Virginia Kidd Agency

[MThomas2003]

I am seeking info about Nanci McClosky at the Virginia Kidd agency. I have read all the usual resources, and from what I've seen the Kidd agency has had a good reputation. I know that Ms. Kidd passed away, and the agency remains open. What I've not been able to find is an AAR listing nor info about recent sales. Any help would be appreciated.

[HapiSofi]

Last I heard, NM was Ted Chiang's agent, and handling Ursula Le Guin's short fiction. I'd call that real.

[James D Macdonald]

Welcome back, Hapi.

[MThomas2003]

>>I'd call that real. <<

LOL. Indeed, quite real. Didn't know about Chiang. Thank you!

[CaoPaux]

Still looks to be a major agent for spec fic. Can't find any web presence, though (not that they need any).

[Fiendish Writer]

Does anyone have any information on this agent? I know she's with the Virginia Kidd Agency, so obviously quite legit, but I can't find any data on sales or clients online.

[CaoPaux]

Per Locus's sales announcements (http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/%7Emgoodin19/locus.htm), her clients include Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Alan Dean Foster.

[Fiendish Writer]

Thanks, CaoPaux! Your Google-fu is mighty.

[Fiendish Writer]

And now I am a client, though most lowly of them all.

Signed,
A Very Pleased Fiendish Writer

[Meerkat]

Holy smokes--congratulations!!!!

[callalily61]

WOW! :Sun:
Congratulations!

[CaoPaux]

Congrats! :PartySmil

[Fiendish Writer]

Thank you, everyone! :D

[Kasey Mackenzie]

Congratulations, you fiendish thing you! =)

Signed, an Envious (but in a good way) Writer. ;)

[waylander]

Care to share the story of how you landed this agent?
I've not seen any guidelines for how to query her.

[Fiendish Writer]

Care to share the story of how you landed this agent? I've not seen any guidelines for how to query her.

Nor had I. My teacher from a workshop recommended me to her.

[Andrew Jameson]

Care to share the story of how you landed this agent?
I've not seen any guidelines for how to query her.
Agents at Virginia Kidd do seem to be unduly secretive, don't they? I snail-mailed her a query at the address on Virginia Kidd's website (http://www.vk-agency.com/) with a standard query letter + five pages. A couple months later I got a nice form rejection letter from one of the other V-K agents which either meant a) my query was interesting enough to pass around, but not quite enough to make the cut, or b) the other agent was low man on the totem pole and had to deal with all the really crappy queries like mine.

Anyway, congrats to FW.

[Meira]

Anyone know if Nancy McCloskey from the Virginia Kidd Agency is still around? The information is sketchy.

http://www.katfeete.net/writing/agents.html
“. . .remarkably difficult to get information on; their webpage is nothing but an address. However, Martin Owtin reports that Brian Townsell has left the agency, and Nanci McCloskey may not be there any more either.”

Not on P&E under “Nanci” or “Nancy”

[waylander]

Nanci McCloskey is currently with the Denise Shannon Agency according to Agentquery http://agentquery.com/agent.aspx?agentid=811

I had contact with Christine Cohen of VKA back in August. They have had a "series of unfortunate events" and were concentrating on their existing clients and declining new projects

[Meira]

Got it. Thanks!

[xiaotien]

near 5 month form rejection via SASE
yesterday. it was signed "submissions agent".

i had sent the query and synopsis
on 2/11/08.

[natalieburwell]

Hi there, my name is Natalie and I am looking at Vaughne Lee Hansen as an agent. I have figured out that she is still at the Virginia Kidd Agency (as of 2008). Does anyone know if Hansen considers simultaneous submissions or how I can find out?

Thank you,
Natalie

[natalieburwell]

Sorry for another question but I couldn't delete the other one. Vaughne Lee Hansen is an agent with the Virginia Kidd Agency and represents Ursula K. Le Guin, Alan Dean Foster and Gene Wolfe that I know of. I am looking for bewares, other clients, comments, rants and raves and any other information anyone may have on Ms. Hansen.

