrets!:-)
Actually, our agency always brings our clients together at writers conferences or book conventions. And, I do believe every gathering has involved food.
LOL!! Love it, Shawn!
Thank you, Janet, for another thought-provoking post. A couple questions occurred to me, but I’ve decided that they are either naive or stupid, so I’ll won’t share them. Instead, I’ll just keep reading your posts so that I’m better prepared to ask good questions when the time comes.
Blessings on your day!
HOW could your question be more stupid than my first one?
And you call yourself my twin? 🙂 I have to ask at least one stupid question or make one stupid comment a day or I don’t feel I’ve really lived.
Christin, it appears you’re outvoted on whether your questions are naive or stupid. So you have everyone’s permission to ask away.
Janet, Sally and Jennifer,
Thank you for the encouragement. 🙂
Fabulous Post! It always helps to hear these types of topics from the experts.
It is important to do your homework ahead of time to get to know the agent and their blog. Ask others in the industry before submitting your work to them.
A few questions I might ask an agent offering representation:
*Are there a few of your clients that I could talk to regarding their experience with you as an agent?
*How involved do you like to be in focusing new ideas with a client for a particular publishing line, or in regards to a particular focus?
*What projects in my genre have you recently sold to publishers? How long did those projects on average go from the ready to be shopped stage to signed contract? (I realize this fluctuates a ton, but I want to hear how much they pitch ideas, full story, or how busy they are…it is more getting a sense for them not as much the answer.)
*To you, what is the most important component of the agent client relationship?
Tons of great ideas, everyone! Thanks for sharing this post, Janet.
Great questions, Michelle!
Michelle, asking to speak to a couple of the agent’s clients is an excellent suggestion. Those clients can give you the skinny on the agent–what pleasantly surprised the client; what the client wishes the agent did differently. (Of course, there are no perfect scores for we imperfect agents. We all have weaknesses; it you know what they are going into the relationship, you won’t be caught offguard.)
I would struggle to answer the question about how long it takes from the project being presented to a publisher to a contract. Much of that depends on publishers and editors, whom the agent can prod, but sometimes prodding brings a no rather than a considered response. Perhaps a more insightful question would be, How long between my sending you my project to hearing what you think about it? That answer will vary depending on whether we’re talking nonfiction of fiction, but it gives you a better idea of an agent turnaround time.
As to your question about what is the most important client-agent component, I’d say synergy. If the two of you have a good rhythm in your relationship, that translates across the board–from brainstorming ideas to responding to a contract offer; from dealing with a difficult publisher issue to fixing a stalled career.
Thanks, Janet! I can see how synergy is extremely important. I appreciate the feedback on my questions…I will revise them a bit to use if the opportunity comes along for agent representation.
I would want to know if our mind sets and values are similar. That can make such a difference.
Bingo, Dale. I’d highlight “values.” If the agent doesn’t share your values, everyone in the industry will assume you do–after all, you agreed to have that person represent you. And they do, not only in selling your projects but also in the manner they do business.
How much attention should an unpublished writer expect from an agent? I recently attended the same writer’s conference with my agent, who only had time for a handshake. This was the first time we’d met. I know agents are busy, and my book hasn’t yet sold. But I’d let him know ahead of time that I’d be there and hoped for more than “Nice to meet you.” Is this realistic? Or should I be happy knowing my book is in the hands of a busy man?
Whoa, Meadow! Perhaps it’s the naivety that I mentioned above, but like you, I would have expected a little more than a handshake. I wouldn’t expect much more than a brief chat since he may have been busy with the conference, but I would expect something a little more personal than being treated like a stranger in a receiving line.
You said you let him know you’d be there. How did he respond to that (or did he)? Did the two of you arrange a meeting or did you bump into each other during the event. Perhaps he was on his way to a commitment? Have you communicated with him about it since?
Christine, thanks for asking several key questions.
Meadow, I’d say that his response seems pretty low-key, but depending on his responsibilities at the conference, he might have been swamped. Sometimes conferences fill agents’ every minute. Other conferences give agents more discretionary schedules.
I would suggest you contact him and let him know that you had hoped to have at least a short conversation with him at the conference. If you had business to discuss with him, why not ask him for a brief phone call now?
I would be a little concerned that he didn’t make an effort to connect with you. But, for now, give him the benefit of the doubt.
Thanks, both to you and Janet. He is a well respected agent and did follow up with an email, which I appreciated. It’s just so intimidating being on this side of the author fence (the unpublished side). I didn’t want to be too demanding. This may be a good time to mention the benefit of matching an author and agent’s experience rather than signing with a better-known agent who has a larger client list.
Great question, Janet! Thank you!
This one got me thinking. I guess we can tell by the tone of their voice and enthusiasm?
If one fell into agenting by happenstance and has managed to make a living at it, that’s very different from someone who enjoys introducing new author voices to the world or plotting an author’s career path.
You can tell a lot by how enthusiastic an agent sounds about his/her job. Most of us love what we do. And once we start talking about it, we probably bore everyone else to tears–meanwhile, we just get more excited.
