Let’s say you have 3 separate manuscripts and send 1 of them to 12 different agents (4 read same copy). Now let’s say 2 agents each liked separate manuscripts and want to move forward. What would you do as far as transparency and negotiation?
Last Updated: 21.06.2025 16:47
You are going to have to explain, “I would like to move forward with You, O Great Agent, but I’ve also sent Other Manuscript to Other Agent, who has also offered representation …” and this whole thing is just getting complicated to even discuss. But you are going to have to discuss this situation.
It should be a lot like the much more ordinary situation when two agents both offer representation for the same manuscript. You pick one of them and move forward. In this case, it would be good to pick the one who is most likely to be enthusiastic about both projects.
A) You’ve sent two different queries in the SAME genre to two different agents, each of whom wants to see the full. You send each the full manuscript and each offers representation.
Who has experienced what they called a happy accident (bestiality)?
B) You’ve sent two different queries in RADICALLY DIFFERENT genres to two different agents, each of whom wants to see the full. You send each the full manuscript and each offers representation.
You would say, “O Great Agent A, I’ve also been querying a cutesy YA romantasy, and since you represent only the hardest of hard SF with physics equations provided in the back appendices, I sent this romantasy to Great Agent B, who has also offered representation. Is that okay?” and probably it’s fine and you wind up working with both agents.
Agents talk to each other, so it’s not like you can secretly work with Agent B and Agent A won’t find out about it. Of course she’ll find out about it, and then she’ll be irritated because you are working with a second agent for no reason and also because you tried to pretend you weren’t, you dishonest jerk. Therefore, the moment one agent offers representation, you discuss your complicated situation in full.