Pick Up the Phone, We're Having "The Call"
Pick Up the Phone, We're Having "The Call"
In Which We Discuss What to Ask When An Agent Says They Love Your Work đ
Thank goodness weâre on a cruise ship with an unlimited supply of rooms because I am absolutely floored by the amount of love and support yâall showed for our last post where I shared my royalties and sales numbers. More than a hundred new people hopped aboard the Ventorship, and your comments thanking me for my transparency really really really mean a lot. It just further proved to me that this connection among writers is so worth it, and shed even more light on the fact that whether consciously or not, weâve been primed to keep info from each other so much so that when itâs finally shared, it feels out of the ordinary or refreshing or novel (the unique kind, not the book kindâbut I guess in a way, the book kind too). So I promise to keep the Ventorship afloat for as long as writers want it to be, and I couldnât be more grateful to be a small part of your writing journeys â¤ď¸
Speaking of writing journeys, weâve got an exciting development for a fellow author-passenger who recently wrote me to share the fantastic news that they were about to have The Call with an agent! (For those just dipping your toes into getting traditionally published, The Call is when youâve queried an agent, that agent has requested to read your whole manuscript, then after reading says theyâd like to chat to discuss possibly representing you; itâs such a euphoric moment!) This authors asks:
Any suggestions on what to ask on The Call?
I figured just in case any of our other Ventorship travelers find themselves having this career-boosting chat for the first time, Iâd share what questions I responded with here. So letâs dive in:
Are you an editorial agent, or do you prefer to put on sub what I send to you without any editorial feedback?
Thereâs really no right answer here, itâs just what feels better for you. Personally, I love when my agent gives me feedback before we submit. Revision is my favorite part of the whole writing process. But I know authors who would rather have their agent submit whatever theyâve written and only revise after theyâve received feedback from editors (Thatâs not at all to say they havenât already revised or received feedback from readers/critique partners before sending their work to their agent, just that in their agent-relationship, they arenât looking for notes and would rather that be left to their editor).
If youâre an editorial agent, how long does it take for you to get manuscript notes to your clients? How long does it typically take you to respond to emails?
Knowing whether or not you and your prospective agentâs timeframes mesh is critical. Some writers like to take their time with a manuscript, spending years fleshing out an idea and revising. Others crank out words and are sending multiple manuscripts (or drafts of a manuscript) to their agent each year. If youâre more on the prolific side, having an agent that wonât get notes back to you for months will really slow you down. If youâre more on the marinating side, having an agent who is regularly asking you for the next draft could add pressure that youâre not looking for. Same thing for day-to-day, more business-y emails. These questions not only require honesty from the agent, but from you as well. Be realistic about the speed with which you write/work (itâs fully okay if this changes from manuscript to manuscript, or draft to draft), but have a general idea of what youâd like in terms of pace so that you and the agent can each get a clear picture of how the other likes to operate.
How many clients do you currently have, and of those, how many are typically active at one time?
By âactiveâ I mean clients that need feedback from an agent either editorially or submissions-wise (e.g., creating sub lists, writing manuscript pitches for editors, etc. etc.). I wouldnât typically worry about a large number of clients (like so many things in publishing, this is subjectiveâto me, a large number of clients could be anything from 50-150; if any agents want to chime in with how many clients they think is a large number, that would be so helpful!). I would worry if itâs a large number of active clients at one time. Too many active clients could mean that your prospective agent has a large workload and that as the newbie, you might take lowest priority. Typically Iâve heard of agents saying they have anywhere from 10-25% of clients active at one time. Again, there are really no wrong answers from the agent here, itâs just what you are most comfortable with and what size client roster you want to be a part of.
What about my manuscript excites you/makes you excited to submit it? What notes do you have for the manuscript?
Knowing what they loved about your work gives you a sense of how they will be pitching your manuscript to editors, and itâs just good to get a feel for whether their ideas gel with the thoughts you have about your book and how you hope it affects readers. Asking if they have any notes will give you a taste of their editorial style, and also clues you in as to whether they have the same ideas about how you want your author voice to sound. I knew Brent Taylor was the agent for me when he named on our call everything I was hoping to do with my manuscript, gave me clear notes on how those themes could come through even clearer, and he had tailored (or maybe Taylor-ed) those notes so that I could revise using my campy rom-com voice. It was so clear to me that our visions were in sync, and thatâs the feeling youâre hoping for on The Call.
On the topic of vibing, share with your prospective agent all your hopes and dreams for your career, and ask if they think those are attainable/if they can help you achieve them.
This includes everything from film deals to genre/age group-jumping. Itâs good to know if your prospective agency has procedures in place for selling sub-rights like Film/TV or translations into other languages. Itâs also great to be honest about your author ambitions and taking note about whether this agent represents all you hope to write. For example, sometimes agents will represent kid lit but not adult works or vice versa, and itâs smart for both of you to know going in so neither of you are surprised.
What's the thing that clients do that annoys you the most so I can be sure to avoid it from the start?
Listen, Iâm a goody two shoes at heart and a rule follower, and I donât like to piss off the powers that be, so if I can know what not to do from the get-go, I feel so much better about the situation. Also, this question can be helpful because if the agent answers with a behavior you think is entirely reasonable, then you know that youâre not the right fit.
Could you give me a couple client references so I can ask them about their experience working with you?
In my past querying experiences, I've had most agents jump right on this. Itâs so nice to get a sense of how an agent works in real-time from people who are currently working with them. I preemptively told my agent he could always give my contact out to prospective clients heâs offered representation to because Iâm robsessed with him and I enjoy working with him so much. Only once did I have an agent say they would not give me references because "it was a breach of their clients' privacy" and that was a huge red flag. It is so common for people in any professional setting to ask colleagues if they could share their contact info with potential clients/co-workers/employers to get a character reference. Having asked for the reference, that then means this is not a breach of anyoneâs privacy. Not providing client references told me that the agent either 1) couldnât be bothered to fulfill an outrageously ordinary and extremely reasonable ask on the business side of things, or 2) didnât feel for whatever reason that the relationships with their clients were established enough to provide a reference and rather than being honest about that, framed my reasonable request as asking them to betray their clients. Both options gave me the ick.
Those have been the most useful questions for me in the past, but as always, add to, change, or delete however is most helpful for you. After your call and your prospective agent has offered representation, take a beat and let this all sink in before giving your official decision. Also keep in mind that no agent is better than the wrong agent, so if anything felt off or didnât vibe with whatâs most helpful for you to write the best work, know that it is totally okay to respectfully decline. It doesnât make the agent or you a bad person. It just means that youâre not the right fit and you can both wish each other all the happiness and royalties and smooth sailing in the world. But if they are the right fit (and I think most times around The Call authorâs have this happy outcome!), celebrate the hell out of this achievement, babyyyyyy!
What about you, fellow authors? Any questions you would add, or revisions to anything above you think would be helpful? Put them in the comments below, or if youâd like to stay anonymous, feel free to write them to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com.
So so so excited for all of your writing achievements as we sail aboard the Ventorship! Know that whenever you have a reason to celebrate, thereâs always a free drink of your choice waiting for you at any of our fully-stocked and entirely-metaphorical bars!
-JJ
If youâd like to vent about anything author/writing related, write to me at heyjasonjune@gmail.com with the subject: VENTORSHIP. Iâll give you my take in a post, and weâll crowdsource author opinions in the comments. Youâll remain anonymous, and any haters will be thrown overboard. Ultimately, I think youâre going to be buoyed up by author love and support as we realize we really are all in the same boat đłď¸