Someone who’s pretty much agenting by rote won’t have that same passion.
The post and everyone’s comments have been a wonderful help for me. I’m filing it away for future reference — when, hopefully, I need it!
I’m glad it’s been helpful, Meghan.
I was amazed at how many of these questions and others I had came out in conversation while my agent and I shared a meal. I don’t think I prompted the answers so much as conversation just turned that way. I also have a very astute agent. That helps a lot.
Yes, Darby, an astute agent often volunteers answers to typical questions we get.
I would love to know how long an egent has been working in his or her field and which publishing houses they work with most often. I know it’s important to be prepared with a variety of questions, but I think it’s also just as important to be flexible and allow the conversation to move along its natural course. A good answer usually prompts another good question.
Gabrielle, there’s nothing like a real conversation as opposed to an interview format to learn all sorts of items you might not think to ask.
Length of time agenting and publishing houses the agent often places projects with are good ways to gain insights.
This may have been already asked, but what if you’re a newbie and you’ve just signed with an agent who is with a large agency. Then what if that agent up and decides to move to another agency or fly solo? Does the author stay with the agent, or the agency?
Another great question. Jennifer, it depends on the agreement the agent has with that agency. Most of the time, the client is legally represented by the agency rather than the agent. But most writer’s author-agent agreements are “at will.” The author may end the relationship when he/she chooses to with a stated amount of time (usually 30-60 days) to clear the pipeline of any of the writer’s projects that might be under consideration with editors. But other types of arrangements do exist; so be aware of this when you sign the author-agent agreement.
Also, generally any titles that were placed with a publisher during the time that agent was with the agency remain with the agency.
Great post and great responses, everyone. I’m going to keep this one for when the time comes.
This may be a stupid question, but it’s very important to me that the agent representing me loves my work. I believe an agent will have a better time selling an author whose work he or she is passionate about than one they don’t really love. I know a couple of people who’ve secured agents after they received a contract, and it always makes wonder if the agent took the client on because there was already money on the table. Would it be silly to ask the agent if they really love the writing? Or is that implied because they offer representation?
Robin, that’s a perceptive, not a stupid, question. Agents certainly can be tempted to represent someone because money is on the table. Maybe a more finely-tuned question would help you to determine the level of the agent’s enthusiasm for your work. I would suggest: “What do you especially like about my writing, and what would you suggest I could work more on?” That question will reveal to what degree the agent has thought about your writing, and give him or her a chance to tell you what in your writing resulted in representation being offered.
That’s a great way to phrase the question. Thanks for the advice. As usual, I learn so much from this blog.
Thanks for these tips. I attended your Christian Writers Guild webinar a few days ago and enjoyed it. Very helpful. Thank you.
Leah, I’m glad you benefitted from the webinar. Time limits didn’t allow me to dip as deeply into this question as I would have liked. And the comments today have certainly taken us deeper into this topic, haven’t they?
“What was the last great book you read?”
It’d help to know what books they are passionate about [if it is, for example, in the same genre the book I am proposing], what they want out of writing as a reader [because then I know whether or not as a writer if I deliver it: one of the most key compatibility issues I can think of], and if they’d understand my work [not to sound elitist or like a literary snob, because what I mean is that I’d be more comfortable with someone who “gets” the book, and when the editors and publishing houses start sending back the changes they’d like to see, I feel that the agent might be slightly more inclined to discuss with the editor and publisher why some changes shouldn’t be made. And like I said, not to be elitist or anything, because this applies regardless of what genre the book is in. Every writer wants to feel that they have the best advocate they can get irregardless of the type of book they have written].
Larry, that’s another great question. But I have to add a caveat considering your motivation for asking it. I love to discuss what I’m reading, but what I read isn’t necessarily what I’m enthusiastic about as an agent. I think about books in very different ways when I pick something for pleasure and when I’m picking something I want to sell.
I can get totally stoked about presenting to an editor a thought-provoking book on theology because I know it can provide important additions to the discussion of a theological point. But I wouldn’t read that book for pleasure. I’m pretty much into escaping when I have time to read books of my choice. That doesn’t mean I’m parking my brain, but I’d rather pick some topic or genre that takes me away from my life. So I enjoyed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks as much as I did the latest destination novel I read.
Thanks Janet. I was going to enter my book in a competition because the prize was to win an agent. Then Joe Bunting of The Write Practice suggested that that may not be the best way to get an agent as you wouldn’t know beforehand whether the agent specialized in the same genre or not before you got stuck with them! I had never thought of agents specializing in certain areas before then!
Yikes! As an agent, I have to wonder what sort of agent would volunteer to take on whomever won a competition. What if there were few entries so the winner wasn’t really the best of the best but the best of a miniscule offering? Or what if the agent didn’t care for the winning entry because of personal preference?
I think you dodged a bullet there, Yvette. It might have turned out wonderfully, but that’s an unlikely scenario.