This is part 11/11 in our series about How to Land a Literary Agent:
- How to Land a Literary Agent
- Your Fishing Guide: What I Know About These Waters
- The Prey: What Exactly Is An Agent?
- The Why: Who Actually Needs an Agent?
- Dawn or Dusk: When to Start Fishing
- The Fish Finder: Locating Agents
- The Bait: Writing a Pitch
- Casting Your Line: Query Letters
- The Nibble: When an Agent Expresses Interest
- The Bite: Getting an Offer
- The Play: Interviewing Agents
- The Keeper: Final Decisions and Next Steps
Wow. What a relief. You’ve planned your fishing expedition, scoped out your fishing hole, selected your bait, cast your line, played the nibbles into bites, and hauled in a keeper. Good for you!
You’ve received the contract (or agreement of representation) from the agent, and it makes sense. Perhaps you’ve had an attorney look it over, just to be safe. (It’s a good idea, just to make sure you understand it all.) And now the teamwork begins.
There’s a tiny chance your manuscript is ready for prime time, but probably your agent has a few suggestions. Remember that the agent knows the marketplace better than you, and she’ll have a pretty good idea of what will or won’t sell. That doesn’t mean you’re going to make every change she suggests, but it does mean you should listen.
Probably your agent is going to be pretty self-motivated, but she’ll may also have a heavy load of clients. There may be long stretches of time when you don’t hear from her (especially when you are in between manuscripts for her to sell), but if you’re getting antsy, don’t hesitate to send a note. The publishing industry is full of nudges, so one or two from you won’t hurt.
Chances are, when your agent starts sending out your manuscript, it will take two or three months for editors to reply. And when they do, they’ll mostly decline the manuscript. Your agent should send you whatever messages she receives, so that you can see their unvarnished comments. Every now and then the comments are helpful, and you and your agent will discuss them. They might lead to changes in your manuscript. Or changes to the next manuscript.
And if you’re very lucky, one day the phone will ring, and it will be your agent on the line—the same agent who never calls, but mostly sends hurried little notes by email or text, but this time she actually picked up the phone, and there’s a new brightness to her voice, and she asks if you’re sitting down, because she has something to tell you. And your knees go weak.
And that, my friends, is the end of the series about How to Land a Literary Agent!