Just Business: The Agent's Tale
 

Introduction

Getting an agent is tricky but almost essential if you have a novel to sell. Working writers also find that they can let agents worry about the business side of things while they get on with some furious scribbling.

In this session, Derek Johns - a literary agent with A P Watt - goes into detail about how writers and agents come together and what writers can expect to get out of their professional relationship.

This session includes:

• The benefits of getting an agent
• How to approach agents
• The importance of first impressions
• Building and maintaining the relationship
• What should an agent be doing for you?

Why Get An Agent?

You have written a novel, and now you want to know how to go about getting it published. You will no doubt have read stories in the press of manuscripts being plucked from the so-called 'slush pile' at literary agencies, and going to on make their authors a fortune or win the Man Booker Prize. How does this come about?

There are many literary agents in Britain, and most of them are listed in the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook or The Writer's Handbook (see Further Reading for details). Some will give descriptions of the kind of authors they represent, and what they are looking for. Others will simply list their names and addresses, and add 'no unsolicited manuscripts accepted'. But if literary agencies don't accept unsolicited manuscripts, then who will?

It is generally accepted that published authors need agents, in which case an approach direct to publishers may not be advisable. Authors who negotiate direct with publishers are seldom in a position to secure the best terms, or to press their case when the inevitable difficulties arise during the publication process. The truth is, however, that most literary agents are open to good new work. The question is how to get their attention.

Why are literary agents so important to authors? Put simply, they represent authors' interests in all their dealings with book publishers in Britain and abroad, film and television companies, and sometimes newspapers and magazines. Good literary agents do a great deal more than negotiate contracts. They are often a combination of editor, contracts adviser, career manager and counsellor. And the relationship with your agent may become one of the most vital in your life. Many authors rely on their agents for advice on matters that extend well beyond their books. I have authors who will scarcely leave the house without talking to me first!

Making Contact

When approaching agents, the first thing to do is to telephone or email to establish whether they are indeed going to be receptive to your work. You must bear in mind that literary agencies are businesses, and have no allegiance to anyone but themselves. They are not public institutions, and are under no obligation to read your work. They will do so, however, if they like your approach and your tone.

Most literary agents will in the first instance ask for a brief synopsis of your book and a sample chapter or two. With literary fiction, voice is everything, and no matter how detailed your synopsis, the first chapter or two will tell an agent whether they are likely to want to read on. Even with genre fiction, in which story and plot usually assume a greater importance, synopses should be brief - no more than two or three pages.

It is best not to restrict your approaches to one agent at a time. Years ago it was considered bad form for authors to approach more than one agent, or indeed for agents to approach more than one publisher. This has changed, and in the interests of learning as soon as possible what the prospects are for your book, you should be prepared to approach four or five agents at a time. You should bear in mind that your work will not be at the top of an agent's agenda - existing authors who earn commission for them will always take precedence - and that a period of four to six weeks will almost certainly elapse before you receive a reply.

Your cover letter should be brief and to the point. It should not repeat what you have already written in your synopsis, save to describe the book in a couple of sentences. It should say something about yourself, but not very much - the work is what matters. If you have had experiences that have informed the book - if you've been a lion-tamer or a prison visitor, for instance - then by all means mention this. But don't resort to a cult of personality, and don't send a photograph of yourself. Above all, don't be gimmicky. Don't begin your letter by promising the agent that your book will change their life or make their fortune. Just tell it straight. Oh, and don't use the word 'peruse', which is stuffy!

First Impressions

If after about two months you have not heard back, then it is reasonable to write enquiring as to how things stand. If after about three months you still haven't heard anything, the best thing to do is to write off that particular agent. No purpose is served by peremptory demands either for a reply or for the return of your manuscript. And you don't want to be seen as someone who is difficult to deal with.

The author who turns up uninvited at the office, or who bombards an agent's assistant with phone calls, is not likely to elicit the sort of response that will lead to a happy professional relationship. We recently had an author visit us clutching a bottle of champagne and asking whether she might read her novel aloud to an agent while the agent sat back and sipped her drink. This betrays a view of the life of literary agents that is romanticised at best.

