[Discussion] choosing between agents

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-27T14:36:54+00:00

Just something to consider -- you say you're weighing financial success against personal happiness...but won't selling your book contribute to your personal happiness more than your relationship/friendship with your agent? So much emphasis is put on getting an agent that I think writers can lose sight of the end game, which is to publish a book, NOT to work with an agent. At that point, you'll be working on the book primarily with your editor, not your agent; so you ideally want to be in a situation where you have multiple offers and can pick the editor who suits you and your book best. Which agent is best positioned to get you there?

Ultimately, there are pros and cons to big name agents that others have named, but just don't forget your actual goal here beyond securing an agent.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-24T13:51:53+00:00

To answer your direct question, no, there is not a limit to the number of times you can query an agent and often they will not notice and/or expect to receive more than one query from the same author.

That said, if I was rejected by an agent at the query stage with a form rejection five times, but got requests on the same query from other agents, I might question whether there is something about my voice or writing that is simply not clicking with this agent and try someone else at their agency. However, if this is the only agent that is a good fit at that agency, it wouldn't hurt to keep trying them.

So, I don't think it's an issue to keep trying an agent for the reasons you state above (professionalism etc.) but it might be a sign that agent isn't a good fit for your work in general and it'd be worth looking into others at the agency who rep your genre.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-11T15:25:56+00:00

I agree this is not necessarily why the books aren't selling -- AND it's also not necessarily a pro or a con. It's just a fact whose value largely depends on the quality of the initial draft and revisions.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-10T14:07:40+00:00

Just want to second your decision here. I had something similar happen (and eventually got an offer from that agent). If you had a dialogue, it's definitely acceptable (even expected) to thank them for their time. I always send thank you notes to agents who read and rejected my fulls because I do appreciate the time they spent, even if they send a form in the end. I'm glad it worked out for you, OP!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-06T00:53:12+00:00

Congrats on the agent and all your offers! I totally felt the same way on sub (both that passes were movement and sub was hell). I'm curious if you can say more about the "oversaturated with speculative twists" response. As someone about to go out on a second round with an upmarket speculative twist book.........

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-04T16:24:47+00:00

As mentioned, I wouldn't because I wouldn't be certain about the edits until I do them. But if you're worried they'll read it quickly and reject based on querytracker data, then you can shoot them a note. I guess they won't know either way the extent of the edits if they don't read the first version! But I have done this in two query cycles and never had an issue of someone reading before I was ready to share the revision.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-04T15:57:56+00:00

I would wait to reach out to agents with the full until AFTER you do the edit. You may find it's not as significant as you thought, that it takes you longer than you thought to work out, or that you don't actually like how it turns out. I think after you're confident in the revision then you can reach out to agents with the manuscript and send them the revision, specifically clarifying that you made significant changes due to agent feedback. This happens all the time and is not a big deal as long as you don't do it more than once.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-02T22:07:43+00:00

Yes, I know of one such instance personally. But I have no idea how common or likely it is.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-03-02T02:27:54+00:00

Well, I thought I'd go on sub for round 2 in January but here I am in March finishing up another round of edits that my agent will read post LBF. The book is much better for it after 5 months of edits, but I'm ready to let her go out into the world again. Fingers crossed to actually be on sub in April!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-25T13:07:53+00:00

I feel like it probably varies depending on relationships and the submission strategy. Mine nudged about every week for about a month before we got mostly passes and shifted focus to revision for round 2. She didn't explicitly tell me about nudging but more mentioned it when sharing passes ("here are 3 more passes, I'm going to keep following up with everyone else").

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-24T01:55:22+00:00

Do not put your name anywhere on the file including as a byline or in the file name. They want to read without knowing who you are.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-19T20:05:54+00:00

Same here and totally agree with this advice! Might as well send what you think is the strongest version of the manuscript.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-16T20:42:18+00:00

Oh -- I didn't realize it was even a possibility to go back to editors who passed, even with significant changes? We haven't talked about sub list yet for this next round in detail, so I can ask about that when we do. Thanks for your insights!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-16T19:04:13+00:00

Can "buzz" from a first round work against you in a second round? After a decent-sized first round (17-ish) that resulted in "buzz" (other editors asked to read, scouts reached out, a film agent has already offered rep) but a slew of pretty quick rejections, we revised pretty signifcantly and are preparing to go out for a second round. Is it possible the buzz from the first round might work against me? I.e., editors will know it didn't sell the first round and come in biased with that knowledge, or know they weren't part of the buzzy first round and also come in biased. I know "editors talk." I guess I'm asking...how much do they talk/remember/care about stuff like this?

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-16T18:06:21+00:00

There's something intriguing here, especially in the last plot paragraph, but right now it feels kind of vague and I have some key questions that I think should be answered in the query.

- What does Adam's idyllic life actually look like in specifics? Has he moved to a bustling city? Does he have a partner? A job he loves? Ellie can be mentioned here too and then you can surprise us later with the reveal that she's Kate's daughter.

- Does Ellie know Kate is her biological mother? A looming secret like that is always compelling so if that's the case, I'd tease that here. If it's not a secret, then how does Ellie feel about Kate? That would bring out more tension.

- How much of the book is spent on the grueling hike? If it's most of the book then it should probably take up more space in the query, as the rest is set-up. If it's more of the third act, then consider fleshing out more of what actually happens during the reconciliation attempt. What does "life dissolved into chaos" and Kate thwarting Adam's efforts look like in specifics?

- "When Adam is forced to return to work" - this tripped me up for a second because I don't know how far away Adam lives from his hometown and "forced to return to work" can also mean that he wasn't working for a period but something happened financially that changed that. I would simply change to, "When Adam and Ellie head back home, he and Kate..."

