What To Do if an Agent Likes Your Book

What if there's more than one?

Hi friends,

Oh, the fantasies we entertain as authors. Getting an agent right away with no revisions necessary. Getting a huge advance Hitting the best seller list. You do the most fantasizing before you’re even done writing, so if you’re doing NaNoWriMo right now, you’re probably in the thick of it.

One fantasy writers don’t even realize is on the table is what if more than one agent likes my book? This one is way more attainable and likely than the others. If one agent likes your work, there’s a much greater chance another one will. Getting one offer is awesome. Getting more than one offer is amazing, but takes some juggling.

Whether you’ve sent out queries or agents have come to you, the primary thing you need to do, as an author, is keep everyone informed—to a point. This is not because you owe any one agent all the information, but if everyone is more or less on the same page, then you will all the same information to work from and can potentially have more agents to choose from.

So, let’s say an agent has contacted you and said they’re interested in your work. Yay! You’ll probably exchange a few emails to start, and then maybe set up a phone call to chat. The agent might have questions, you might have questions, you want to see if there’s any chemistry there. (Don’t worry, there will be a whole ‘nother newsletter about what questions to ask agents on the phone.) You might even have quite a bit of back and forth about your idea or edits or other things concerning your work. All this is great.

At some point, the agent is going to say I would like to offer you representation or I would like to be your agent. You may talk about details there, or they might send over their agency agreement. You don’t have to say yes or no right there on the phone or in email. Take a beat and read the agreement. Ask more questions. And, at that point, you should email EVERYONE reading your work still, or everyone you’ve talked to about your work, and say I have received an offer of representation. I’ll be making my decision in XYZ weeks. Please let me know if there’s anything further I can provide.

That’s it. Short and sweet. Don’t apologize. Don’t say I don’t even know if you’ve read this yet. You don’t have to tell them the name of the agent who offered. (If they ask later, you can tell them if you want. It’s up to you. It’s your information to share or not.) (I like to ask because I’m nosy and curious, but I’m never mad if the author declines to say.)

Then you tell the agent who offered: Others are still reading and I’m going to make my decision by XYZ date. I’ll be back in touch soon!

XYZ date is usually about two weeks from the date of first offer. If there’s a holiday in those two weeks, it’s ok to add a little more time to that. (Remember, holidays aren’t yeah the agent can read more! time, it’s an agent is a human with a non-work life don’t forget time.)

And then you wait. Maybe someone will read it fast and love it make an offer themselves! Maybe you’ll have MORE THAN ONE AGENT TO CHOOSE FROM. The dream! A dream one could have! If you get more than one offer, you go through the whole agent call song and dance again and then see how you feel. Did one agent seem to get what you’re trying to do with your book more than the other? Could you see yourself talking to one agent for many, many years to come? You can consider sales and size of the agency, too, but tbh, in my experience, the person who gets your book more is often the better fit.

When you’ve heard back from everyone reading, gotten all the offers you’re going to get, you then make your decision. It will be hard! But remember, it’s business decision. The wrong agent is worst than no agent, so it’s ok if your answer is No to everyone. You DO NOT have to say yes to anyone who offers you representation. YOU have the power here. It’s YOUR book.

When you’ve made your decision and you’ve said yes to the winning agent, do your happy dance, and then BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE, email all the others who offered you rep (or didn’t respond either way) and say I’ve accepted an offer of representation. Thank you for considering my work. You may write a more personal email to someone you’ve talked to at length before, to let them down more easily. It will be hard, but remember, this is business. The agent has heard it before. It may suck, but the agent knows how to handle rejection. It’ll be ok.

Then sign your paperwork or whatever with your new agent and you’re off to the races!!

Sometimes this all happens a little less formally and it’s not always clear what’s an offer of rep, or what’s just an ongoing conversation. If you’re unsure, ask. Are you considering offering representation or do you need to see more material/need more time/etc? Maybe that feels too forward or something, but this is business, not dating. If you’re not ready to sign up with anyone you’re talking to, be sure to make that clear. You might say something like I’m so excited about your ideas here. I’m still considering my options and I will let you know as soon as I have a plan going forward. Yes, these all do sound like scripts you might read in the excellent Ask a Manager column, because this is a business. These are business emails. Either way, in the end, when you pick an agent, tell anyone else you may have been talking to, and then go celebrate.

I know there is no manual about how to do all this (though I’ll gladly write one!) and it’s my goal for this newsletter to put this stuff out there. Just remember, an offer of representation is not a gift, it is a business relationship. You have way more power in this situation than you think. You can and should inform others considering your work when you’ve gotten an offer, and keep people informed along the way.

OXOXOX,

Kate