Literary agents are in the enviable position of being able to take on only what they wish to, and only what they respond to personally. Indeed, you positively want a personal response from an agent. You do not want an agent to say of work that it might earn some money but otherwise leaves them unaffected. Reading is a wholly subjective activity, even for the professionals. And if it works out, your relationship with your agent will demand complete candour and honesty on both sides.

If you get half a dozen rejections, or even a dozen, don't despair. Remember that many books that were turned down all over the place have gone on to success (the first Harry Potter book being a good recent example) and keep trying.

Building A Relationship

Once you have attracted an agent's interest, what happens next?

The first thing to do is to meet the agent, if possible. This will be a vital relationship for you, and it's important to feel that you know the person who will be acting on your behalf. And if it's personal for you, it's also personal for the agent. No agent will want to embark on a relationship with an author they feel is uncongenial to them. People become literary agents because they love books, but also because they love spending time with authors. This is why personal chemistry is so important.

The agent will tell you the terms under which they will work. It is likely that their basic commission rates will be stated in the handbooks. If not, then ask. No reputable agent will ask for a reading fee. The only costs that should be rechargeable to you will be those for photocopying and the cost of proofs and finished copies used in submissions to foreign publishers and film and television companies. Some agencies will also recharge courier and postage costs. All this should be made clear to you at the outset, and ideally should be set out in a letter from the agent.

Publishers

The most important thing an agent should tell you is, of course, how they propose going about selling your work, and to whom. The first thing will be to submit it to British publishers. If this results in a contract, then your agent will want to submit the book to foreign publishers. And if it is suitable, they will want to submit to film and television companies, either themselves or via a specialist media agent. Bear in mind that if you have secured a British publisher you are already doing very well: film and television rights are a sort of Holy Grail, and just as elusive.

There are now very few British publishing houses that publish mainstream fiction and non-fiction. Many of these, however, such as Random House and Penguin, incorporate different imprints, and so your agent's choice of editors may be quite wide. You will want your agent to enumerate all the possibilities for you, and to state why they feel that certain editors and publishers would be more suitable than others.

Your agent may choose to submit your book to eight or ten editors at once, or may have reasons for preferring an exclusive submission to one editor. Either way, as with everything else, they owe you an account of their reasons and their intentions. And having submitted your book, they owe you an account of how things are going. The periods of time I referred to earlier also apply to publishers' responses to agents.

Generally speaking, agents do not specialize. Some do, and some may have particular strengths or interests. It is often not easy to establish these specializations simply from the handbooks, and your initial enquiry should try to do this.

Final Thoughts

If you have submitted your novel to a number of agents without success, what do you do next? The replies you receive may not be very informative. Once again, bear in mind how subjective agents' responses are likely to be, and how little time they have to compose critiques of work they are not actually going to take on. If you have the impression that there is something wrong with your book, something you know how to put right, then you should simply withdraw it. Having revised it, you will probably want to send it to a different set of agents, unless you are responding to very specific suggestions made by a particular agent. It's hard for agents to go back to work they have turned down. The first impression of a piece of work is always the most important.

The best way to approach agents is via the listings in the handbooks (see Further Reading for details). If you join a creative writing course, then this may give you other means of access. One thing I would urge you not to do, however, is to ask advice of published authors whom you don't personally know. To seize the opportunity of meeting an author at a literary festival, say, to ask who their agent is, would be unfair and inconsiderate. As I said at the beginning, most agents will respond constructively to a polite enquiry by phone or email.

Good luck with your writing, and good agent-hunting!

Further Reading

Books
Turner, Barry (ed.) - The Writer's Handbook
Updated annually, this contains comprehensive contact details of publishers, agents, magazines, newspapers and theatrical producers in the UK and USA, plus articles about the business of getting published. Invaluable.

Blake, Carol - From Pitch to Publication
Not how to write a book, but how to sell it. A guide to researching the market, writing synopses, and agreeing contracts from one who knows best - a literary agent.

Perkins, Lori - Insider's Guide to Getting an Agent
A book from the US which contains plenty of useful information for UK authors, and focuses mainly on managing the relationship with your agent, should you be lucky enough to get one!

Found other books more useful? Discuss them at the Round Table (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/roundtable).

