Part II: How I Found, Vetted and Secured the Literary Agent of My Dreams
The Questions I Asked on “The Call,” Asking for Author References, and How I Chose My Literary Agent
In yesterday’s post, I shared how I researched, prioritized and batch queried literary agents for WE DON’T TALK ABOUT CAROL, my debut suspense novel coming from Bantam/Penguin Random House on June 3rd. In today’s post, I’ll get into the details of how I navigated initial conversations with literary agents, and eventually selected my dream agent.
As promised, below is the full list of questions I took to THE CALL with the very first literary agent I spoke with:
General:
What do you love most about being a literary agent?
What interests you in potentially representing me and my work?
What do you think sets your agency apart from the rest?
Why do you feel you would be the best person to represent me and my work?
Editorial Vision:
How hands-on are you when it comes to editing a book ahead of submission?
What is your editorial vision for my book?
How close do you think my manuscript is to being ready for submission?
What are some of the major changes you’d recommend that I make?
Is there anything about the manuscript that you think might give some editorial boards pause?
Do you agree with the competitive titles I included in my query letter? Where do you see this book fitting within the category?
Submission Strategy:
What do you think your submission strategy would be for my book?
Do you have editors or houses in mind already? Have you sold to them before?
How do you think my novel will compete with what’s out there right now?
How many submission rounds are common?
What would our communication look like during the submission process?
What happens if the book doesn’t sell?
Working Together:
How would you describe the way in which you collaborate with authors, and how often you communicate with them?
Who else at your agency might I be working with during this process?
Would I be working with you primarily? Is there an assistant or other team members I would also work with regularly?
What do you value or appreciate most in your clients? Is there anything in particular that you don’t like clients to do?
Without getting into any confidential details, could you give me an example of a time when you went to bat for one of your authors, to advocate on their behalf?
Can you give me an example of an author you’ve had the opportunity to work with over several years and how their career and your relationship has evolved?
Business Stuff:
What is your plan for foreign rights? Film rights? Audio and other sub rights? Can you tell me more about this in general and how you negotiate them?
How involved would you be in the PR and Marketing of my book?
If we were to move forward, what would our next steps look like?
My Career
At what point would we start discussing my next book idea?
How will we work together after my book has (hopefully) sold?
What happens to me if you move on to a new lit agency?
Based on all the research I described in yesterday’s post, it was important to me that I find an agent whose editorial vision for my final book aligned with mine, and could offer feedback to help me achieve that vision. I also wanted to find a strong, patient communicator who could help educate me on the inner workings of an industry that is entirely new to me. And I wanted to find someone who is tenacious and thoughtful about securing the best possible deal for their clients.
In addition to these questions for the agent, I also prepared to answer questions I thought an agent might ask me: background on what inspired my novel, what my querying experience has been like so far, ideas I have for my next project, my writing career to-date, and my hopes for the future.
I was so nervous when it was time to dial into our call, but it wound up being the most pleasant, natural and informative conversation I could have asked for. The agent completely understood what I was trying to achieve in my book, and had several brilliant suggestions on how I could make it an even tighter and more propulsive story, all of which I wholeheartedly agreed with. She was incredibly easy to talk to, and answered all of my questions with care, which boded well for the many future conversations we might have. We even both grew up in the suburbs of Detroit! And it meant a lot to me that she represented multiple authors of color.
As we neared the end of our call, I asked if I might be able to speak with a few of her clients to hear more about their experiences in working with her. And, I did what everyone suggests at this stage—to thank the agent graciously for the conversation, share that you’re interested in working together (if you are), and ask if you can think through everything you’ve discussed and get back to them within the next two weeks. I also let her know that I had a few agents currently reviewing the manuscript that I needed to close the loop with.
Asking for this time may feel uncomfortable; preposterous even. After all, an actual, flesh-and-blood literary agent is interested in working with you! You don’t want to seem ungrateful, or let them get away! But I encourage you to resist those anxious urges. From what I understand, no reputable agent will pressure you into making a decision on the spot. And taking this time and space will help ensure you’re thinking through this important decision clearly, and assessing all possible options open to you.
It’s largely advised that if you have an offer from a literary agent, you should reach out to all the agents who have your query letter—or at least all the agents who have requested a full or partial manuscript that haven’t closed the loop with you—and let them know that you’ve received an offer of representation, and would be happy to send the manuscript or speak further if they’re interested. I opted to simply reach out to the other agent who requested my full manuscript. She moved it up to the top of her list, read it within a few days, and asked to hop on the phone with me!
Having my set list of questions and spreadsheet of research also made it much easier for me to decide which agent to choose. The second agent worked at a slightly larger agency that represented numerous big name authors. But when I compared each agent’s individual deal history on Publishers Marketplace, I saw that the previous sales they secured were actually quite similar. Most crucially, the second agent suggested that I make some fairly significant changes to the story that I knew I couldn’t live with. It made me realize that she wasn’t fully onboard with the story I was trying to tell, and that wound up being the ultimate dealbreaker for me.
Which, honestly, was a relief, because I connected with the first agent on so many levels! The first agent also put me in touch with three of the authors she works with, all in different stages of their writing careers, who all said absolutely glowing things about their experiences working with her, and echoed all of the positive impressions I had from my correspondence with the agent thus far.
Here are the questions I asked the authors—they generated really meaningful and helpful responses!
What’s your favorite thing about working with AGENT?
What’s one thing you could change about her representation style, if you could?
Without getting into specifics, could you share a time when you felt AGENT really went to bat for you, to advocate on your behalf?
Have you two ever had a conflict/disagreement, and if so, how was it handled?
Are there any tips you would give someone considering signing with AGENT?
My research, preparation and instincts served me well—my experience with Sharon Pelletier at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret has been phenomenal. We officially began our work together in September 2023, and she helped me to thoughtfully revise my manuscript by the end of that year. We went out on submission on January 23, 2024, and on February 1, 2024, we closed my deal with my incredible editor at Bantam/Penguin Random House!
Beyond being absolutely instrumental in securing, helping me understand, negotiating and finalizing my deal, my agent has been tremendously helpful throughout the process that’s followed, offering insights, guidance, brilliant advice and a listening ear on everything from cover design options, to marketing plans, to discussions with my editor on my next work-in-progress manuscript, and everything in between.
Whew, I think that just about covers it! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about the querying process, anything else that I can answer in future issues, or any tips you’d like to share from your own querying journeys!
Great insight into your process. Thanks for sharing.
This is SO generous and specific. I realized I was highlighting every sentence. THANK YOU, thank you!