OK here's another potentially silly question... (sorry)

[Andrew Shaw]

So, having read some of the advice here, I'm holding off on the agent search for a little while, the whole "it's a marathon, not a sprint" thing, despite my eagerness, which is a good thing, because it's got me wondering...

When I'm submitting to agents, is it bad form to contact several agents at once?
Would I be less likely to burn potential bridges by contacting one, waiting for a reply, contacting another if rejected, then waiting, then rinse and repeat?
Left to my own devices I'd probably have gone all out, all at once, but I don't want to annoy anyone, obviously.

The intricacies of etiquette often elude me at times...

[Gary Compton]

Originally Posted by Andrew Shaw

The intricacies of etiquette often elude me at times...

A man after my own heart.

I would send to all. The reason is that some agents may take 6 months to reply or even not reply at all. So you could go on for years trying to get one to represent you.

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to argue the opposite of this.

One thing though you must not make the mistake of believing your MS is ready. It needs to go through several processes to refine it. If it's only you that's looked at it then I guarantee it won't be ready. Unless, off course your the most talented writer since Tolkien

Good luck though - it is fun trying to get it right

[SJAB]

When I was submitting to agents I prepared a list of agents that rep'ed the type of work I was writing. I studied their submission guidelines and prepared a submission tailored to each agent. Then I sent out three queries. Each time I received a rejection I sent out the next one on the list. I never did the blanket mail shot even for email queries. It took a lot of time as I was always either adding a new agent as often agencies would close or open for subs at various times of the year. I was also editing the manuscript in question if I was lucky to receive any feedback from agents. A couple of times I got a revise and resubmit, which was wonderful. It took me five years and four failed manuscripts to get an agent. Some writers strike lucky first time others take a while Ian Banks finally made it on his tenth attempt.

[Teresa Edgerton]

You can send out as many queries as you like, but many agents don't want to read anything longer if you are sending it out to others at the same time. They will say this in their guidelines, so it's easy enough to avoid doing so.

Some writers think this is unreasonable and send them their manuscripts anyway. Leaving aside the question of professional courtesy, it seems to me to be a matter of common everyday courtesy to respect their wishes.

Don't send out queries until you have a manuscript completely ready for submission, in case they ask to see it.

[psychotick]

Hi,

When I was going that painful road, I tried not to send more than one submission letter away a week or two. I figured a week or so was long enough for one agent to see my letter and respond yae or nae and if I didn't get a response they'd probably chucked it in the trash. If they responded with even a note to say they'd got my letter, I held back on the next letter until I'd heard something more - and quite a lot of agents did that. If they said no, then the next letter flew.

My only thought during this joyous phase of my life was that I didn't want several agents getting to drinks after work and saying - you know I've got this really odd letter on my desk. I thought one submission at a time could avoid this potential disaster.

Cheers.

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by Andrew Shaw

So, having read some of the advice here, I'm holding off on the agent search for a little while, the whole "it's a marathon, not a sprint" thing, despite my eagerness, which is a good thing, because it's got me wondering...

When I'm submitting to agents, is it bad form to contact several agents at once?
Would I be less likely to burn potential bridges by contacting one, waiting for a reply, contacting another if rejected, then waiting, then rinse and repeat?
Left to my own devices I'd probably have gone all out, all at once, but I don't want to annoy anyone, obviously.

The intricacies of etiquette often elude me at times...

If you've spent years writing, editing, and polishing a book ready for publishing, then waiting a few months for feedback from agents isn't that long a time to wait at all.

IMO, you should be focused entirely on getting your follow-up novel(s) developed during this period.

You should also ensure you have made every effort to ensure your submission is as polished as humanly possible. The feedback from agents is that the vast majority of manuscripts they are sent fail on basic issues, which show the writer's immaturity, inability to read guidelines/their genre, punctuate, etc.

You need to be in the last couple of percent of submissions which can only be rejected because the agent a) isn't able to take on new clients here, b) thinks it might be hard to sell at the moment, or c) just doesn't personally click with the story, though they appreciate it.

[Andrew Shaw]

Thanks for all the advice and everything.
I'm glad I waited. I'm splitting up a massive Big Thick Book(tm) into two smaller ones. I never saw how I could do that until I had a brain wave yesterday. Instead of one book I now have two much more realistically sized ones, with a couple of chapters or to add to the second one to give it a proper intro. Makes it easier for me to summarise a synopsis too.
I'm actually really excited about having done that.
I'm also bricking it totally about actually contacting agents.
On that note...

