Must a novel be completed before an agent will look at it?

Someone wrote to ask, “Must a novel always be 100% finished before an agent will want to take a look at it? Or if you spotted great voice in an unfinished work, would you take a look and offer encouragement?”

If I absolutely love the voice, I might sign an author based on the quality of the writing. That happens on occasion. More often, I will look at a project and offer encouragement to the writer if I like his or her writing voice and think it has potential, but still think it needs to be completed. Right now the market is more or less demanding a novel be completed if a publisher is going to take a risk on a new or newer author. So yes, an agent might very well say he likes your work, but put off a decision to sign you until you complete your novel.

Another asked, “How much of a difference does it make to an agent to hear I’ve been referred by one of their current clients? And how does that compare to a face-to-face with an agent at a conference?”

It always makes a difference to me when one of the authors I already represents sends a talented writer my way. I figure the writers I represent are already my friends — we understand one another, so they’re probably going to send people my way who would likely be a fit. So consider that a good start. That said, it still usually takes a face-to-face for me to really get to know someone. A conference meeting is often too short (sometimes ten minutes), but it’s a start. In both cases, it will need to be followed up by great writing and a long talk or two, where we both get a feel for whether or not we’re a fit for one another.

One writer asked, “How are royalties paid? Why is it the contract says you get 10%, but the author never sees that much?”

The standard hardcover contract pays the author 10% of whatever a book sells for on the first 5000 copies, then it rises to 12.5% on the next 5000 copies, then 15% thereafter. (But I should note the standard CBA contract will pay the author somewhere in the 12-to-18% of net — that is, it pays not on the retail price of the book, but on the amount of money received by the publisher.) The publisher keeps tabs on how many copies are sold, and quarterly or semi-annually pays that amount to the author. For subsidiary projects (that is, the words sold in another format, such as an audio book or an e-book), there will be a separate royalty amount. Sometimes a large company (read: “Wal-Mart”) will purchase a big quantity of books, but to do so they’ll insist on a huge discount. In a case like that, the author will be paid a discounted royalty. That’s why it can be hard to track a book’s exact earnings. I recently had an author on the bestsellers list receive a very disappointing check — the bulk of the sales were done through big box stores like Sam’s Club and Costco, so while the number of books sold was high, the discounts made the royalties lower than expected. Does that adequately answer your question? I can say more about royalties and payouts if you have more questions.

Another writer sent me this: “I sent something out to an agent prematurely. The agent rejected my project, but was nice enough to make suggestions for improving it. Now that I’ve taken her advice to heart, would it be reasonable to re-send to her? How unusual is it for an agent to reconsider an author they’ve already rejected?”

While it’s fairly rare for an agent to want to see a project he or she has already rejected, the situation you’re describing is a type of exception you’ll occasionally find. I wouldn’t make a habit of re-sending rejected proposals, for fear of establishing a bad reputation with agents. But if an agent has offered helpful advice, and you’ve really taken those words and improved your work, it wouldn’t be considered impolite to at least go back and ask if that agent would like to see the better, polished version. But be careful… Make sure it’s REALLY better. Nobody is going to look at it a third time.

This came from an experienced magazine writer: “I’ve quered a few agents who said they liked my writing, but there was no market for memoirs. Is there no market for memoir? Should I try to pitch the book as something else?”

Well, if the agents you’re approaching are saying there’s no market for memoir, then, for them at least, there’s no market for memoir. So you either have to look for other agents (who perhaps have a different perspective), or alter your book. My guess is you’ve written something that YOU see as memoir, but agents see as just a personal story — something that doesn’t have the broad appeal it needs, but is simply a cool story about something that happened to you. That’s the sort of thing I see ALL THE TIME, and there’s no market for it. That type of story fits best as a magazine or e-zine piece. If you want to reshape it into another book, you may want to think about the lessons you’ve learned — how can you turn your story into a self-help book, where you focus on the principles for living more effectively, and use your personal story as backstory to buttress your points. That might hold more appeal. OR you could leave it alone and do it as a magazine article, which will garner you more readers anyway.

And this came from a newer writer: “I’m a finalist in a writing contest. I’m also talking with an agent. If I win and get published, would if be customary for my agent to take 15% of the book?”

I love a question that’s off the beaten path. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard this before, so let me try my hand at it… If you came to me, and already had a publishing deal in hand, I would probably not take 15% of the deal. Since I didn’t help you shape the piece, or help you improve it, or shop it to publishers, it wouldn’t feel right to me to do so. I would probably offer to negotiate the contract for you, and hope to improve it, and perhaps suggest taking half my usual commission. (And, if you think I’m simply posing, I invite you to talk with some of the publishers. I’ve done exactly this in the past, so this isn’t some sort of empty windmill-chasing.) That said, other agents may disagree with me entirely. A good agent is going to help you shape your career, not just land one book deal, so they may feel entirely comfortable participating fully in the deal via a 15% commission. Depends on the individual. Don’t let it be a surprise — ask this question up front, in a non-combative way. No sense letting this create a headache for you later.