My wife's a new author (or newish: she got her DPhil thesis published back in the 1990s). She sent snail-mail query letters to three agents in London. The big two being Christopher Little and Curtis Brown. The MS is complete.

CB, her second preference, replied <b>by email as soon as they got her letter<b>, asking for the entire manuscript.

CL, her first preference, haven't replied yet.

How should she read CB's action? Is this standard operating procedure? Or did someone think "<i>this could be juicy, so let's make sure we get to read the MS before she sends it to someone else</i>". (If so, great! )

She was expecting to get replies saying "<i>please follow our preferred procedure and send us a synopsis with three specimen chapter<i>", or alternatively, if they read the query letter properly, then replies saying the same thing but more courteously.

I guess she'll get replies from the other two agents soon - she didn't forget to enclose saes - but what would 'you' do?

1) Send the entire MS to CB right away?

...or...

2) Wait until CL reply and if they ask for three chapters then send 'em three chapters and ignore CB?

Maybe it would be silly to think that having CL would be so much better than having anyone else? After all, CB (and indeed the third agent) are very reputable.

We're kind of thinking CB must be eager but this may be wishful thinking. If she sends the entire MS to CB she won't be sending anything to the other agents. Advice welcome - many thanks.

Chris




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My wife's a new author (or newish: she got her DPhil thesis published back in the 1990s). She sent snail-mail query letters to three agents in London. The big two being Christopher Little and Curtis Brown. The MS is complete.

CB, her second preference, replied by email as soon as they got her letter, asking for the entire manuscript.

CL, her first preference, haven't replied yet.

How should she read CB's action? Is this standard operating procedure? Or did someone think "this could be juicy, so let's make sure we get to read the MS before she sends it to someone else". (If so, great! )

She was expecting to get replies saying "lease follow our preferred procedure and send us a synopsis with three specimen chapter", or alternatively, if they read the query letter properly, then replies saying the same thing but more courteously.

I guess she'll get replies from the other two agents soon - she didn't forget to enclose saes - but what would 'you' do?

1) Send the entire MS to CB right away?

...or...

2) Wait until CL reply and if they ask for three chapters then send 'em three chapters and ignore CB?

Maybe it would be silly to think that having CL would be so much better than having anyone else? After all, CB (and indeed the third agent) are very reputable.

We're kind of thinking CB must be eager but this may be wishful thinking. If she sends the entire MS to CB she won't be sending anything to the other agents. Advice welcome - many thanks.

Chris



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Oops, I tried to edit to correct the tags, and realised too late that I can only add stuff.

Chris

She should definately send it! You don't get second chances in this industry and nothings stopping her sending out to the other two as well. They have requested to read it but they still could reject it or take a few months to get back to her.

Elspeth
ps Why are you writing on your wife's behalf??????????????

Elspeth's bang on - SEND IT TO CB, TODAY - and if CL respond asking for a partial or the full ms, send it to them too. And to anyone else who'll look. If you wait for each one to accept/reject you, it'll take you a year to get through your first 5 choices.Life's too short. They won't worry about messing you about, so you shouldn't worry either.

Send it!!! And if the other agents want something, send them whatever they ask for too. It is highly unlikely they'll all want to represent her, but if they do, then, by 'eck, that's a good problem to have. And indeed is their problem rather than hers.

The industry may (very occasionally) say "no simultaneous submissions" or suchlike - ignore it.

And good luck!

LoL

A
xxx

Elspeth's bang on - SEND IT TO CB, TODAY - and if CL respond asking for a partial or the full ms, send it to them too. And to anyone else who'll look. If you wait for each one to accept/reject you, it'll take you a year to get through your first 5 choices.Life's too short. They won't worry about messing you about, so you shouldn't worry either.

Thanks everyone.

But are you saying 'grab any offer you get'?

Or are you saying 'this kind of offer, from this particular agent (CB), should be acted on'?

The industry almost always says 'no simultaneous submissions' when it's a book MS and we're talking full submissions. In this instance, I wouldn't be surprised if two or more agents, if they got the MS, got the same person to read it, given what it's about, so she would soon get 'caught'.

She isn't desperate to find an agent or to get it published. We know it will get published. She just wants to make sure she gets the best agent.

I'd be grateful for opinions as to what it means when you query a reputable agent such as CB by snail mail, and they shoot back by email asking to be sent the entire manuscript.