I am also interesting in submission guidelines, cautions, stories and experiences and other tidbits that you may think helpful. I would like to write to Ms. Hansen specifically at VKA and need all of the information that I can find on her. I am trying to do the best research that I can but there is very little that I can find about her. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Natalie Burwell

[herdon]

The vast majority of agents are fine with simultaneous submissions (initial queries -- some might ask for an exclusive after the initial contact) and, according to the Snark Queen, the ones that don't should probably just be ignored.

[eqb]

I'm a client, and I have nothing but praise for Vaughne. I'm not sure if her client list is full or not, but it can't hurt to send a query letter to the address on the agency website.

(And someone with mod-powers will surely come along to merge these new threads to the existing one about Vaughne.)

[callalily61]

Beth, the website has only a snail mail addy page. Is that correct? Thanks.

[vixey]

And Vaughne Lee Hansen doesn't show up on Agent Query. I'm curious, too.

[eqb]

Beth, the website has only a snail mail addy page. Is that correct? Thanks.

That's correct. (Sorry, I should have mentioned that before.)

[callalily61]

Thanks!

Can you tell me if she only reps fantasy? I have a spec fic and a mystery I'm shopping.

[eqb]

Thanks! Can you tell me if she only reps fantasy? I have a spec fic and a mystery I'm shopping.

She reps both SF and fantasy.

[callalily61]

Thanks again! :e2flowers

[BenPanced]

I did some GoodSearch-fu last night and found blog posts from the people she reps, but no other information beyond that.

[callalily61]

*blows kisses at Ben for saving me a couple hours at, like, midnight--the only free time I have*

[eqb]

She's experienced, knowledgable, and wonderfully responsive. I've been a client for about a year and a half, and I can't say enough good things about Vaughne or the agency.

[Thomas Scot]

Anybody know whether I should query Christine Cohen or Vaughne Hansen at Virginia Kidd?

I can't find more specific info on which agent specializes on SF or F; if they both look at queries for both genres; who might be the more appropriate first contact, etc. Thanks in advance. Tom

[Medievalist]

See this thread (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48456)

[HapiSofi]

Can we merge these threads?

Thomas Scot, bright-line distinctions between science fiction and fantasy are there for the readers, not the writers or editors or agents. Professionals in the field who deal with the one can be assumed to deal with the other, unless and until they tell you otherwise. It's not likely they'll do so.

[AlterEgox5]

Dec. 16 (today) ~ Virginia Kidd Agency announces they are actively looking for new authors, particularly in SF and say that if you've got a good manuscript, give them a jingle. (I did about 2 minutes ago!)

[Nya RAyne]

Dec. 16 (today) ~ Virginia Kidd Agency announces they are actively looking for new authors, particularly in SF and say that if you've got a good manuscript, give them a jingle. (I did about 2 minutes ago!)


What did you send to them beside your query letter?

[AlterEgox5]

What did you send to them beside your query letter?
...Nothing.

The site was less than specific and both agents on AgentQuery still have "not taking anything" listed (in a nutshell). Near the end of the site it says "Queries & Manuscript Submissions" and then where to send, but I thought, "No way do they want the entire manuscript," so I just queried.

I did some googling and found conflicting info too, so that didn't really help. I figure if they want to see more, they'll ask. :)

[Dev]

AlterEgox5, could you let us know when you get a response?

Thanks,
Dev

[52greg]

I e-queried the Virginia Kidd Agency maybe an hour ago. A few minutes later I got a request for the entire manuscript, and the guy said I'd hear from them within a week.

Wow.

[rebobinar]

What's Open Office format? (I just looked at their web site) I use works, and then usually save as a .doc - but this is just a query, so... I'm confused!

[rebobinar]

Oh, and 52Greg - was your query for SF?

[52greg]

Oh, and 52Greg - was your query for SF?

Yes, it was.

[jsouders]

What's Open Office format? (I just looked at their web site) I use works, and then usually save as a .doc - but this is just a query, so... I'm confused!

