The Call (n): Writing term. When an agent responds positively to your query and full manuscript and wants to talk to discuss the possibility of representation.
Even though a lot of my Pitch Wars class had received The Call ahead of me and put together a list of questions and even though I googled high and low to see what both agents and represented authors recommended you ask on The Call, I was nervous and sure my list was going to be completely terrible. It was exhaustive, though, and I was happy with it. I knew I might not need to ask every question, because my agent is gracious and smart and shared most of the info I wanted with me before I even had to ask. Superstar, honestly. But I still wished I could have had a handy list of questions, so here is one for you. This is only a suggestion, there are so many other wonderful resources. Go forth and google.
As for me, I printed these out over four pieces of paper, giving myself tons of blank space to take notes while chatting so I didn’t have to type while we talked.
Something to keep in mind: I signed with a newer agent, so I wanted to ask a lot of questions about her plan for her career, what her support system was like at her agency, and things like that. Your mileage may vary. I hope these questions are at all helpful. Congrats on your call!
THE CALL: [Agent], [Agency]
- What did you like / respond to about my book?
- What do you think needs work?
- What do you think my strengths / weaknesses are as a writer?
- What would our relationship / partnership look like?
- If you become my agent, do you have an idea of how we would manage my author brand / books to come?
- How many clients do you currently have? _____ Ideally? ______
- Are you looking to represent: ____ this book ____ whole career
- Do you have a written agency agreement I could see?
- What’s the commission structure like at your agency?
- How are sub rights handled?
- What’s your support system like in the agency?
- What’s your vision for your career?
- If down the line you switch agencies or leave agenting, what would you foresee happening to your clients?
- Do you have any other roles / jobs in the agency?
- What’s something you find challenging about being an agent and / or want to improve on?
- If I do sign with you, what would our next steps be?
- What’s your communication style / preference?
- Response times?
- When do you prefer to hear about my upcoming projects? Idea phase? Outline? Draft? Once it’s been through betas?
- What’s your editorial style like?
- What’s your relationship with Big 5 editors like?
- Submission strategy? (Big 5, small press, etc.)
- How many rounds of sub before we shelve it?
- What happens if this book doesn’t sell?
- What’s your communication like when a project is on submission?
- Do you have an idea of what the average length of a contract negotiation is like at your agency? From offer of pub to finalizing/signing the contract?
Like I said, I was thorough. And I didn’t ask everything on my list! We covered a lot of ground organically in the course of our conversation, which was nice. But it’s important to ask the questions you have in your head! And if you don’t think of everything during the call, that’s okay too! I emailed my agent after our call to ask a follow-up about IP work that had been floating around my head. You might want to ask if the agent is willing to represent your work in multiple genres or age groups.
If the agent doesn’t offer it up on their own, it’s also worth asking for the contact information of a few of their clients so you can ask what it’s like to work with them. Ideally, you’ll be able to talk/email with clients (current or former) who write in the same genre/category as you. A mix of writers who have sold their books and some who haven’t is a great way to gauge the full spectrum of your prospective agent’s dealings. I’ll share my list of questions I asked clients here sometime soon.
Everyone has specific needs from their agent, and it’s important to figure out if you’ll be a good match. You need to trust your agent, and sometimes the only way to do that is to ask some tough / uncomfortable questions! As long as you remain professional and respectful, you’re probably good.
To maintain my extremely professional demeanor, I leave you with this:
Molly Kasperek 