Partial Taking Longer...

Provrb1810meggy · Aug 16, 2006

Ok, I submitted a partial to one agent. They provided tons of feedback, saying they were interested in a rewrite, and if so, to send them it. They responded in about two days to that partial. I rewrote the novel at lightning speed, sent her an email, and she requested the partial. She's had it for, let's see, 5 days., and no reply yet

Here's my question. Could her looking at the partial longer mean she's considering it, maybe showing it to the big agents there? This probably sounds stupid and I am probably being over optimistic. Most likely, outside circumstances are making her take longer on this partial, right?

Jamesaritchie · Aug 16, 2006

p;artial

Provrb1810meggy said:
Ok, I submitted a partial to one agent. They provided tons of feedback, saying they were interested in a rewrite, and if so, to send them it. They responded in about two days to that partial. I rewrote the novel at lightning speed, sent her an email, and she requested the partial. She's had it for, let's see, 5 days., and no reply yet

Here's my question. Could her looking at the partial longer mean she's considering it, maybe showing it to the big agents there? This probably sounds stupid and I am probably being over optimistic. Most likely, outside circumstances are making her take longer on this partial, right?

Some writers wait several months to hear back from an agent. Five days means nothing.

Provrb1810meggy · Aug 16, 2006

I know. I'm not complaining about the length and I'm willing to wait, but I'm just saying, is it a good sign that she's taking longer to read my manuscript, seeing as she only took 2 days to read my partial and reject it before?

CaoPaux · Aug 16, 2006

Remember that you are only one of dozens, if not hundreds, of other queries, partials, and mss the agent is juggling. Odds are good that she hasn't opened the envelope yet. I presume you didn't receive an expected response time? If not, give her at least four weeks before you query for status.

clara bow · Aug 16, 2006

I would be cautious about reading too much into it. Personally, I don't think it means anything, good or bad. I have a full with an agent who took a month to review it the first time, and still hasn't gotten to the revised version after six weeks (although the assistant emailed earlier this week to say she (the assistant) will complete the review this week. So even though the first read happened at relatively lightening speed, the length of time for the second read means pretty much the same thing: they just need a month or two to get through requested manuscripts. Sorry to ramble, but I just wanted to give you another scenario for comparison.

Provrb1810meggy · Aug 16, 2006

Thanks. I thought I was reading too much into it. I guess I just wanted someone to tell me that, so I don't get my expecations too high, which happens when I get excited.

arkady · Aug 17, 2006

The only "good sign" is when an agent says he wants to represent your book. Everything else is just reading the omens, and means nothing at all.

Kristen King · Aug 17, 2006

arkady said:
The only "good sign" is when an agent says he wants to represent your book. Everything else is just reading the omens, and means nothing at all.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Kristen

popmuze · Aug 17, 2006

Provrb1810meggy said:
Ok, I submitted a partial to one agent. They provided tons of feedback, saying they were interested in a rewrite, and if so, to send them it. They responded in about two days to that partial. I rewrote the novel at lightning speed, sent her an email, and she requested the partial. She's had it for, let's see, 5 days., and no reply yet

Here's my question. Could her looking at the partial longer mean she's considering it, maybe showing it to the big agents there? This probably sounds stupid and I am probably being over optimistic. Most likely, outside circumstances are making her take longer on this partial, right?

The fact that you did the rewrite "at lightning speed" worries me. Most agents complain that authors rewrite too quickly and don't really accomplish anything in the rewrites.

Provrb1810meggy · Aug 17, 2006

OK, it wasn't really lightning speed. It just went faster than I expected. Two weeks, maybe.

maddythemad · Aug 20, 2006

First of all, congrats, Meggie! Second of all, I'd say it certainly could be a good thing that it's taking longer. My dad has a friend that's a big NY agent, and I know that if she really likes something it will take her longer because she has to show it to the other agents in her agency. Am I making any sense? Anyway, it's definitely a good sign that they asked for the rewrite, because it obviously shows lots of potential. Good luck!

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