Hello all,

I'm looking for a wee bit of advice on this issue. By way of background, I finished my first novel early in 2007. I sent it off to three agents, not expecting much, having heard the tales of slush piles and enough rejection slips to paper the walls. Therefore, I was pretty stunned when one came back within a couple of weeks asking to see the full MS. This was sent off and, about two months later, they called to say that they loved it and wanted to represent me. I don't want to mention the agency by name just now, but they are a long established, credible, London-based firm. Naively, I thought that I had made it.

The following months were full of stories of 'near misses' and editors who liked it, but just weren't 100% sure. Still, my agent remained optimistic. My second novel was finished last summer and I sent it off to him in July. After chasing him, he eventually came back to me in September to apologise for not reading it yet. Apparently, he had a three-foot high pile of unsolicited MS on his desk. Now, I thought that having an agent meant that you didn't go to the foot of the slush pile, but hey...

Anyway, he finally got back to me in November to say that he wasn't crazy about Novel #2, mainly because of the tone & style. Unsurprisingly, it was the same kinda tone & style that had worked in Novel #1. When pushed, he revealed that he had actually only read the first 30 pages. He also said that he was still working on selling #1, but it was a tough sell because of the genre (black comedy with a horror twist).

I reworked #2 and sent it back to him in January. As far as I know, he still hasn't read it. However, I can't say that with any real certainty as he is no longer replying to my e-mails.

I'm now at the end of my tether. I know how hard it is to get an agent, so am very reluctant to tell him where to get off. I'm considering approaching other agents in the meantime. Is that immoral or unethical? Should I cut my losses with this guy?

I know that novel #1 is a cracker - I am completely confident that it has all of the necessary requirements for publication. I know this because I am acquainted with an author who is relatively famous and who has read it. He loves it and has provided a testimonial for the cover.

Any advice or guidance would be most gratefully received.

Hi, Accie, and Welcome to Writewords.

Others can advise you better, but it is a scenario familiar to a few of our members. If you want to get out of your contract and aproach other agents, then the Society of Authors can help you with the legal side of things.
If possible you should try to get a list of publishers from your agent who have rejected your first novel.
There are small publishers who you can approach directly with or without an agent - like Snowbooks.


- NaomiM

Thank you, Naomi - that's useful advice.

I know that novel #1 is a cracker - I am completely confident that it has all of the necessary requirements for publication. I know this because I am acquainted with an author who is relatively famous and who has read it. He loves it and has provided a testimonial for the cover.

Why don't you tell him that you're going to try submitting the first novel yourself? Okay, it's tough breaking in to publishing direct, but you could put together a great proposal, accompanied by the testimonial, then target suitable editors. If you succeed, then you'll be in a strong position to either get a new agent or have your existing agent work hard on the contract you've won (which will create a healthier working relationship between you). The key ingredient is enthusiasm: you clearly have it for your book and your agent at the moment clearly doesn't. So, really, is there any point in him continuing to submit your novel in any case? What editor could possibly resist a publishable book from a passionate author?

Terry

This is a really horrible, and horribly familiar, position to be in. I think you ought to value yourself more than this current agent is doing and cut your losses - yes it is hard to get an agent but quite a few of us on here have been through more than one (some we have dumped, some vice versa - incl me) and found a more suitable match eventually...ie. one who returns emails / reads stuff within a reasonable period. Get advice from the S of A and get a list of editors your agent has subbed to, as Naomi suggests, though perhaps you could send one final chance email to your agent to say that you'd like to know what he thinks of the rewrite and what his plans are.

Terry, Myrtle - thanks for the sage words of wisdom. They are much appreciated.

Myrtle - I've taken your advice and fired off one final e-mail. If nothing happens, I'll ask for the list of editors that the MS has been submitted to and start again.

It's the most frustrating thing in the world. I feel as though I have effectively 'lost' two years of my life.

I like Terry's advice. One advantage of it is that you may end up with a deal which your big shot agent can then broker with more clout than you could. It may be that, being big, he's only offered the book around to big houses and hasn't investigated the indie/small publishers or specialist genre publishers because they're not typically big earners, but if you do the spade work, he can hardly complain.

If this named author really likes it, would it be worth chatting to them to see if they can recommend an editor who they think might take it on - that way you'd not be cold calling.

Good luck.

I've said this before, and got some flack for it, but I do feel that too many writers now make themselves too subservient to agents. They forget that the agent is ultimately their employee, not the other way around. Okay, the publishing industry is so placed these days that agents are able to assume important if not inflated roles. But the danger for the writer is in allowing himself to feel the agent is doing him favours; which leads in many cases now it seems to the writer actually re-writing at the agent's command, not the publisher's. To be fair to agents, many writers are not very assertive about what they want from their careers; so an agent has to assume on their behalf. When I next look for an agent, I'll have a frank one-to-one before anything's signed, at which I'll explain in detail what I want from my career and from the agent.

