Confusing Agent Behavior

I agree with what the earlier “Anon” said.

Also, I’d like to point to this part of the original post: “Instead she has asked my friend to hire a book editor (done), …”

That brings up a whole bunch of red flags.

1) What is the friend going to do for her next book, hire a book editor again? There goes the advance money.

2) And what is the friend going to do when a house editor requests substantial re-editing or revisioning of her first manuscript? Rehire a book doctor again? How expensive will that get to be?

3) Hopefully, that “agent” didn’t recommend that book doctor to your friend.

And hopefully that friend had first verified that the “agent” is legit. The original poster could check the P&E Blog or the Writer Beware Blog to look up the reputation of that “agent” for her friend.

Hi Rachelle, thanks for a great post. It’s very interesting, as are some of the responses. It’s so helpful to know how some agents do business, your world seems so mysterious to a writer, maybe that’s why we feel so intimidated. But forewarned is forearmed I don’t think I would want to pay up front for an agent’s advice other than through the usual way (ie if the agent represented me) but be happy to consider advice if it were given for free. In my limited experience, agents have been very helpful, even when they didn’t take me on. One question: I know of one agent here in the UK who simply posts the work of their authors on their website and invites publishers to browse. It doesn’t seem very proactive. Is this really acceptable behaviour for an agent?
Thanks!

Interesting post and discussion. I agree that the bigger issue is ‘the friend’s’ behavior. Perhaps the lesson for ‘the friend’ and for us is in what Rachelle said – that we must find the confidence to respect ourselves and our work when interacting in a business environment – and anywhere else for that matter. Furthermore, we want to deal with people who share similar values. By asking the tough questions who’ll find out who you are dealing with.

As for the agent’s requests, if she was indeed representing ‘the friend’, I didn’t find them off-putting. Hiring an editor is not out-of-line or ridiculously expensive. True, this wasn’t something that was done in the past, however, the highly competitive nature of the industry now means we have to produce manuscripts that are of outstanding quality. Gone are the days of publishers who will embrace emerging writers and assign and editor to mold their work – at least to the extent that they’ve done in the past.

As for the blubs from well-known authors, get out there and meet people. I’ve corresponded with a couple of writers I’ve met through conferences and courses. Join writing group – several in my group are published authors. When the time comes, I’ll ask (no guarantees of course) for an endorsement.

Thanks, Rachelle and others who commented. It’s great to debate and learn more about the industry we love.

I recently had a brief conversation with an agent with no commitment of any kind. She then immediately called several major publishers with the great news that she was representing me. I was already in discussions with two of the publishers who were then confused.

I think sometimes authors are so eager to have some “represent” them that they forget to interview the agent. We have to remember that anyone can call themselves an agent. Then need to be interviewed and screened to determine their real value.

Laurie at least tested the waters for us. If an agent was interested in my manuscript I can see how easy it is to be like a young Bruce Springsteen signing away his life in the dark on the hood of a car.

Something odd happened to me recently with an agent. I was querying my novel and an agent offered representation. I asked for some time to speak with one of her current clients and to follow up with my other submissions still out. In the next week I received another offer and proceeded to research between the two agencies to make my decision.

Two weeks after the first agent made her offer, she called to check on me and when I told her I had another offer and that I was trying to make a final decision, this first agent withdrew her offer, saying “Why don’t I just make this easy for you since you’re clearly not excited about us?” I tried to explain that I was new to this process and just trying to make the right decision, but the agent stood by her withdrawal. In the end I was fine with it because I was already leaning toward the other agent, and this behavior revealed to me that this is was not someone I wanted to work with. But it seemed really unusual to me that this first agent would respond this way. Is it normal for agents to withdraw an offer if they know you are considering multiple offers?

It’s a bad idea to tell unpublished writers that they need to be asking published authors for blurbs for their manuscripts before they’ve been sold to a publisher.

Every author I’ve talked to thinks this is a terrible idea. It is not the responsibility of published authors to vet the slush pile.

Asking an author you don’t know for a blurb for an unsold book puts them on the spot. Reading a manuscript will take hours and the odds are strong that the manuscript is nowhere near ready to go.

There is one exception to this rule. If you happen to know a published author and they are already familiar with your work and if they volunteer to write you a blurb, then that’s acceptable.

But it’s never a good idea to ask for a blurb for a novel you haven’t sold to a publisher yet.

The situation is of course very different when you’ve sold the book and it’s on the road to publication. Then it’s perfectly fine to ask a published author to write an endorsement. Most authors will at least consider this, because they know that if you’ve sold the book to a legitimate publisher, then it’s passed a certain standard of excellence.

It’s generally better to have the publisher ask for the endorsement to avoid putting an author on the spot.

As an agent, perhaps I could shed a bit of light on when an agent might ask for some work to be done on your proposal or manuscript before representation is offered. That’s when an agent likes your project, thinks it has good potential to be published, but also sees more work needs to be done for the manuscript to be ready to submit. The big question for the agent at this point is whether the writer is willing and able to adjust the manuscript. If the writer can deliver the goods, representation is highly likely to follow.

Sounds pretty darned crazy to me. When my time comes, I’ll be champing at the bit with loads of questions for my dream agent and if she/he is evasive or has bizarre requirements…well, I’ll hit the road and start looking elsewhere. I hope that is exactly what this author does!

I once had an agent tell me, “If you don’t want your idea stolen… don’t tell anyone about it!” He then chewed up the better half of forty-five minutes discussing his numerous accolades, and his roster of impeccable talent.
After a great deal of due diligence, I determined that aside from his obvious narcissism, and the tacky second-hand watercolors adorning his office walls, I might actually be able to stomach even his ego’s ego! Maybe I’d even ask him for a few pointers on proper back-patting technique? Who the hell knows?
Anyway, everything seemed legit, until… he called me later that night asking me where he had parked his “Benz?” First of all, I found this odd because I wasn’t with him. Secondly, I found this odd because I wasn’t even in the same damn state!
So, is this an example of a confusing agent practice? I don’t know. Let’s just say this is the type of guy I wouldn’t trust to mow my lawn, let alone representing me!