Useful Links

BBCi Poetry - http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/books/genre/poetry/getpublished
One for the poetry writers. Not about agents as such, but plenty of advice on how to go about getting your verses into print.

Writernet - http://www.writernet.co.uk/
A site for playwrites and performance writers to network with industry bods which includes a section about literary agents with contact details.

Bloomsbury - Writer's Area - http://www.bloomsbury.com/WritersArea/
The prominent UK publisher has an area specifically for unpublished writers on its website. Stop by for essential advice on submitting material, literary agents and the law.

More on Get Writing


LEARN
Know what to expect from reviewers in Giving Good Feedback (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/module6) - useful preparation for when those agent's replies start flooding in! Find out about how copyright (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/copyright) affects your work on Get Writing in terms of who owns the rights and what the BBC can (and can't) do with it. Search for a writing course or group in your area with the Course Finder (http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/coursesearch/get_writing/).

Find out more on Derek Johns at http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/johns.

WRITE
Use the 'Write' button to store your work online at your Portfolio. Submit your works-in-progress to a Review Circles (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/reviewintroduction) for general feedback. Try out some quick writing exercises from the community in the Challenges area (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/challenges).

TALK
Ask if other Get Writing members have dealt with agents before on Word Play (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/wordplay). Go to Art and Craft (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/artandcraft) to discuss novel-writing techniques.

Good Luck!

Tip: Making Literary Comparisons
The covering letter should endeavour to concisely identify the core plot and themes of the novel. As secondary information, I consider comparisons with other well known novelists helpful rather than presumptuous, while also suggesting a degree of literary focus.

The best kind of comparison identifies particular influences or intentions by way of explanation, since one based on general impressions can seem misleading, but remember not to overdo it! For example, 'It combines the structural playfulness of David Mitchell with the moral introspection of Iris Murdoch,' or 'It reads like Peter Ackroyd meets Maggie O'Farrell in the pub on a Sunday afternoon'. Most important are clarity and brevity.
Jonathan Pegg, Curtis Brown

Tip: Covering Letter
The material being submitted should be accompanied by the best covering letter possible. It can have a significant effect on the spirit in which I approach the work itself.
Pat Kavannagh, PFD

Tip: Doing Your Research
Nearly all agencies are listed in either the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook or The Writer's Handbook, usually both, so check their entries. It's a waste of everyone's time if you submit a genre of fiction which the agent doesn't handle. Some agents like a sample, others will have the whole manuscript - again, check their entry in the books. Ensure a covering letter with your name, address and contact details accompanies the manuscript, although a short statement about yourself is all that's needed. Include return postage or instructions to destroy the manuscript.
Vivien Green, Sheil Land Associates

Tip: More Research Ideas
 

• It's always worth doing research and targeting submissions to a particular agent by name. There's nothing more off putting than receiving a proposal addressed to Curtis Brown or even 'Dear Sir or Madam'!
• Go to a bookshop and pick up books by authors writing in a similar genre and look at the acknowledgements. See if the agent's name keeps coming up.
• Write a good (but brief) covering letter together with the synopsis and first three chapters.
• Bear in mind that the agent will not be reading it in his office, but on the bus, in bed, dozing in front of the fire etc.
• Most major agents are not desperately looking for new clients although the good ones are always ready to be convinced.

Jonathan Lloyd, Curtis Brown

Getting An Agent - Final Checlist
 

• Do your research. Check through The Writer's Handbook for agent's contact details.
• Make an initial inquiry by phone or email to check they are accepting unsolicited submissions. If so, find out what you need to send and who to address it to.
• Write a two- to three-page synopsis which clearly explains the plot of your book. The synopsis also needs to communicate the tone and style of your book.
• Write a short covering letter which briefly introduces yourself and your book. Don't go into too much detail, and don't use gimmicks!
• Wait patiently for a response. If you have not heard anything after a couple of months, write or phone to politely enquire whether your submission is still waiting to be read. If after three months you have not received any feedback, cross the agent off your list and try another.
• If an agent expresses interest in your work, meet with them to establish a personal relationship.
• When you meet, find out how they intend to represent you and check that you understand any arrangements between you and the agent.