Terry

I think that's important to say, Terry, and good advice i could have done with listening to a couple of years ago. It's helped me see agents in a slightly different light - still with a lot of respect, but less as someone superior to myself.

Hope you sort it out, Accie.

I'll have a frank one-to-one before anything's signed, at which I'll explain in detail what I want from my career and from the agent.

Bearing in mind that with an agent it's part marrriage and part business deal. If one sat down with one's future wife for a frank and honest exchange of views about what each wanted from the partnership, it could so easily go pearshaped however tempting the dowary.
Agents have turned down potential clients with highly publishable mss, purely because they didn't like them. Likewise, if you think you're not going to get along with the agent on a personal level, then don't sign with them.

Actually, I think having a frank and honest exchange of views with one's future wife is a very good idea. For example, if one of you wants kids and the other doesn't, then to not discuss the issue before getting hitched is definitely going to lead to a break-up somewhere down the line.

Agents have turned down potential clients with highly publishable mss, purely because they didn't like them. Likewise, if you think you're not going to get along with the agent on a personal level, then don't sign with them

.

I've had two agents so far, and liked them both as people yet they were both pretty hopeless at helping my career along. I mean, you don't have to get on with your plumber for him to fix your pipes, do you? Yes, it can help if you like your agent but only if you've first worked out exactly what you want an agent for. If you haven't - and only have a vague idea that they will somehow help you 'make it' - then getting on with them personally will actually get in the way of what should fundamentally be a business relationship. By return, your agent might like you too, but they won't necessarily respect you enough to do the best job for you they're capable of.

Terry

Sorry to hear you are going through this. It is a tricky situation - I would also suggest that you contact the Society of Authors for the best advice. I think they will suggest you terminate your agreement first - which seems rather a pain for the author to have to do that when one would imagine the agent is in breach of contract here.

However, did you actually sign any contract? If not, then there is no reason for you not to go ahead and immediately start subbing elsewhere.

Accie, you must keep in mind that the fact an agent is positive enough to take on your manuscript it doesn't necessarily mean that the publishers the agent goes to will feel the same.
Agents do have a track record with the publishers they normally deal with, but if the publishers don't feel the material is pertinent for the current time or their goals, then they will not take it on just because the particular agent has provided works they have signed up to in the past.

I have a very good example of this type of random acceptance;

I know a published author who had an MSS way back in 2005 - no one would take it on - it was a story about a child going missing on a family holiday. However, since the Madeline McCann incident, and the MSS being resubmitted, all of a sudden the MSS became viable and the book was published.
An agent doesn’t necessarily guarantee a placement for new authors. In my belief a successful outcome is dependant on the zeitgeist of the work and once that is achieved then, and only then, will the aims of an author be achieved.
For my first children’s book I achieved an acceptance within 3 letters to agents – my agent sent my MSS off to the publishers they had an excellent repartee with, and notified me of the publishers they were sending my MSS to, but to no avail.
Books take a long time to write, but if success is going to be achieved for a first time novelist, then the context of the story has to be contemporary to the time it is being submitted in. I sincerely believe there is no other way.

A recent poll was made of about 30 children's writers. One of the questions had this result:

Who submits the majority of your manuscripts?
Your agent 80% You 4% Both 16%

Which is interesting, since I get the impression quite a few writers believe it simply isn't possible to submit work yourself when you have an agent.

The person analysing the individual returns for this poll said it was clear that opinions varied on agents: one author was happy with the way her agent worked, another with the same agent wasn't, even when the agent worked in the same way for both. The conclusion drawn was that both sides need to be professional first, after which personal chemistry can make a difference.

Terry

I don't think you can expect an agent to sell your work, any more than you can expect a lawyer to win your case.
What you can expect is for them to die trying. So if they are luke warm, forget it. Confidence is everything. My agent talks like I'm the next John Grisham. I would never have the nerve so that's why he's worth his weight in Tamiflu. I remember him telling me about a great little book called Q&A. He loved it. He had faith in it. He flogged it and flogged it. Eventually it became Slumdog Millionaire and the rest is history. What you want is an agent who always thinks that's possible. Once they become jaded what's the point?
You also need someone highly professsional. You can expect returned phone calls and emails. There is no excuse. Imagine if an agent behaved that way with publishers....
As for honesty, well I need my agent to tell me it like it is. If he can't sell it, just tell me. If he gets my new MSS and he thinks it's shit, just tell me. I'd much rather know than try to guess.
HB x