If you click on the link where it say open office you can download it for free. They want the whole manuscript when you send the query. Just FYI. So, make sure to download open office.

When I copy and pasted my word doc into open office it screwed up my formatting so I had to use text edit(notepad in windows). I c & p into text edit and then c & p THAT into open office and it kept my formatting.

Hope this helps.

[AlterEgox5]

AlterEgox5, could you let us know when you get a response?

Thanks,
Dev
I most certainly will. :) (by the way, I have a really cool character in my submission with your name)

[AlterEgox5]

If you click on the link where it say open office you can download it for free. They want the whole manuscript when you send the query. Just FYI. So, make sure to download open office.
...Crud. I couldn't believe that they'd want to see the full ms. so I didn't send it. Now I'm not sure if I should wait or query again with the ms in tow (and an apology for screwing up the first time...).

[rebobinar]

GAH! I just queried an hour ago and they asked for my full!

AlterEgox5, I did not attach the full with my query, and they wrote back to say that they are interested based on my query content and want to see the first chapter or the full. So, I don't think that's a dealbreaker.

[AlterEgox5]

Good to know. :)

*still waiting....twitch*

[jsouders]

Good to know. :)

*still waiting....twitch*

You'll be fine. Stop twitching. LOL. They're probably just slammed with submissions at this point. You'll get your request soon. I'm sure. :)

[eqb]

I e-queried the Virginia Kidd Agency maybe an hour ago. A few minutes later I got a request for the entire manuscript, and the guy said I'd hear from them within a week.

Out of curiosity, what's the name of the guy you corresponded with?

[jsouders]

Out of curiosity, what's the name of the guy you corresponded with?

The guy I corresponded with was Ben. Scared me to death, because I thought I'd accidentally sent it to my husband and he was messing with me. LOL. Don't know his last name though, he only gave me his first name.

[Erin]

I queried Ben at their submissions email address tonight and he replied within a half hour requesting the full. Now I just need to download OpenOffice and convert!

[rebobinar]

Ooo, so much activity! I'm editing a little then converting tonight also. And I too corresponded with Ben.

[dgrintalis]

I queried them tonight as well and got a response lightning fast. I sent a partial (about 35 pages) and 45 minutes later, got a request for a full. I had to work tonight so I didn't get the email until later, but I've sent off the full and we'll see what happens. :)

I corresponded with Ben as well, and he said some really nice things in his request for the full that made my night.

[rebobinar]

Ooo, congratulations Dgrintalis!

[dgrintalis]

Thank you, Rebobinar.

I found this on Ursula Le Guin's website and thought I would share:
Ursula Le Guin talks about Virginia Kidd (http://www.ursulakleguin.com/VirginiaKidd.html).

[jsouders]

Thank you, Rebobinar.

I found this on Ursula Le Guin's website and thought I would share:
Ursula Le Guin talks about Virginia Kidd (http://www.ursulakleguin.com/VirginiaKidd.html).

That is so sweet. It sounds like anyone who does manage to get picked up by this group, would be very lucky.

[dgrintalis]

What's interesting to me is that my MS is not sci-Fi or fantasy, but dark suspense/horror. Maybe they are interested in branching out to other genres?

[jsouders]

What's interesting to me is that my MS is not sci-Fi or fantasy, but dark suspense/literary horror. Maybe they are interested in branching out to other genres?

Well, the post you posted said, they liked taking chances, so maybe that's what that is. Maybe they saw lots of potential and are willing to take the chance. :)

[dgrintalis]

I hope so. :)

Here is a silly tidbit. They rep (or repped) Alan Dean Foster who wrote the movie tie-in book to Alien, which is only my most favorite movie in the entire universe. I've seen it over 100 times (I've since stopped counting) and can recite every line. My family doesn't like to watch it with me for that reason. Well, except for my son, who's also seen it enough times to quote. :D

[rebobinar]

My MS isn't SF/F, either. It's a contemporary YA suspense. BUT, my WIP is YA fantasy (sort of), so I'd be really thrilled to be with these guys. I assume they are branching out a bit.

