Read Online Get a Literary Agent: The Complete Guide to Securing Representation for Your Work by Chuck Sambuchino - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Chuck Sambuchino
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for an exclusive query letter, this subject does start popping up when an agent requests your full manuscript. Some agents do not believe in this practice.
Agents who favor exclusives do so to protect their time: They don’t want to spend their entire weekend reading a long novel, only to call the writer on Monday morning to offer representation and learn the author just signed with someone else last week. Typically these agents will reply to your query like this: “Thanks for your submission. The novel sounds intriguing. Please send me the full manuscript attached in a Word doc. I request an exclusive on the work for forty-five days.”
At that point, it’s up to you to decide whether or not to grant the agent the exclusive she asks for. Don’t worry if the manuscript is already under review elsewhere; you can reply and explain just that.
Dear Agent,
Thank for you for your enthusiasm about [ Book Title ]. Attached, as requested, is the full manuscript, complete at [XX,000] words. Regarding your note about an exclusive, I must tell you that this full manuscript is already being reviewed by [x] other agents. That said, I will honor your request for an exclusive by refraining from passing it out to any more agents for the next forty-five days. Thank you!
If you simply tell the truth and explain the situation, you have the best of all worlds. You, in a way, honor the agent’s request. But you still have multiple agents considering the manuscript, and this latest agent gets to hear you say there is already enough interest in the book that other reps are hovering around it.
But let’s be honest. Writers rarely get excited when an agent mentions an exclusive. It’s exciting to see your work generate interest, but an exclusive can stop the submission process in its tracks. If a second agent were to write next week and ask to see the manuscript, you would have to tell her that the manuscript is under exclusive currently and that you can only pass it to her once the time frame expires in [X] days. This can be frustrating.
So here’s a better way to go about it: If an agent asks for an exclusive, note that you can always send the manuscript (or nonfiction book proposal) to her and nicely decline her request for an exclusive review period. How she reacts to this decision is uncertain and could mean less interest or priority given to it, or it could mean no change whatsoever. Or you can limit the length of time for exclusives. If an agent asks for a “three-month exclusive on the full manuscript,” you can respond with the manuscript and say that you would be happy to grant her an exclusive but wish to limit the time frame to one month (or six weeks or whatever you feel comfortable with). Lastly, if an agent asks for an exclusive and you agree to one—only to realize that no time frame was ever discussed—follow up after thirty days if you’ve received no note from the agent and politely ask her how much more time she thinks she requires.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMMERS
From time to time, the submission waters can get a little murky—with scamming “agents” lurking in Internet shadows. Luckily this is not much of a concern nowadays as the job of the agent has evolved and become more standardized and search engines do a good job of keeping scammers from the top of the search results. But just to be safe, let’s discuss how to protect yourself from unscrupulous people looking to make your wallet a little lighter.
The concept of literary scammers is nothing new and has evolved over time. Twenty years ago, some writers were still confused about whether agents were allowed to charge money simply to read your work and consider the project. So much confusion existed that databases divided agents into two categories: “fee-charging agents” and “non-fee-charging agents.” Now you’d think that writers would have an easy time deciding who to contact, but plenty of agents who charged fees were skilled at selling
Agents who favor exclusives do so to protect their time: They don’t want to spend their entire weekend reading a long novel, only to call the writer on Monday morning to offer representation and learn the author just signed with someone else last week. Typically these agents will reply to your query like this: “Thanks for your submission. The novel sounds intriguing. Please send me the full manuscript attached in a Word doc. I request an exclusive on the work for forty-five days.”
At that point, it’s up to you to decide whether or not to grant the agent the exclusive she asks for. Don’t worry if the manuscript is already under review elsewhere; you can reply and explain just that.
Dear Agent,
Thank for you for your enthusiasm about [ Book Title ]. Attached, as requested, is the full manuscript, complete at [XX,000] words. Regarding your note about an exclusive, I must tell you that this full manuscript is already being reviewed by [x] other agents. That said, I will honor your request for an exclusive by refraining from passing it out to any more agents for the next forty-five days. Thank you!
If you simply tell the truth and explain the situation, you have the best of all worlds. You, in a way, honor the agent’s request. But you still have multiple agents considering the manuscript, and this latest agent gets to hear you say there is already enough interest in the book that other reps are hovering around it.
But let’s be honest. Writers rarely get excited when an agent mentions an exclusive. It’s exciting to see your work generate interest, but an exclusive can stop the submission process in its tracks. If a second agent were to write next week and ask to see the manuscript, you would have to tell her that the manuscript is under exclusive currently and that you can only pass it to her once the time frame expires in [X] days. This can be frustrating.
So here’s a better way to go about it: If an agent asks for an exclusive, note that you can always send the manuscript (or nonfiction book proposal) to her and nicely decline her request for an exclusive review period. How she reacts to this decision is uncertain and could mean less interest or priority given to it, or it could mean no change whatsoever. Or you can limit the length of time for exclusives. If an agent asks for a “three-month exclusive on the full manuscript,” you can respond with the manuscript and say that you would be happy to grant her an exclusive but wish to limit the time frame to one month (or six weeks or whatever you feel comfortable with). Lastly, if an agent asks for an exclusive and you agree to one—only to realize that no time frame was ever discussed—follow up after thirty days if you’ve received no note from the agent and politely ask her how much more time she thinks she requires.
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM SCAMMERS
From time to time, the submission waters can get a little murky—with scamming “agents” lurking in Internet shadows. Luckily this is not much of a concern nowadays as the job of the agent has evolved and become more standardized and search engines do a good job of keeping scammers from the top of the search results. But just to be safe, let’s discuss how to protect yourself from unscrupulous people looking to make your wallet a little lighter.
The concept of literary scammers is nothing new and has evolved over time. Twenty years ago, some writers were still confused about whether agents were allowed to charge money simply to read your work and consider the project. So much confusion existed that databases divided agents into two categories: “fee-charging agents” and “non-fee-charging agents.” Now you’d think that writers would have an easy time deciding who to contact, but plenty of agents who charged fees were skilled at selling
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