Questions to Ask Literary Agents
Twenty questions for the call with a literary agent who has offered to represent you, covering revision, the submission list, commission and subrights, the agency agreement, and what happens if the book does not sell. Useful whether you have one offer or several.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What did you respond to in the manuscript, and what would you want changed before we submit?
Why ask it
This is the single most revealing question on the call. An agent who has read closely will name scenes, structural problems and a specific reader for the book; one who speaks only in praise has probably read the first fifty pages and the synopsis.
How much revision are we talking about, and over what timeline?
Why ask it
Editorial expectations range from a light polish to a rewrite, and the gap between an agent's idea of a few changes and yours is where relationships go wrong. Ask for the scale in months and in whether the point of view or plot would move.
Which editors and imprints would you take this to, and in what order?
Why ask it
Named editors show real thinking; a general answer about the big houses does not. Their ordering also tells you how they see the book, whether as literary, commercial or something being positioned across both.
How many editors would you approach in the first round, and what happens if it does not land?
Why ask it
Submission strategies differ, and both wide and narrow rounds can work. What matters is that there is a plan for the second round, because most books that sell do not sell to the first list.
What have you sold in this genre recently, and to whom?
Why ask it
Recent sales in your category are the closest thing to evidence available to you. An agent with a strong list in another genre may still be the right person, but you should hear them explain why rather than assume it.
How many clients do you have, and how many books did you sell last year?
Why ask it
The ratio matters more than either number. A large list with few recent sales suggests clients waiting in a queue, and a very short list can mean either careful attention or a career still being built.
Are you taking on debut authors at the moment, and how many?
Why ask it
Debuts need more editorial and hand-holding time than established clients, and agencies vary in appetite for that. Someone actively building a debut list will treat your book differently from someone who signed you as an exception.
Am I signing with you for this book, or for my career?
Why ask it
Some agreements cover a single project, others cover future work. This determines whether a book that fails to sell ends the relationship, and you want that understood before it happens rather than after.
What would you do if this book does not sell?
Why ask it
Most manuscripts on submission do not sell, so the answer describes a likely future. Listen for whether they would revise and go out again, shelve it and work on the next book, or quietly stop replying, which also happens.
What is your commission, and does it change for foreign, audio or dramatic rights?
Why ask it
Rates are largely conventional, and a higher rate on foreign deals usually reflects a co-agent taking a share. What matters is that the numbers are stated plainly on the call and match the written agreement exactly.
Do you handle subrights in house or through co-agents, and how does that work?
Why ask it
Translation, audio and film rights are where a good agency adds income for years. In-house departments and co-agent networks both work, but you should know which one you are getting and who would be selling on your behalf.
Who else at the agency would work on my book, and what happens if you leave?
Why ask it
Agents move, and where your contract sits, with the individual or the agency, decides what happens to you when they do. Ask this now, because it is an awkward question to raise mid-submission.
Can I see the agency agreement before I decide, and what does ending it involve?
Why ask it
You should read the termination clause, the notice period, and what happens to deals already in play, before signing. An agent who is comfortable sending the contract in advance is telling you something reassuring about all of it.
How does money reach me, and how quickly after the publisher pays?
Why ask it
Most agencies collect payments and remit your share, so you are relying on their bookkeeping. Ask about the interval, the statements you receive, and whether client funds are held separately, which is the ordinary professional standard.
Do you ever charge authors for anything?
Why ask it
Reputable agents are paid from commission on sales. Reading fees, editing fees, submission expenses or a referral to a paid editorial service are the clearest warning signs in this industry, and the answer should be a straightforward no.
How often will I hear from you, and what should I not email you about?
Why ask it
Mismatched expectations about contact are the most common source of author unhappiness. A direct answer, including what they consider a reasonable check-in interval during submission, prevents months of unnecessary anxiety.
When we go on submission, will you share the list and pass on the responses?
Why ask it
Practices vary, and both approaches are defensible. But knowing in advance whether you will see editors' rejection notes matters, because those notes are the only feedback you will get about why the book did not sell.
What do you expect from me on publicity and online presence?
Why ask it
Some agents want a platform in place before submission, particularly for nonfiction. Getting the expectation now tells you whether you are being asked to build an audience as part of the deal, and how firmly.
Could I speak to two of your clients, including one whose book did not sell?
Why ask it
The second half is the important half. A satisfied client whose book sold tells you little that the deal announcement did not, whereas someone the agent could not place will tell you how they behave when things go badly.
How do you see this book sitting in the market right now?
Why ask it
Placed at the end, this asks for a judgment rather than enthusiasm. Concrete comparisons, a sense of which recent books it would sit beside, and honesty about what is hard to sell at the moment are all better signs than confidence.
Handling an offer of representation
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the call
Tell everyone else who has the manuscript
When one agent offers, notify every agent holding your full or partial submission and give them a fixed window to respond, commonly a week or two. This is standard practice, not pressure, and it is the only chance you get to compare offers.
Look up their actual deals
Check recent sales in industry deal listings, the acknowledgments pages of books like yours, and the agency's own client list. Look for sales in the last two years rather than a career highlight from a decade ago.
Write your questions down and keep them visible
Offer calls are exciting and short, and it is remarkably easy to finish one having asked nothing about money or contracts. Six written questions on paper solves this.
Decide your own limits first
Know what revision you are willing to do, whether you would change the ending, and how long you can wait. An offer is easier to evaluate against a position you formed before the phone rang.
Warning signs
- Any fee charged to you: reading, editing, marketing, submission expenses or office costs.
- A recommendation that you pay a particular editorial service, especially one connected to the agency.
- No written agreement, or an agreement with no termination clause and no notice period.
- Pressure to accept immediately, or discouragement from notifying other agents who have your manuscript.
- No verifiable sales to established publishers, or a client list that cannot be checked.
- Vagueness about which editors would receive the book, or about who is paid what when it sells.
- An offer that arrives alongside a suggestion to publish through a service the agency also owns.
After the call, before you sign
- Read the agreement twice, specifically the commission percentages, the term, what happens to work in progress on termination, and whether it covers all future books.
- Ask for anything discussed on the call to be confirmed in email. Warm verbal promises about revision timelines and submission plans are worth having in writing.
- Compare offers on editorial fit and submission plan, not on enthusiasm. The agent who identified the actual weakness in your manuscript is usually the better choice.
- Talk to the clients you were given, and ask them what the agent is like when a book stalls.
- If you are turning an offer down, do it promptly and plainly. Publishing is small and these conversations recur across a career.
- Consider having a publishing-experienced lawyer or an authors' organization review the agreement, particularly a career-long one.