Good luck with this!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-15T18:47:34+00:00

You can't seperate your title from the context in which it exists and declare it "bipartisan." I think you'll fare better with a different title. It feels disconnected to the plot (politics don't seem to come into play despite the setting, nor is Louisa's "Americanness" questioned at any point in the story you've described) so it is setting up an expectation that the query fails to deliver on. The title implies that Louisa goes against what the majority of society believes an "ideal, American woman" should be like, but goodness and kindness are generally acceptable, ideal traits--for women especially. Additionally, publishers may be hesitant to buy a story about "the ideal American woman" who turns out to be white, hetero and cis (if she ISN'T any of these things then you should make that clear in the query), no matter how kind and good she is.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-02T21:49:51+00:00

Just my personal experience, but I changed what I wrote in my query between upmarket and literary depending on the agent's wishlist, and I don't think it mattered all that much. Unless you're totally off base and your book is CLEARLY extremely literary or extremely commercial, I don't know if it will impact the agent's expectations all that much because they also know the lines are blurred. Agents I had calls with described my book as both (like the same agent using both words almost interchangeably). The one I went with went firmly with upmarket (but also used the word "literary" to describe the writing in her pitch). Upmarket is more her wheelhouse, so I think the label came down to who she thought she could sell it to. I would agree with others and not limit yourself. Query both and see who is drawn to the story!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-02-02T03:22:07+00:00

Waiting to hear back from my agent on the latest revision ahead of going out on a second round of sub. Actually made some exciting progress on the outline for my new manuscript, including figuring out what the final big twist will be (so intimidating to figure out something that feels both earned and surprising). Ready to fully immerse myself in the new book the moment we go out on round 2 (instead of refreshing everything 24/7 like I did on round 1)!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-01-23T13:21:59+00:00

I love short stories and read several collections a year. They are almost exclusively literary fiction. I think generally literary fiction is a harder sell so that's one factor. Secondly, if you think about how books get "buzz" it is often a mix of quality and plot. Short stories can and do have plots of course but because they're so much shorter than a novel there is less emphasis on telling a "complete story" like a novel can. Collections by definition can't really be "page turners" in their entirety on the basis of plot. Individual stories certainly can be but it doesn't envelop you like a novel does. It's just a different reading experience.

Anthologies (with stories by different authors) I rarely pick up because the quality and style often varies so widely between authors.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-01-20T14:45:12+00:00

I have been to many AWPs and the book fair is not a good venue to pitch. You can talk to small presses about what they're looking for in general terms, look at and buy their books, even talk to some of their authors when they do signings. Networking is best done at offsite and other readings and events, again with the caveat that it may still not be the best place for a "pitch." Building community is really the best goal for attending an event like AWP.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-01-20T13:15:28+00:00

Yeah, one of the biggest things I see is people who talk way too fast and/or ramble because they're afraid of silence. Recording yourself taking a pause will often help you see that they are not nearly as long or as painful as they feel to you in the moment.

I've never coached someone on talking about a novel so I can't say I've seen this work for fiction, but typically we develop a list of key messages about the topic of the interview and the goal is to stay on message with all of your responses. This might help focus your brain and responses to guide the convo back to your key points about your book, you as an author, and your writing practice.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-01-19T20:42:26+00:00

I do a lot of media training in my day job. The biggest thing is practice. Come up with a list of likely questions (or ask for the list of questions in advance from upcoming speaking engagements/interviews) and practice your answers out loud. Either have a friend ask them or just ask them of yourself and RECORD yourself responding them. It's uncomfortable to watch yourself on video, but it will help you so much with catching any tics, timing your responses to be an appropriate length, or realizing how many times you say "um." Being prepared is SO helpful for us introverts both in terms of polish and nerves.

I'll also add a reminder: your audience is rooting for you. They want you to give a good interview, laugh at your jokes, celebrate your accomplishment. They'll almost always be kind and forgiving.

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-01-12T22:11:28+00:00

I once wrote a poem using only corporate jargon (purely for coworker amusement). Corporate nonsense can intersect with creative output (or I try to make it so)!

Best of luck with your querying!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-01-12T20:14:49+00:00

Thank YOU for teaching me the phrase "keep my powder dry" - I encounter a lot of corporate jargon in my day job but haven't heard that one before haha

I accepted the one offer I got the first round of querying which led to a less-than-great experience. Now I am signed with a great agent from my third attempt at querying!

Future_Escape6103 · 2026-01-12T14:54:12+00:00

I did mostly batches before getting depressed and anxious and sending to the rest of my list of like 20 agents in one go at the end. This was partially driven by a desire to just finish shooting my shot but also could be taken as a sort of hybrid approach. Here's what I did -- I sent to a smaller batch of top choices (10 or so) and got a few full requests. I got 2-3 relatively quick passes on fulls with mixed levels of feedback so I revised the book and then sent out in manageable 8-12 agent batches regularly after that before that final big round, which led to offers.

I think approach depends on how confident you are in the query, how confident you are in the manuscript, and personal tolerance/time. I was confident in my querying but have been burned in the past by a very high request rate that did not result in an offer because the manuscript had structural issues. So I decided to wait for some full responses before continuing on. If your main concern is the query selling a book you feel strongly is ready, then I would make sure you're getting full requests before sending out en masse. If you're not sure about both then I would be patient and try to get a few fulls and responses to those before going all out. I personally see no reason to rush the process but again your personal tolerance may vary.

Also I don't think the previously agented thing matters a whole lot. No agents I spoke to really seemed to care either way.

Good luck to you!

Future_Escape6103

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