So an agent wants a phone call? Congratulations! Below are a series of questions, sorted by topic, that you might want to ask! Have a master list of questions handy, but in the organic flow of conversation, you may find the agent answers a lot of these without your having to ask!

Note: This post is in support of my YouTube video on the topic. If you’re coming from my channel, welcome! If you’re coming to the post first, be sure the check out my video, where I will go more in-depth about some of these questions, why they’re important to ask, and red flags to look for.

• ABOUT YOUR BOOK
  • Do you have imprints/editors in mind?
  • Where do you see the book fitting in the market?
  • How close to submission ready do you feel it is?
  • What is your timeline for submission/when do you hope to go on submission with this?
  • What edits do you want me to make to it to get it submission ready?
  • How many revision rounds do you envision us doing before submission?
• EDITORIAL PROCESS
  • Are you editorial?
  • What does being editorial mean to you? In what ways are you editorial?
  • How long is your average turnaround for reading/notes?
  • How do you deliver notes?
  • Do you do line edits? Copy edits?
  • Will there ever be a case where you will request that I pay someone to edit my manuscript
  • Who decides when the manuscript is ready to go on sub–you or me?
• SUBMISSION PROCESS
  • Will you share editor info with me? (imprints & editor names)
  • Will I get a complete list before submission of imprints and/or editors?
  • If you won’t be sharing editor names with me, can you share your philosophy as to why not?
  • How do you approach submission rounds?
  • How many editors will be in the first round? Second? etc.
  • How often will you communicate during submission?
  • How will I receive responses?
  • Is it up to me how and when I receive submission responses?
• COMMUNICATION
  • Do you prefer to communicate via email, phone, text, Skype?
  • What are your typical client response times for general questions, urgent requests, reading manuscripts?
  • What is the longest I would go without hearing from you?
  • If I wish to, would I be able to text message you? Twitter DM? Skype? (note: email & phone are standard but if you like to communicate in other ways, just ask!)
• POST DEAL PROCESS
  • How do you manage the client/editor relationship?
  • Do you have to be copied on all communication to my editor? Do you need to be on our phone calls?
  • What would happen if my editor and I don’t see eye-to-eye?
  • How involved are you/the agency in marketing/publicity?
• SUBSEQUENT PROJECTS
  • At what point do you want to see project ideas? Pitch? Synopsis? Partial? Full?
  • Will you sub everything I write/want to sub, or will you veto projects?
  • How prescriptive are you when it comes to future work?
  • If I wrote something in another a genre/category, would you represent that as well?
  • If you are working on anything else, talk about it and ask what they think
  • What happens if we can’t agree on future projects?
• SUBRIGHTS
  • Are subrights (foreign, film, audio, etc.) managed in house? Outsourced?
  • Does anyone from the agency attend Frankfort or Bologna? If not, does the agency produce a catalog for the fairs (that is sent along with foreign agency partners)?
  • If subrights are managed by another agent, how involved are you in the process?
  • What are the commission percentages for subrights?
• MISC
  • Have you ever asked a client to delete something from social media?
  • Under what circumstances would you part ways with a client?
  • If the agent is newer, ask them about contract experience/who manages contracts in-house
  • Ask to speak to a client who has sold + a client who hasn’t sold
• AGENCY MISC
  • Is the contract on a book-by-book basis, or an overall agency/career basis?
  • May I have a blank copy of the agency agreement to look over?
  • Will I ever work with an assistant or interns, and if so, under what circumstances?
  • What happens to me if you move agencies or leave agenting?

Finally, be sure to ask for MINIMUM 7 days to make your decision but don’t be afraid to ask for 10 to 14 days (2 weeks), or more if the offer falls close to a big holiday. It is INDUSTRY STANDARD to ask for time for you to inform other agents of the offer, and give them time to read. Any agent who balks at this or gives your grief is THROWING UP A RED FLAG. Don’t let them bully you (and if they do, maybe don’t sign with them).