Question about submissions to agents

[EnPassant]

So, some agents want to know if other agents request the full ms. Is it the done thing to tell them the name of the interested agent/agency? Or only if they ask?
Also, some agencies don’t include letting them know about other full requests on their subs guidelines. They say nothing about that, or to let them know about “serious interest” (does that mean an offer?). Do other writers let them know anyway?
Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!

Once I'd had a request for the full ms from one agent, I told all the others I'd submitted to that I had received a request for the full. Then a bunch of others also asked for the full. Nobody asked who it was who had originally requested the full but I was at a seminar where agents were talking and they said they're always worried they are going to miss out so always want to know if someone else is reading the full!

Thanks! Sounds like I shouldn’t say who has the full unless they ask.
If you don’t mind saying, how many ultimately called in your full? And did it work, in terms of securing representation with that book? I feel like I’ve got quite a bit of sudden interest but I suspect it could all fizzle away to nothing very quickly.

Like a pp, as soon as an agent requested the full MS, I emailed the other two agents who had it, and one also requested the full immediately. (The third did eventually also request the full, but by that stage I had signed with one of the two agents who made an offer of representation in a more timely manner.)

The 'late' request was from the assistant of a hugely famous agent, annoyingly.

So three called in the full, two offered representation, and I signed with one.

But no, I named no names, in answer to your question.

Thanks Muscatel. And well done!

I’ve had two agents ask for my full this week independent of each other. And a third gave a nice personal rejection saying she has too much in this area but cc’ing in a colleague she thought might like it. (Should I follow this up?) I’ll stop being a wuss and inform the others.

I submitted to 9 in total and 5 of those requested the full. One of those was an agent I'd met in person at an event and as she offered me representation first, I went with her.

Hi, I don't think it would be helpful to name the interested agent/agency when communicating to the others to whom you've submitted that you've had a full MS requested.

I think the proactive agent deserves to have their confidentiality respected and I don't think it would be helpful to you anyway. If you are, in effect, trying to encourage the other agents to take a look at your work then this might be less effective if the agent who has requested the MS is a small and not well-respected agency. I would just say that the agent requesting the full MS has asked that their commercial confidentiality be maintained.

Good luck.

I haven’t disclosed those who asked for the full, which from the response seems to be right. Thanks for that advice. (No-one has asked for those names; and a phone call yesterday and email at 7am today asking for the full.)

I thought it would be weeks/months of tumbleweed so I am absolutely beside myself with disbelief/excitement/fear of all of them hating the full thing! Trying to busy myself with a different book for now. Also wondering if submitting to 5 was enough - should I send it wider or wait for any feedback, arrrgh.

I'd wait for feedback if all five decline so you can reflect what you agree with in a redraft then sending the redraft to the next selection of agents. Good luck and hopefully one of the five will take you on and it's getting publishers interested that's your next goal.

In my experience you don't tell them who's asked until they sign you up, then they love it if you tell them!

I've noticed that some agents request the full m.s. in the first place. Cheekily, I've thought of saying my full m.s. has been requested just because that was what was required and is not technically (though is morally) incorrect.