Very cool about the Alien connection, Damien!

I just sent off the full. Gulp.

[52greg]

Out of curiosity, what's the name of the guy you corresponded with?

It was Ben. He seems to have been a busy boy yesterday.

[Erin]

Lot of fulls requested. I hope one or more of us gets picked up! My MS is a light urban fantasy. Good luck to everyone.

[AlterEgox5]

Hmm. So I'm not sure if they updated this particular part today or what (...today as in tomorrow as they're an hour ahead of me...), but at the bottom it now says to send them to Ben. Yes, in bold!

...Still have yet to receive a reply myself. Maybe because I didn't address it to Ben? Of course, it didn't say that on the site when I sent my query...

[eqb]

It was Ben. He seems to have been a busy boy yesterday.

Maybe he's trying to build up a client list. Does Ben give his last name when he replies?

[dgrintalis]

He did not give his last name, but I believe Ben may be Virginia Kidd's son.

[52greg]

Ben didn't give his last name to me, either.

[eqb]

He did not give his last name, but I believe Ben may be Virginia Kidd's son.

Ah, I knew her son was named Ben, but I hadn't realized he was a literary agent.

[52greg]

I just heard back from Ben. He listed several changes he needs, but he liked my novel. He said I'm in his "possible" bin. Does that mean that if I make the changes to his satisfaction, I'll be the client of a name agency, assuming I take it?

[Erin]

I just heard back from Ben. He listed several changes he needs, but he liked my novel. He said I'm in his "possible" bin. Does that mean that if I make the changes to his satisfaction, I'll be the client of a name agency, assuming I take it?

Wow, Greg, that sounds great. Did he actually ask you to do a revise & resubmit? If so, then I'd assume if he likes what you resubmit (if you agree with his changes), then you're good to go. Although, not all R&R's are ultimately accepted with offers made, you're in a good space right now. Good luck!!!!

[dgrintalis]

I just heard from Ben, too. He liked my book, but has proposed a few changes, one of which I am not okay with. I emailed him back to let him know my thoughts, so we'll see what happens.

[Nya RAyne]

I just heard from Ben, too. He liked my book, but has proposed a few changes, one of which I am not okay with. I emailed him back to let him know my thoughts, so we'll see what happens.

I just heard back from Ben. He listed several changes he needs, but he liked my novel. He said I'm in his "possible" bin. Does that mean that if I make the changes to his satisfaction, I'll be the client of a name agency, assuming I take it?


Wow, great news guys!! Good luck to both of you!!

[rebobinar]

Same boat for me! A really positive note with requests for revisions. I'm so happy!!!

[Nya RAyne]

So I guess if I don't get a positive reply with a request for revisions then my ms sucks, eh? ;) (ROFL)

Seriously, good luck guys. If all of you don't make it into the fold, I hope at least one of you do!!

[Mark Lucherini]

Funny to see so many positive instances of dealing with this "Ben," when my own was nothing but negative. He was rude, confrontational, and condescending in his emails to me. His idea of science fiction negates anything such as Star Trek, or, to be more literary, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? Should my next novel ever be finished, rest assured that I certainly won't be giving them a second shot.

Good luck to all of you that do, though.

[AlterEgox5]

So I guess if I don't get a positive reply with a request for revisions then my ms sucks, eh? ;) (ROFL)

Seriously, good luck guys. If all of you don't make it into the fold, I hope at least one of you do!!
Did you even get a reply?

I sent mine off the very first day they made the announcement (maybe - I think the date on their page changes automatically). Haven't heard a thing.

With everyone else's getting at least some kind of response, I'm wondering if I should just mark it off as an R in the books.

Especially since I notice now that their page says they are looking for hard SF. Mine is not.

[Erin]

Did you even get a reply?

