Working with An Agent: Step 3 - Getting THE Call
Okay, so you’ve sent out your queries and it’s likely you’ve received some passes. But then you get a response asking if you’re available to chat. This is the call!
To be honest, the call doesn’t always end in an offer, but at the very least it does mean serious interest and potentially a revision request.
During the call, you’re both interviewing each other. When I call with the possibility of offering, I generally:
Talk about what I loved about the manuscripts or the illustrator’s portfolio, and in the case of a manuscript, what I would want to see revised.
Ask what sort of career the author or illustrator would like for themselves. I’m trying to get a sense of their expectations, and make sure that we’re a good fit in that way. (E.g, if they say, “This book is middle grade, but my passion is writing adult literary fiction,” then that would not be a good fit for me.) Be honest with what you want for your career – you’re only doing yourself a disservice otherwise.
Explain how I work as an agent. How often you can expect to hear from me, how I handle my submissions, what my editorial process is like, etc.
Talk about what I see as the next steps for them should they sign.
Go over the author-agency agreement in broad strokes.
Ask any questions I might have about their previous publications, representation, etc. if applicable.
Once we’ve talked about the above, it’s time for the author to ask me questions. Once you get off the phone with that agent, you should have a sense of:
How that agent sees your book (or where they think your illustration portfolio fits in the market) and whether you agree or disagree with that revision or submission direction.
What they can do to make your career goals possible. (E.g., Do they work with foreign and film sub-agents? Are they an editorial agent or not -- and which would you prefer to work with? Etc.)
How do they handle submissions for their clients? Will you see the submissions list beforehand? How often or long do they submit a project before shelving?
Does it sound like your communication styles match?
Does their agency sign you for one book or for your whole career?
What happens if the relationship isn’t working out?
What are the financial terms of their agency agreement?
What is the make-up of their client/sales list? (This can and should be researched beforehand, so if you have any particular questions you can ask.)
If you get off the phone and you have additional questions once you’re going through everything, you should always feel like you can email with follow up questions. It’s also much more common now to ask to speak to some of that agent's other clients, to get a sense of what its like to work with them from a fellow author or illustrator’s perspective.
Are there any schmagent red flags I should be on the look out for?
Yes! Red flags include:
Anybody that pressures you to say yes to their offer of representation then and there on the call. (More on how to respond to an offer in the next post.)
Anybody that wants any money up front. A legitimate agent only gets paid when their clients get paid, which means we get paid by the publisher. You should not send any money for “reading fees” or anything that might be described as a set-up, marketing, etc. fee.
Any agency that doesn’t have a digital footprint. 99% of the time if they don’t have a website and/or you cannot find any information about their recent sales or their clients, it’s a red flag.
In the next post, I’ll talk about what to do if that call did result in an offer!
