Protocol? Agent has MS, no response

Hi, Uncle Jim and Fellow Writers,

I'm a longtime lurker on this site and finally joined in order to post a question and get some feedback. Last October 6, I received a letter dated Oct. 2 from an agent who received my query package, containing a query letter, a synopsis, and the first 40 pages of a novel I'd written. The agent requested to see the entire manuscript, so I Fed Ex'ed it to her overnight on October 7.

It has now been 7 months and I haven't heard a word from her. Actually, last month I sent her a reminder letter, saying that I'd sent her my MS per her request on October 7 and hoped that she'd enjoyed reading it and that she would decide to represent me. There was no response to that letter, either.

I don't know what the next step should be: Call her? Or assume that she's not interested? If the latter, should I send out a new batch of queries to other agents?

She is a reputable agent who has sold books recently, in a 2-person agency. I am clueless about what could be going on there . As soon as she requested the MS, I stopped sending queries to other agents, per the well-known "no multiple submissions" rule. From what I've read, the reason writers aren't supposed to do this is because the agent could be consulting with editors, who could be meeting with a publisher's financial officers in order to determine the feasibility of publishing the writer's book. And that's a lot of time for an agent to invest, only to have it be in vain if the writer is out there looking for other agents who might decide to rep the book more quickly.

But would this scenario actually happen (of the agent checking in with her editor friends about the book's chances) before the agent contacts you and says that she will represent you?

I've also heard that agents hate to receive phone calls in situations like this, so I don't want to jinx things if she is considering my book.

Any suggestions from writers who might have experienced something similar?

Thanks so much!

Thanks!

IceCreamEmpress said:

This is not a rule at all unless you have agreed to give the agent an exclusive.



An agent has no legal right to consult with editors about a manuscript he or she does not represent; in fact, that might possibly be construed as trade interference.



Where did you get this information? This seems way out of line with current publishing practice in the US.

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Dear Empress,

My brain is a mishmash full of advice gleaned from official sources like Jeff Hermann's guide to getting an agent, etc., and questionable advice from online chatters, so I'm not sure where I got these guidelines. But thanks for clearing up some of my misconceptions!

Thanks!

JamieFord said:

Argh. That's a long freakin' time. I would have nudged them via email after a month.

The good news is--your query and partial worked! Yay! The bad news is, you really could have and should have been querying other agents while you've been waiting. Shoot this agent an email and get back on the query trail––and don't give anyone an exclusive.

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Unfortunately, I searched high and low online for an e-mail address. She apparently is keeping it private, so the only choice is a phone call. I guess I'll steel up my courage to do that.

But I'm glad all of you think that 7 months is ridiculously long to wait and that I don't owe her any exclusive rights at this point. And I will definitely start querying again.

Thanks!

CaroGirl said:

Personally, I'd probably give up on this agent and restart the query process immediately, if not sooner.

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Yeah, I'm thinking along those lines. If she is this inefficient in answering me or reading the MS, then maybe she would be equally slow in sending the book to editors and conducting business in general.

Thanks!

Gillhoughly said:

Never overnight anything unless you're on a deadline. I promise it WILL SIT ON A DESK for a long long time until she's able to get to it.

I imagine her desk looks like this. Rinse and repeat daily.

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JEEZ, I read this Fed Ex advice somewhere: they said that it shows that the author is eager and ready, as opposed to procrastinating and slow. But it was obviously a big waste of $57.

Re: the desk. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Thanks to all!

Inky said:

You might want to check the thread here...something like Background and Bewares and see if the agent's name is listed there. Who knows? It may be a regular problem some of us have already fallen victim to and it will be nice for you to know you're not alone.

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I checked her out on Predators and Editors initially. But I should recheck. And instead of clogging up this thread with more individual thank-yous, I will send out a HUGE thanks to everyone else who answered: ChaosTitan, icerose, Waylander (I'll look up that Nathan Bransford e-mail you mentioned), and AJ Luxley. You were all very helpful!

I will now send her name in a PM to Uncle Jim to see if he has any dirt on her.

Thanks!

David I said:

Use Priority Mail. Not much slower, way way cheaper, and doesn't stand out either direction.

And yes, 7 months is a long time, but not impoossibly long. But there's no way you should consider this an exclusive!

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Good idea--Priority Mail.

Hmmm, not impossibly long? This is proof that things in publishing move as slowly as the tectonic plates shifting.

Well, I'm still pissed off at myself for wasting 7 months because I did consider it an exclusive. I'm glad that you and everyone else have disabused me of that notion.

Thanks!