help! what is a typical pitch followup?

[JoanUP]

Hi Litopians,

This weekend, I went to a writers conference and had two pitches for a novel I have a beta version of. I had put it aside a year ago, so I can come back to it with fresh eyes while I work on something else. This was my first pitch session and multiple people told me nothing would come from it, that I should consider it practice. But now both agents want to see the first section (one wants to see first three chapters, the other first 50 pages). Great problem to have! But now I'm reading my beta, and see several areas for improvement. How do I deal with this? Do I send it anyway? Or send a thank you and provide them with a date they can expect it? or scramble to edit the first section, and hope it takes them months to ask for the rest? or ... something else? I didn't mention to them that I only had the beta, I wanted to get my foot in the door...

Thanks in advance for insights!

Joan

 

[CageSage]

If it were me in that position, I'd be sending them a note to say I'd get it to them in a week, and I'd get it to them the day before the week was up (and knowing it takes a while, usually, to read that excerpt I'd be working like mad on getting through the rest of the ms). Just don't leave them waiting to hear from you one way or another or they'll find something/someone else to catch their attention.
In a way, every version up until publication is a beta version.

And congratulations on getting asked to submit!! That's a biggie.

 

[Hannah F]

Congrats on the uptake!

Do research the requesting agents and check that you want to consider them as your agent.

 

[JoanUP]

Congrats on the uptake!

Do research the requesting agents and check that you want to consider them as your agent.

Thanks Hannah
What kind of things should help me decide that?

 

[Hannah F]

Thanks Hannah
What kind of things should help me decide that?

Look up their website. Does it look professional? Do the book covers look professional? Do they have a good track record? Do you recognise any of the authors on their client list? See if you can find them on twitter. You can glean a fair bit from their twitter threads. Does your internet search throw up anything good or bad about them? If everything seems good, go for it. If they offer representation, you will get another chance to consider their suitability based on their intentions for your book or you as an author.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

I'm sure @AgentPete can answer this question best, but if it were me, I'd be pulling an all-nighter to get the requested sample up to snuff so I could send it within a couple of days. Then I'd do my best to work on the rest quickly so that if they came back with a full request, the MS would be ready.

That said, I once had an agent at a conference tell me I should send her a proposal for a non-fiction book idea we were idly discussing at the bar. I spent a couple of intense days scrambling to put together a proposal (because the idea we were discussing was one I hadn't really intended to write just then, and we'd just been chatting, you know ... it wasn't a pitch or anything). Anyway, I busted my butt to write a proposal, and then heard nothing from her after I sent it. Waste of my time and stress. Oh well ...

 

[AgentPete]

I'm sure @AgentPete can answer this question best, but if it were me, I'd be pulling an all-nighter to get the requested sample up to snuff so I could send it within a couple of days. Then I'd do my best to work on the rest quickly so that if they came back with a full request, the MS would be ready.

Totally agree. If you can't get back to them asap, at least send them a "holding" message saying it's your top priority, and give them a delivery date (and stick to it). But best to strike while iron is hot

That said, I once had an agent at a conference tell me I should send her a proposal for a non-fiction book idea we were idly discussing at the bar. I spent a couple of intense days scrambling to put together a proposal (because the idea we were discussing was one I hadn't really intended to write just then, and we'd just been chatting, you know ... it wasn't a pitch or anything). Anyway, I busted my butt to write a proposal, and then heard nothing from her after I sent it. Waste of my time and stress. Oh well ...

Yeah we've all done that, sometimes quite a bit. Goes with the territory, I'm afraid. You eventually work out who's likely to be the timewasters.