I sent mine off the very first day they made the announcement (maybe - I think the date on their page changes automatically). Haven't heard a thing.

With everyone else's getting at least some kind of response, I'm wondering if I should just mark it off as an R in the books.

Especially since I notice now that their page says they are looking for hard SF. Mine is not.

I wouldn't mark it off yet. Ben requested a full of my UF on 12/17 so it seems they're looking for more than hard SF. I got an acknowlegement of receipt, but haven't heard further. I'm sure they were inundated with queries of all types. Interesting that they've now limited their search to hard SF. Maybe they didn't get enough SF queries.

[rebobinar]

AlterEgo - mine wasn't SF at all - just contemporary YA - wouldn't count it out yet, either!

[Nya RAyne]

Did you even get a reply?

I sent mine off the very first day they made the announcement (maybe - I think the date on their page changes automatically). Haven't heard a thing.

With everyone else's getting at least some kind of response, I'm wondering if I should just mark it off as an R in the books.

Especially since I notice now that their page says they are looking for hard SF. Mine is not.

Yeah, I got a response saying that he recieved it and would be getting back to me within the week. That was 3 days or so ago. I didn't send the full ms just the first 10 chapters. I figured that was enough to let him figure out whether he liked it out or not.

[Nya RAyne]

Did you even get a reply?

I sent mine off the very first day they made the announcement (maybe - I think the date on their page changes automatically). Haven't heard a thing.

With everyone else's getting at least some kind of response, I'm wondering if I should just mark it off as an R in the books.

Especially since I notice now that their page says they are looking for hard SF. Mine is not.

Oh, and yeah my ms was SF but with strong romance undertones. *shrugs* But we'll see.

[Nya RAyne]

I heard back from Ben, he said it wasn't quite what they were looking for. Sounds like a form rejection, but at least I won't be going into 2K10 with this one hanging over my head.

[Erin]

I heard back from Ben, he said it wasn't quite what they were looking for. Sounds like a form rejection, but at least I won't be going into 2K10 with this one hanging over my head.

Sorry about the R. I got the same note from Ben yesterday.

[jsouders]

Sorry about the R. I got the same note from Ben yesterday.


Same here! :(

[dgrintalis]

I'm sorry for the rejections, Nya, Erin, and JS. I submitted a revised MS to Ben (I vamped up some of the pacing in the middle, per his request, but did not make two changes he mentioned, but said 'weren't deal breakers at this point') and am now just waiting to hear back from him.

[AlterEgox5]

*checks watch*

Yeah, nothing. Ah well.

[sciri]

So, what does "hard SF" mean anyways? And how can science in SF be accurate if it's fictional?

[AlterEgox5]

That it's at least....plausible in some way. Michio Kaku's Physics of the Impossible (http://abooksellerblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/recommended-for-science-readers-and.html) is a great way to beef up the science in an SF book with solid theories and actual physics and so forth. That the science you are using, if it's explained, makes some sense.

For example, if you have a perpetual motion machine in your book, you'd actually do well not to explain how it works because in reality, perpetual motion machines are essentially impossible (based on the physics we have now). It all depends upon how much science is in the book and how you wield it, just as a historical romance can't have a bunch of anachronisms hanging around.

Does that help...?

[rebobinar]

dgrintalis - still working on my revisions - I'd love to hear how things work out for you!

[sciri]

That it's at least....plausible in some way. Michio Kaku's Physics of the Impossible (http://abooksellerblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/recommended-for-science-readers-and.html) is a great way to beef up the science in an SF book with solid theories and actual physics and so forth. That the science you are using, if it's explained, makes some sense.

For example, if you have a perpetual motion machine in your book, you'd actually do well not to explain how it works because in reality, perpetual motion machines are essentially impossible (based on the physics we have now). It all depends upon how much science is in the book and how you wield it, just as a historical romance can't have a bunch of anachronisms hanging around.

Does that help...?

