I am a new writer and have had full manuscripts out with a few agents for a while now. One agent has been a great help already; the suggestions that she made for changes to both plot and character were adopted and have made the book a much better read. I resubmitted to this agent and she finally called me today saying:
"Love the book. It is a real page-turner. I've made it my priority and will call you back tomorrow."

Now don't get me wrong, I love the fact that she loves the book. But is this kind of approach 'normal'?

I would have thought if she loved it that much she would have offered to represent the work.

Am I just being naive?

That's great news. Really, really, REALLY great! Nothing's in the bag, but at least you know you've got her attention.

I got something similar in an email, saying "thanks for the full script - totally engrossed" It was another week until I got a call to talk things over.

If the agent likes it, then that is probably the next step. Some agents like to meet their clients, see how you get on, what your ambitions are/where they lie, before making an offer.

But to get here, although nail biting, is a real achievement. You're certainly doing something right!

Colin M

Very normal - in fact I'd be surprised to hear of anything different. She may be wanting to suggest more changes without committing herself to representing you - in which case you'll have to decide whether you're prepared to do them.

And she certainly won't offer to represent you until you've had a conversation, she's found out more about you, where you see your writing going, explain how she plans to sell it, and so on.

And in the same conversation you absolutely need to make sure how she sees the book is how you see it, or she'll be forever trying to make it into and sell it as something it isn't. (It sounds as if she does 'get' it, in your case, but you do need to be sure)

I know people who've gone down that route with an agent they had qualms about, and it always ends in tears, because of course she's trying to sell it to the wrong editors, and even if she succeeds, you're miserable with an editor who wishes it was a sprawling commercial fantasy when you wrote it as a short, sharp literary techno thriller. Or vice versa. Then the editing doesn't work, the cover and marketing and promotion doesn't fit, and it bombs. Much, much harder for an author to come back from that, than not to have been taken on in the first place, and waited for the right agent.

The relationship between an agent and a writer is like a marriage, without (usually) the sex: you really do have be comfortable with each others' style, as well as ideas about your work, and about what the agent's expecting to contribute (empathic editing? jackal-like dealmaking? both?). You don't have to be best friends or clubbing partners, but you do have to have an open channel of communication, because your agent is the nearest thing you'll have to a long-term best friend in the book trade.

Very best of luck with it! Sounds very exciting!

Emma

Thanks, Emma.

I do understand that it might be normal for things to go ahead like this, but I suppose that hearing such a great response to my book from my #1 favoured agency just made my adrenal glands kick into overdrive.

Having taken a few deep breaths (and hand a couple of glases of chenin blanc!) I emailed her to say thanks for the call and for her help with the project so far. She responded straight away with an email saying that she was going to read it again tonight and get back to me in the next day or so.

First novel. First real attempt at writing. First time I've ever shown anyone 'my darlings'.

I guess I need to just calm down (and drink more wine!)

Just to add my penn'orth: yes, very normal. My agent went through three drafts with me before he thought it OK to send out - and only then did we sign a contract. All just informal contact until then. And nor had we met or spoken on the phone - all just e-mail. Practice probably varies hugely, too, from agent to agent.

Rosy

Yes, it's very common. I would say, make aboslutely sure in the conversation whether an agent is formally taking you on or not, even if the contract doesn't drop through the letter box for months (or even never - some agents don't have a written one, though that's rarer these days). Ages ago I did huge amounts of revising for an agent - some of it I wasn't terribly sure about - without altogether realising she wasn't committed and then she rejected it. It was a good thing, really, as she thought the book was or could be something other than it was, but it was the most painful rejection of my life at the time. A lesson very well learnt.

Emma

Well done, Stefland, and keep us posted.

Just make sure you aren't too hungover for the call

Fantastic - sounds really promising!

I've guessed who it might be (may well be wrong of course, but the prompt, direct approach rings bells - if it's who I think it is you've done very well!)

all best

Maria

You'll be fine I'm sure ... first I had a telephone call saying she liked the sample and could I email the rest, then I had emails over the weekend saying she reading, enjoying etc,and then came the invite to go and meet at the office... I still couldn't believe they would sign me until the contract was in my hand.

The only thing I will say, and this may not happen to you, is that I thought I had it sussed getting an agent and that everything would follow on quickly. I have one sale only so far - and that's to Russia!! So one set of nervous uncertainty soon gets replaced by another... getting an agent is a huge step but it isn't necessarily a guarantee of publication. I'm not saying this to put a downer on everything, simply to say that sometimes these things take a little longer than we expect... have patience and faith.

And of course, I hope you'll be here proving me wrong very soon!Good luck and well done.

Sarah

Stefland - I've just been through something similar'ish. Sent my first 3 chapters and synopsis to an agent in November. He called the same day he received it to let me know he really liked it and could I send in the full. I sent in the full then, two weeks later he rang to tell me he hadn't been able to read it yet but that he was very excited about my main character and that one of his readers had read it and given him a good report and that he was looking forward to reading it over Christmas.

Then on Monday I had a missed call from him. I was all over the shop with excitement (assuming he was ringing to sign me) but when he did ring back (Thursday) it was to tell me it wasn't ready for publication and I had to do a rewrite BUT he still definitely wanted to see it after the rewrite. So nope, no mention of wanting to sign me but he thought my novel had potential.

In my naive mind I thought there were just two outcomes to someone reading your novel - rejection or a contract. Nope, there are plenty of different stages in between. I hope you get the "I want to sign you" call because, from my experience the "this is definitely not ready for publication and this doesn't work and this and this" conversation really stings!

I know that the manuscript will need work to make it ready for publictaion; i re-read it myself, having not looked at it for a few months, and sections of it made me wince a little.

I have already re-written large amounts of the manuscript (even to the point of totally remodelling one of the characters - for anyone that hasn't done this, I DON'T recommend it) following the suggestions from this agent. Because she has been so supportive of the project from the start, I was happt to make the changes she suggested. She was spot-on; the changes made the book much better and helped me with a problem that had been nagging at me for a while.

I am expecting a call from her on Monday, and I am guessing that it will be to say "It needs this, that and the other doing to it." That's fine by me, but I naively assumed that the offer came as part of these changes and not as a 'maybe and only if' type of proposition.

How masochistic is this writing game eh? Like root-canal treatment without gas-and-air.

Thanks for all the feedback. I like this site and will be joining as a full member as soon as my trial runs out.

Send me positive vibes for Monday, people.

Stefland x

Very best of luck! Let us know what happens...
Susiex

Best of luck, Stefland

UPDATE....

Spoke to the agent and she still sounds very enthusiastic about the project; so much so that she has given me a list of changes that she believes it needs.

She has shown it to her colleague who also liked it.

I'm going to start working through her recommendations and see what I can and can't do with them (most are fairly trifling to be honest and the advise that she had given me in the past has always been very good and made the writing stronger).

Reckon that I'm any nearer THE CALL guys????

Steve

Definitely, STeve, the fact that she has shown it to her colleague is very promising indeed, i would have thought.

I'm in the same position as you and just waiting to hear back from an agent who gave me a couple of pages of feedback on the full last year, she is now reading my rewrite...

Betcha excited?