Questions from the Clueless...

1. Yes, it's acceptable to continue querying, but you should definitely let the interested agent know if you get any other nibbles.

2. I'm honestly not sure, but I'm guessing it would be OK to query in that case.

thethinker42 said:

I poked around but didn't see any threads that addressed these specifically, so I'll give it a shot...

1. I have one partial on an editor's desk right now. It was a partial request originally, then she asked me to revise and resubmit (which I've done). Waiting to hear back on it currently. If I query this WIP to an agent, do I mention any of this? How do I phrase it? SHOULD I even query an agent with this book while it's in its current state? You're issue is a bit different that you think it is. If you have submitted to one editor (not agent, editor), it makes me wonder what other publishers you've submitted to. This means as an agent I don't know what other publishers are off limits. In other words, as an agent I have a pool of X number of editors I can use. You've potentially used up that pool. I'd pass at this point, no matter how wonderful your book is.
2. Really dumb question I'm sure, but...if an agent specifies "published authors only", and I've got a contracted (but not released) novel...yes or no? Worse they can say is no.

Clueless minds need to know.

Click to expand...

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

OK, I misread. I thought it said agent, not editor. *sigh* My fault, not yours.

It doesn't change my answer too much though. Keep querying, mentioning the interest. The fact that you have successfully gained the interest of a professional would probably be a plus for a number of agents. I don't think it is crucial to mention it at the query stage, mind you, but once an agent expresses interest then you would have to, for sure.

Good luck.