It does, thanks, AlterEgo! So then when he says hard SF he doesn't mean just the usual UFOs or futuristic worlds, right? I'm asking because my fiction always starts from a scientific concept that I turn into a novel (I do science in real life), so I'm wondering if what I write is in some sense SF even though it doesn't have fantasy stuff... Thanks!

[rebobinar]

I assume what he means by "hard sci fi" is actually the stuff we've been told wouldn't sell for a while now. It's not just that the science is plausible, but the story really revolves around the science and explains it. So, you know, Science Fiction Romance is a subgenre now that has, well, romance in outer space, and that's the thrust of the story. Even if the science is plausible, it wouldn't be hard sci fi because it's really *about* the romance, just set on a spaceship, whereas hard sci fi would be more *about* the science of it. Does that make sense?

In fact, if you wikipedia it one of the first hard sci fi authors that comes up is James Blish, interestingly enough. ;)

[sciri]

Argh, that's the stuff I write... Science, but in the present, always,
possible, realistic, scientific stuff... Mhm... so maybe not quite SF.

But what's the source when you say "we're told it doesn't sell"?
thanks though, it puts all those rejections in perspective!!! Either because of the non-selling point
or because I've been sending to the wrong agents, since I was told the SF is only when you have
UFOs or time travel... I guess I should check my sources, huh???

So anyways, fingers crossed for all of you who have fulls with Ben.
Now mine's in the pile too!!!:D

[rebobinar]

Sorry, I can't link you to anything on that. It's just been a theme I've heard on agent blogs and podcasts and such "we take sci fi, but not hard sci fi because that's a hard sell" seems to have come up a bunch. But, perhaps things are shifting. I've been reading these blogs for about 4 years and it would be high time to shake things up a bit. ;)

[eqb]

...I was told the SF is only when you have
UFOs or time travel... I guess I should check my sources, huh???

Yes, you should. SF encompasses near and distant future, plausible SF (aka, hard SF) such as physics, chemistry, biology, and so on, to implausible elements such as time-travel and what you sometimes see in space opera. It also includes alternate history. In other words, it's a big genre.

If you're curious about near future SF stories, check out Nicola Griffith's Slow River or some of Margaret Atwood's work.

[sciri]

Thanks for the clarification, I will. Also, I oversimplified, and I apologize for that.
What I meant to say is that an SF friend of mine said that even though I do have the hard core science, my genre is not SF because I don't have futuristic projections or other worlds. In that I think she was right, my science is plausible and in the present.

[rebobinar]

So maybe it's more of a techno thriller? I wonder if Steampunk is considered SF/F, because it's low tech/high tech set in the past.

[AlterEgox5]

SF doesn't necessarily have to be set in the future, nor does it have to be set in another world. For example, the Terminator movies - they were set in the present (at the time), but included some time travel and AI. And steampunk is considered SF (and it's not always set in the past either ;D).

Remember, SF stands for science fiction. Fiction with science-based goodies (bear in mind that's an extremely loose def, but you know what I mean). With other elements allowed, of course (horror, romance, fantasy etc.)

Frankly, sciri, I think we'd have to know a lot more about your novel before being able to inform you whether it's SF or not. :)

[James D. Macdonald]

May I suggest you go to a bookstore, go to the science fiction section, and grab a half-dozen recent books, titles you've never read by people you've never heard of.

Try to be as random as possible.

[52greg]

I've spent the past several days working with Ben of VKA, exchanging emails with him as I revised the SF novel he was interested in. He's still very interested. Hopefully, within the next few days, I'll be an official client-- a huge break for me.

[AlterEgox5]

*crosses them off the list* Just going to assume an auto-reject at this point.

[sciri]

Did you guys get a confirmation email that he received the attachment and successfully opened it? That's what he says in his email, but it's been five days now and I still haven't heard a thing....
He must have opened it and got stuck reading right away!!! (ha ha ha ha)

[rebobinar]

I did - he said something like "I confirm receipt of this manuscript and will get back to you in a week"

[dgrintalis]

I received an email about an hour after I sent the query that said "based on your query, we have an initial interest. Please send us the first chapter or the full manuscript. Once we have your submission, we will get back to you within a week." They requested the full 45 minutes after I received that email. :)

[Erin]

I did - he said something like "I confirm receipt of this manuscript and will get back to you in a week"

That's what I got. It took him a few days longer than a week since Xmas fell within the timeframe.

