tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post7063008500175134537..comments2023-11-02T06:57:11.400-04:00Comments on BookEnds Literary Agency: Handling an Unagented Offer from a PublisherBookEnds, A Literary Agencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06287278822065839469noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-62846727572578176272007-08-17T17:25:00.000-04:002007-08-17T17:25:00.000-04:00What is the best way to contact the agents when yo...What is the best way to contact the agents when you have an offer? Do you call them, or is e-mail preferred?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-34109499859756750632007-08-17T13:54:00.000-04:002007-08-17T13:54:00.000-04:00So many great comments on this post. Some I will a...So many great comments on this post. Some I will answer here and others I'll expand on in later posts--some might even get both treatment.<BR/><BR/>From the top down...<BR/><BR/>Optioning your book for TV can help interest agents and editors, but in the end TV interest is very different than writing a good book. It can't hurt, let's put it that way.<BR/><BR/>As for whether publishers prefer working with an agent that really depends on individual editors and maybe moonrat will pop back in. Having been an editor though I always did prefer working with agents. It made negotiations much smoother and gave that buffer that is sometimes needed to help maintain the author/editor relationship. Negotiations can be very tough and no matter how much an editor loves a writer and her work her job is to get the best deal for the publishing house. That can be very difficult for an author to take if negotiating directly.<BR/><BR/>Storm: I can't tell you whether or not you should have gotten an agent, although it might have been easier. Whether or not that interest from a small publisher will grab an agent's attention really depends on the reputation of the publisher.<BR/><BR/>2readernot: I have no idea why your friend hasn't heard from me. I respond to equeries within 2 weeks time and am caught up on snail mail I believe through April. Is it possible she's not including an SASE or not using the correct contact info? I will tell you right now if you aren't hearing from me it's likely I didn't get it. I do respond to every equery I receive and every snail mail that includes an SASE.<BR/><BR/>Scott: I suppose that with some editors that might be true. But it's also your career first and an agent is your first line of defense when building a career.<BR/><BR/>Happy Friday everyone!<BR/><BR/>jhfBookEnds, A Literary Agencyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06287278822065839469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-2891173301394377602007-08-17T13:42:00.000-04:002007-08-17T13:42:00.000-04:00I may be getting close to this situation, as I had...I may be getting close to this situation, as I had a publisher requested the full of my manuscript. I know it's not a done deal until I get an offer, but I hate feeling unprepared. Jessica and several other agents have fulls of the book, and I'm hoping that if an offer is going to happen, that one of them will make an offer of representation first so I won't have to run around in a panic, LOL. But this post has helped calmed me down somewhat, so thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-55368115294168934822007-08-17T11:44:00.000-04:002007-08-17T11:44:00.000-04:00Not long ago, I attended a conference where an edi...Not long ago, I attended a conference where an editor from a major house admitted quite frankly that unagented authors with great submissions might actually have a slight edge because they are cheaper, and that the house gets annoyed if the author suddenly runs off and gets an agent. It's not necessarily a deal breaker, but it can cost the author some good will with the editor.<BR/><BR/>That's one incredibly honest editor's position, of course, and not all will agree. But I thought it was worth mentioning here.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07450784902644202694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-78458036971328307092007-08-17T11:14:00.000-04:002007-08-17T11:14:00.000-04:00This type of post is extremely helpful...I'm hopin...This type of post is extremely helpful...I'm hoping I'll need it someday!<BR/><BR/>On a related note, is there ever a time when it seems like you're being ignored, but maybe something else is going on? For instance, I have a friend who's queried you three times now (one initial e-query, an e-status check after 8 weeks had passed, and a snail SQ after another 12 weeks had passed) with no response. Any suggestions on what she can do (other than give up, of course)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-31966383199720785472007-08-17T09:58:00.000-04:002007-08-17T09:58:00.000-04:00Great post. I to wondered with such a small list ...Great post. <BR/><BR/>I to wondered with such a small list of publishers that work with unagented writers if you'd be making waves if you were lucky enough to get an offer from said publisher but put the brakes on by contacting an agent.