This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Our Writers' Tuesday Series, What An Agent Wants, is now in its sixth week!
To recap, we are asking our esteemed agent panel a question a week over ten weeks and publishing the answers right here for you guys. This week we ask…
What is your approach to providing editorial input and career guidance for your clients?
Madeleine Milburn of the Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency
I do a lot of editorial work with my clients, especially with their debuts, as I know we are much more likely to get a decent publishing deal that way.
Laura Longrigg of MBA Literary Agents
I do as much as I feel is needed to present the most complete/polished version of the manuscript to the publisher. Sometimes that can take lots and lots of work, which is very tough on the author and I am really impressed by how many are prepared to do it – given that I can’t promise it will find a publisher once done to my satisfaction, nor that an editor might not want the author to do more! Personally I feel an editor might be able to see how a work can be improved but their sales/marketing colleagues (who have to be persuaded too) probably won’t. And you can’t go back six months later with an edited version – once rejected, stays rejected in my experience.
Hannah Ferguson of The Marsh Agency
I take my approach to each client on a case by case basis, and my level of input corresponds to that. I really enjoy getting involved in the nitty gritty of the editorial side and helping to develop authors and their work. But at the same time, if that isn’t needed then I can take a step back. In a sense the major aspect of an agent’s role is giving career guidance – helping an author with the important decisions they have ahead of them, negotiating on their behalf and supporting them with their best interests at heart.
Lisa Eveleigh of the Richford Becklow Literary Agency
I view both as part of my job. However I need a manuscript be 75% ready for publication to commit to working editorially on it, as I can’t undertake ‘major surgery’; I help authors to polish their existing ideas and prose, asking questions that will help them to round out a character, or help with plot. And yes, I do spot typos and repetitions though there shouldn’t be many.
Career guidance is also something I offer, but it is obviously specific to the client.
Sarah Lutyens of Lutyens & Rubinstein Literary Agency
Editorial input
We know that we are not professional editors and that there will be a stage in any published book's life when an editor(s) will be working with the writer to make it the best book it can be. Having said that we are opinionated and experienced readers and feel that it is an important part of our job to give broad stroke (and sometimes pretty detailed) editorial feedback to our authors so that projects are submitted from the outset with the best chance of appealing to a general trade publisher. Inevitably this happens more at the start of an author's career because for subsequent books there is more likely to be an editor in place to work on drafts of the book. But we will always be 'first' readers.
Career guidance
This is probably the most crucial role an agent can play, thinking about the long-term future of a writer and giving broad-ranging advice about the market and individual publishers which may go far beyond simply recommending acceptance of the best financial deal. Having said that, we would try to steer clear of guiding writers through every element of their lives and try to stay focused on their literary career!
Diane Banks of Diane Banks Associates
It's essential to give editorial guidance – I invented a whole character in one of my client's novels, and entirely rewrote the ending for another. The core activity of any kind of talent agent is to spot and nurture potential and so it's clearly in our interest to submit the best possible manuscript to publishers as well as proactively develop the author's career going forward. We work solely on commission so if the author does well, it stands to reason that we do well too.
Sheila Crowley of Curtis Brown
When I first started out as an Agent I had more time to give to editorial input but as my list has grown over the last eight years my priority will always be with my current clients and their scripts. It is also important to stress to new authors, that they should develop their script to the highest level before they begin to approach Agents. Some new authors do this via Creative Writing Courses. Here at Curtis Brown we launched our Creative Writing Course in 2011 and the attendees have the opportunity to meet with some Curtis Brown Authors; Editors from the Industry; and all the Agents. www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk
My background in publishing is in Sales & Marketing, so I am very well placed to give career guidance as my observations of industry developments keep me informed. Sometimes one has to guide an author to write in different areas or even change their name.
Do let us know what you think of our agents' answers in the comments below.
Next week we ask the agent panel if they ever take on unfinished manuscripts…