Reason I'm here on her behalf is just because I'm the nethead

Chris

Mind you, the above said, I take your point and think she should send it to CB. Being quick off the mark should win 'em points. And asking for the entire MS right at the outset is presumably good, even if we don't know how common it is for that to happen (???)

Chris

Just think of it as a job interview - you'd definitely apply for more than one and go for more than one interview, I think. Or at least I would! I wouldn't say you'd submitted to more than one place (especially if you hadn't anyway!!) unless they ask you.

And yes, I think it's fairly common for agents to respond either by email or phone. - at least again in my experience when they've wanted to look at my stuff they have - that's c5 or 6 different ones. When they respond by letter, they're usually rejecting you.

Go for it!!

)

A
xxx

I agree it's like a job interview, but the author is the employer and the agent is the applicant. Agents get dissed for the wrong reasons sometimes. They're not interested in what's a 'good' book, any more than publishers are, but they do know what they're good at packaging and selling. Publishers wouldn't take them seriously if they didn't. They'd be out of business faster than a lubricated thunderbolt.

I don't think authors should look up to either agents (packagers/salespeople) or publishers (specialised venture capitalists).

Did the agents who emailed or rang to ask to look at your stuff ask for specimen chapters or the whole thing? If the latter, did you initiate contact by sending them specimen chapters or just a query letter? My wife just sent in a single-sheet query letter.

Chris

Chris, welcome to WW.

From what I know of the publishing business at the moment I would say no new author is in a position to pick and choose. Any interest from an agent should be treated like gold.

But I have to ask… if your wife is capable of writing a novel then surely she can type. That’s all it takes to participate in WW. I don’t understand why you are speaking for her.

Are you a writer too? You seem to have formed strong opinions of agents...

Dee.

Dear Chris - yes, it was a mixture. A couple asked for the whole thing straight off as a result of a query letter only, and the rest were either the whole thing as a result of 1st 3 chapters, or 3 chapters as a result of the query letter and then on to the whole thing.

Liberate your wife and perhaps we can help her direct!!

))

A
xxx

Hi Dee,

she hates the internet, to the point of not having anything to do with it. The web most of all. I'm not speaking for her, just finding out information for her. Any opinions I've posted here are mine. I've been on the net since before the web went graphical, so I tend to get lumbered with net work. I often feel like coming off the net myself, and expect I will come off before too long!

Am I a 'writer'? I've written for, edited, and published underground zines in my past. Occasionally write articles still, usually unpaid. I'm also a 'head' where it comes to certain areas of language study that have aroused my interest. I wouldn't call myself a 'writer', but I might fit some other people's definition. Meanwhile there are many areas especially with regard to fiction that I know hardly anything about, e.g. characterisation, synopsising a work of fiction, omniscient narrator, that kind of stuff. All sorts of gaps in my knowledge in fact, that sometimes I try to plug out of necessity, fun, both, and maybe for other reasons too

Haven't had much experience of 'the industry', but I try to fit what I learn into an understanding of its 'deep' chracteristics, if you see what I mean. E.g. publishers as venture capitalists - it's seldom put like that, but true and to the point I think. If authors had enough money to foot the costs and underwrite the risks, and the contacts with distributors, they'd all publish their own stuff and 'd be several times richer than they are!

I have to say, I think it's naive when aspiring authors blame agents or publishers for not wanting their own scintillating work. Agents and publishers are only in it for the money. If an author writes something mainly for money (and why not?), it's going to lose its edge. It's for the market. It's prostitution in a way.

My SO is in a position to pick and choose among agents, insofar as we know the book will be published and she wants to find the best agent to secure the best deal. It's a multi-market thingy that we aren't giving out details of.

But she doesn't want her cred to fall by making multiple submissions of the whole MS and then getting found out.

Holly: thanks for the further info. I thought it might be quite rare but from what you say it may be unextraordinary, to be asked for the entire MS on the strength of a QL.

Chris

Chris, congrats to your wife for surmounting obstacle one in what may be a long course. In my experience (which is pretty limited as I haven't signed on the dotted line yet)it seems like to a good idea to check out the individual who will be representing you, not just the agency. Agents range from the young and hungry, to the young and clueless (who won't be there in the long run), to the seasoned experts who are worth their weight in gold (or royalty cheques).

If your wife's work is really such hot stuff, then why not send it to all those who ask for it, then meet the individuals and audition them?

Good luck to her,

Adele.

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Of course the hungry ones might still be incapable, but you should be able to get a sense for that when you meet them.