previously unpublished books

Kristin Nelson had a great posting on why you shouldn't tell an agent in a query about the ten unpublished manuscripts on your shelf. With a few exceptions, I have to say I completely agree with this. Almost everyone has unpublished novels on their shelf, but why advertise it?

Lets say I have a lunch meeting with an editor. We've just introduced ourselves, and I immediately start telling him/her about how the books I haven't able to sell for my clients. All agents have books they couldn't sell, and in my case I'm proud of each of of them and still think publishers made a mistake by not buying them (don't get me wrong though, my batting average is pretty good). But what possible benefit is it to me now to bring it up? An editor will assume I haven't been able to sell a book on occasion, but now I've brought it front and center to the conversation. Ultimately, I'm there to sell new projects, and that's where the focus should be. The same logic applies to authors and queries.

And no, most agents don't think that ten previously unpublished novels means your productive. You could have written ten novels in fifty years, or ten 20,000 word novels, or ten really bad novels. If you're productive, just say that. I'm looking for a client who can write books I can sell, and while its nice if they write three such books a year, I'll take one book every three years too. I've said before that I want authors who have multiple books in them. This is absolutely true - but you still have to get through the door on your first one.

Once again, let me point out there are exceptions to this. And while I typically say every agent is different, I think I can fairly say that most agents feel the same way as me. You mention ten previously unpublished books, and we take it on its face. You've written ten books no one wanted to publish. Be proud of them, but just don't mention them while shaking my hand.