How do you handle multiple agent offers?
- Talk to each agent in a 30-60 minute call.
- Compare across the same six question areas.
- Decision deadline: 1-2 weeks after the first offer.
- The right choice isn’t always the highest-prestige agent.
- A direct comparison document helps clarify.
You handle multiple agent offers by talking to each in a 30-60 minute call, comparing them across the same six question areas (vision, submission plan, communication, sub rights, departures, references), and making a decision within the 1-2 week notification window. The right choice isn’t always the most famous agent — it’s the best fit for your specific career.
Chapter i·Why it matters
Multiple offers are rare and high-stakes. Authors who pick the most famous agent without due diligence often end up mismatched. Authors who compare offers methodically — same questions, same evaluation framework — end up with the agent whose strengths align with their specific book and career.
Chapter ii·What to include
- 30-60 minute call with each offering agent.
- Same six question areas for each.
- A comparison document: vision, submission plan, communication, sub-rights, references, gut feel.
- Reference calls with current clients of each agent.
- A "no rush" reminder: the 1-2 week window is yours.
- A polite decline template for the agents you don’t choose.
Chapter iii·Example
A debut writer receives three offers in the same week. She calls each agent for 50 minutes, fills in a comparison document, talks to two references per agent, and decides on day 11 of the 14-day window. She signs with the agent whose submission plan named the editors she most wanted to work with — not the most famous agent of the three.
Chapter iv·Related questions
WriteLoom’s Pitch studio holds your offer-comparison notes so the multi-offer decision is grounded in side-by-side data.
See the Pitch studio