[Montero]

Good luck.
If you get any kind of informative feedback as part of a rejection, treasure it and be encouraged. It means they saw enough talent in you to spend some of their precious time on being helpful.

You mentioned splitting up your book. In terms of book lengths go and look at the guidelines for your genre on some of the big publishers. Very roughly, depending on genre, it is 95,000 to 140,000 on a first time book, but that is spread across all publishers - so some might want say 95,000 to 110,000 words on a first time science fiction and others are looking for 120,000 to 140,000 on a first time fantasy. Occasionally longer books are taken on but if you are seeing longer books on the shelves these are usually from established authors.

Some agents have blogs - useful info in there at times such as really horrendous covering letters - which would give you something to avoid.

[Warren_Paul]

I think you could get away with 150k for fantasy in the UK, but that would be the absolute limit. US agents/publishers typically have lower word count limits from what I've seen. Going over 120k would be pushing it in the US I think. 140k wouldn't be dismissed out of hand, but the book would have to be really good to get away with being that big.

[Peter Graham]

When I'm submitting to agents, is it bad form to contact several agents at once?

It seems to depend. Some agents ask you to let them know if your work is on submission elsewhere, but many don't mention it either way.

As fewer publishing houses accept direct submissions, it is fast becoming a choice between agent, self publish or don't bother. If you are going down the traditional route, you therefore don't want to upset agents. But by the same token, I see no reason to treat them with reverential awe. It used to be traditional for a rejected author to at least get a form rejection note. No feedback (which is fair enough), but at least the author could move on to the next one. I see that now, many agents don't even bother with that, especially when they ask for email submissions. Increasing numbers say "if you don't hear after X weeks, assume it's not for us."

So, from the point of view of etiquette, do as they ask. To start with, you need them more than they need you. They shouldn't ask for exclusivity unless they are interested, so if they ask if you are hawking the book elsewhere, don't be afraid to tell them in your covering letter.

But if I was you, I wouldn't send 50 submissions out in one go unless you are sure - and by that, I mean 100% sure - that the submission pack is as good as it can possibly be. If you send out 5 and get 4 rejections but one agent who says "not for me, because you need to change X", you can change X and still have 45 potential targets. Of course, the agent might be wrong, but give yourself the best chance.

Regards,

Peter

[Danrama]

After patiently submitting to agents that said specifically "DO NOT SEND TO US UNLESS YOU HAVE NOT SUBMITTED ANYWHERE ELSE!" I realised that I don't have decades to wait for months at a time for each one to perhaps get to my manuscript. I have a smaller market in fantasy publishers/agents as an Aussie writer and I just over the last few hours decided to submit to a whole series of UK agents and even a US one. I have gone for all the e-submissions first. I am feeling so frustrated by the whole process though. I am actually onto my third novel now and have only sent my first to... I think 4 agents and one publisher direct.

[Andrew Shaw]

I'm actually thinking right now to blanket every e-submission agent/publisher I can find, then work through hard copy submissions. To be honest, If I waited for one agent to reply before moving onto another, I think I'd lose the will to live. I'd certainly lose the desire to continue writing professionally. Right now I'm holding back while working on synopses for the sequels and planning the other series I plan on writing, but I'm getting very antsy indeed.

[SJAB]

Originally Posted by Andrew Shaw

I'm actually thinking right now to blanket every e-submission agent/publisher I can find, then work through hard copy submissions. To be honest, If I waited for one agent to reply before moving onto another, I think I'd lose the will to live. I'd certainly lose the desire to continue writing professionally. Right now I'm holding back while working on synopses for the sequels and planning the other series I plan on writing, but I'm getting very antsy indeed.

With email(pitch type) queries I can see no harm in sending out, say four at a time, as you are only querying. But I would advise against sending out 30 plus in one go, you need to tailor even an email query to each agent/publisher. Get a rejection, send other out and so on. It will give you time to deal with any requests for sample chapters and if you are lucky enough to get feedback on said chapters, deal with that as well.

You need to take deep breaths as it takes time. It took me ten years and the submitting of five manuscripts to get a good agent.