<BR/><BR/>Good information.bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01500014712284794881noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-49879167636840279182007-08-17T09:49:00.000-04:002007-08-17T09:49:00.000-04:00The first publisher I contacted sent me a contract...The first publisher I contacted sent me a contract for my first novel. I thought an agent might help me negotiate, but I was advised by a writing teacher that no agent would be interested in a first-time novelist and a no-advance contract. So I signed. <BR/><BR/>Now the publisher has been "acquired" by another firm and are divesting their fiction arm separately (I don't think they have a buyer though) so I may have my novel handed back to me. <BR/><BR/>Questions: a) Should I have tried to get an agent initially?<BR/>b) Will the fact that it's already been accepted once (but not printed) be a selling point in my getting an agent now?<BR/><BR/>Thank you in advance for your guidance.<BR/>~ Storm Grant<BR/>storm.grant@gmail.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00118363231070027767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-39631304139731252992007-08-17T09:21:00.000-04:002007-08-17T09:21:00.000-04:00Hi Jessica, This is not a message for you, since I...Hi Jessica, <BR/><BR/>This is not a message for you, since I've worked with your agency and know how honorable and by-the-books you are. This is more for writers who haven't been in this particular position and don't know this angle of the issue. Thanks in advance for letting me kvetch.<BR/><BR/>I'll vouch that we editors are perfectly happy to have unagented clients seek out agents to negotiate deals and "finer points of contracts," like you mentioned. Honestly many authors who are great writers and smart people are less equipped to handle the process alone--it's a business, like any business, and it's hard to be thrown into an entirely new industry without the years of experience an agent would be able to offer. <BR/><BR/>However, I also have to admit that every time I make an offer to an unagented author and hear them say "I think I'm going to take this opportunity to find an agent," my heart sinks. I would like to go back to the note you made about taking the offer and shopping it around to other companies--this is the rub. An editor's take:<BR/><BR/>An author is of course entitled to get the best offer on their own project they possibly can. But there is intellectual capital to be lost here, too, and any agent (except the extremely self-serving kind who doesn't care about burning bridges--and unfortunately, there are quite a lot of this particular kind of agent) should look into the situation and pump the author for the history of the deal. If this project is, say, a novel the author wrote and one publisher has offered $2000 for it, it is fair enough for that agent to shop that project to her little heart's content. But if this was a concept developed by the publishing house and the editor, who probably put long hours into refining it and seeking out a particular author who would be best for the project, the agent MUST be sensitive to the fact that the editor already views this project as hers. <BR/><BR/>And, from my position, I would like to say fair enough. Although I have never lost a project I specifically developed, I have had an agent who was belatedly brought in threaten to shop what was a very specific and carefully developed idea of MINE. (Oo boy did that one make me mad.) And I have had two very good editor friends who have seen their intellectual capital literally stolen and sold elsewhere. This is sheer heartbreak. Not to mention permanent dissolution of professional relationships--neither I nor any of my friends will ever work with those agents again. Also, people like me work to aggressively spread the word of who to avoid. <BR/><BR/>So this is a long response to a tiny point in your post, but I wanted to back you up on the fact that editors are very, very happy to have agents brought in after the fact, since it really does smooth the negotiation and delivery processes over with industry accountability. There is the caveat, though--so a plea on behalf of my kind. Authors, be honest with your agents; agents, be honest with your editors. We're all meant to work together, we really, really are. <BR/><BR/>I'm going to link to you on my blog, if you don't mind.moonrathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06294151043419378509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-22282932244023906162007-08-17T07:25:00.000-04:002007-08-17T07:25:00.000-04:00Thanks for this. I always wondered if the Publishi...Thanks for this. I always wondered if the Publishing house would get annoyed if I suddenly ran for an agent on their acceptance. <BR/>Do publishers prefer working with an agent over directly working with the new writer? Or do they think they'll get the writer "cheaper" if they deal directly with a novice?Aimlesswriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03012050763172251381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23051453.post-25043429389429201192007-08-17T03:15:00.000-04:002007-08-17T03:15:00.000-04:00This is great advice, Jessica. Thank you so much. ...This is great advice, Jessica. Thank you so much. But I have a variation on the theme. What if you have a novel (YA in my case) ready for query to lit agents and you are approached by a producer who is interested in the property as a TV series? <BR/><BR/>Most of the lit agents I have researched have the ability (or contacts) to make those deals, but will having a TV offer on the table impress them? Should it be handled the same way? How should it be mentioned?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com