Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and new to writing in general. I've recently finished my first novel and an agent is interested in representing me and next week I'll be meeting them for the first time. I'm excited and nervous at the same time and I really don't know what to expect. I'm even thinking about what I should wear. Is it like a job interview and you have to wear formal clothes?

What questions do you recommend I should be asking the agent at our meeting? I would like to use a pseudonym, do you think I should tell the agent at this stage or when I have a publisher? Also, do you have to pay an agent when you sign a contract with them? They are a proper agent and are a member of the Association of Authors' Agents. And what is the next stage after you've signed with an agent?

I'd be very pleased to hear your views.

Many thanks in advance,

Keeley

Keeley, that's terrific news. Don't panic - agents know that you're new to this stuff.

Clothes: wear whatever you feel comfortable and confident in.

Remember that you want an agent, but they want what you've got: a book they love. You're not a humble supplicant, but one half of a team which is trying to get your work published.

Chiefly, the agent will want to talk about the book. Because it's a team, the important thing to work out is whether the agent 'gets' your book in the same way you do, so that you're both working to the same goal. Yes, there will be things they think you could still polish up, emphases they might want to shift, but if they're really wanting it to be a thriller when you think it's a gothic fantasy, things get tricky. Does what they say make sense? If they raise problems you recognise, can you solve them in a way which is true to the book? (Which may not be the solution they suggest.)

One good way of finding out if they see the book as you do is to ask which editors they're thinking of sending it to. You may not know the names, but you should know the authors they edit, and that should give you a good idea if you and the agent are on the same wavelength about the book.

Make sure you don't find the agent frightening. Of course you're nervous, and they're very confident and professional, but try to imagine a year down the line: would you still dread picking up the phone to ask them something you don't want to ask your editor? If so, then maybe they're not the agent for you. Your agent is the nearest thing you'll ever have to a friend in the book trade; you don't have to be best pals, but you do need to feel reasonably relaxed with them, and not like a first-former quailing before the Head Mistress. And make sure that you feel that you'll always be allowed to own your book: that you are the writer and in the end you have to be happy with what happens to it.

They'll also be wanting to get to know a little about you. Do you take editing okay: are you passionate about your book but not diva-ish about working on it more? Do you have a sense of more book/s you'd like to write, however loose at this stage - agents are looking for long-term prospects? Does the book spring from something in your life which will provide a 'non-fiction hook' for a publicist, or is there anything in your life at all like that? (If there isn't, don't worry. If there is, so much the better.)

You never, ever, ever pay an agent direct. If they agree to take you on, then at some point they'll send you a contract which lays out the terms on which they agree to represent you. They make their money when they negotiate a contract for your book with a publisher, receive the advance on your behalf, and take their commission (15% or occasionally 10%) off the money before they forward it to you. I would strongly suggest that you use the contract to join the Society of Authors, and get them to look it over with their legendary contract-checking service. An AAA member's contract should be fine, but there may be parts which aren't a no-no, but you need to have the implications explained to you.

Going back to the meeting, the other important thing - once you're sure that you can work with this agent - is to know where you stand by the end of the meeting. Are they actually taking you on now, or are they suggesting revisions, and if they like them then they'll take you on? If the latter, be sure that you're happy to do the revisions anyway and feel that they'll improve the book in a general way.

Once you've been taken on (and they're slowly getting round to printing off the contract - the book trade really does work on handshakes and good will, much of the time) you get stuck into any tweaks or revisions they suggest - which might be a week of crossing T's, or a year of pulling it apart and starting again. Then they send it out to editors who they think might buy it. You can ask the agent about their strategy when you meet, and they should have a coherent answer. They may send out in batches - six or eight - or they may send out to one or two they have good communication with, to get a feel for how it's received, and then alter their sales pitch or perhaps get you to revise further.

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Oops! Clicked Post too soon.

I would say that you shouldn't be afraid to turn the agent down. It's hard to believe, but the wrong agent really is worse than no agent, whether because they'll always want your work to be something it isn't, or because you'll never feel confident in asking for their advice and help.

If in any doubt, don't commit yourself on the day but say you'll let them know in a few days, and go home and think about it. If one agent wants your book the odds are extremely good that another one who's a better fit with you will too. And don't be misled by a starry client list or posh offices into signing with an agent who your instincts suggest will be too busy with them to worry about you.

And very, very best of luck. Don't forget to congratulate yourself on having got this far, too!

Emma

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A propos the pseudonym, I think you should mention it to the agent now. I can't imagine that it would be a problem, but it's part of your authorly persona, if you see what I mean. Your agent, in their role as nearest-thing-to-a-friend, does need to know what s/he's dealing with, before approaching editors.

Congratulations on having an agent interested in your novel, Keeley, & all the best for the meeting.
I hope you will come back and tell us how you got on.


- NaomiM

Thanks for your help.

Keeley

So, how did it go, Keeley??