[sciri]

Thanks -- I never got that, so something must have gone wrong, I will check.
(Sorry, I accidentally deleted the previous post and don't know how to reopen it.)

[52greg]

I did - he said something like "I confirm receipt of this manuscript and will get back to you in a week"

Same here.

[rebobinar]

Yeah, I'd double check sciri

[52greg]

I am now a client of the Virginia Kidd Agency. :)

[AlterEgox5]

Way to go Greg! :D

[dgrintalis]

Congratulations, 52greg - that's fantastic!

[sciri]

Congratulations!!

[eqb]

I am now a client of the Virginia Kidd Agency. :)

Outstanding! And welcome, fellow-client.

[dgrintalis]

Congrats to you too, eqb!

[eqb]

Congrats to you too, eqb!

Thanks! My agent has done very well by me. Four books sold so far. A contract for a collection negotiated. Numerous *very* cool cover quotes obtained from high-profile clients. Lots of great advice. I am lucky to be a client.

[dgrintalis]

That's really wonderful, eqb.

[rebobinar]

Wow, congratulations to you two!!! Very exciting!

[honeysock]

Woo hoo, 52greg! Very very exciting! . . . and F A S T!!! You queried Dec. 17, right? Less than a month ago? You're throwing all the numbers off, man! Good job.

[Erin]

I am now a client of the Virginia Kidd Agency. :)

Woohoo! Congrats!

[52greg]

I thank all of you for the congrats. :)

[Richard White]

Congrats to the two of you.

[sciri]

I gather nobody else has heard back from Ben lately? Those of you that were asked for revisions, have you heard back on those? Thanks.

[dgrintalis]

Sciri, I've not heard anything back yet.

[sciri]

Thanks for the update.

[rebobinar]

Sciri - I sent mine in on Thursday and Ben said it would take a few days to get back to me.

[AlterEgox5]

...Am I the only one that never received a response? (to a query since that was all that I sent - their directions weren't as clear as they are now)

[sciri]

I only sent a query and he replied right away, so maybe he never received your query... Did you try re-sending?

[rebobinar]

Same here - I only sent a query - perhaps do a status query?

[AlterEgox5]

I only sent a query and he replied right away, so maybe he never received your query... Did you try re-sending?
I've been thinking about it. Everyone else kept saying they were getting replies at the time so I wanted to wait. I don't want to be the person who queries twice like an impatient jerk, ya know? =\

[dgrintalis]

Maybe they are following the new trend I've seen with many agents who only respond if interested? It stinks for those of us querying, but I can understand why they do it. I follow quite a few agents on Twitter; the number of queries they receive daily is astounding.

[sciri]

But that was last month, wasn't it? It wouldn't hurt to re-try. You may also want to give it a try from a different email address...

[AlterEgox5]

Maybe they are following the new trend I've seen with many agents who only respond if interested? It stinks for those of us querying, but I can understand why they do it. I follow quite a few agents on Twitter; the number of queries they receive daily is astounding.
That part is very likely true - on their website it now says (as it didn't when I queried) that if there is no manuscript attached, they don't respond. I didn't attach a manuscript because their first set of instructions weren't clear enough (just said "queries and manuscripts" and I didn't think they were actually taking full manscripts along with queries).

Yet at the same time, people here were saying they'd only sent a query letter and were getting responses sooo.... *lost*

[dgrintalis]

Honestly? I wouldn't use a different email address; it might appear sneaky. I don't think it's good form to follow-up on just a query. If your concern is that they didn't receive it, you could send a short and simple polite email, but if you don't get a response to that, I'd mark them off your list and move on.

[sciri]

The different email suggestion was motivated by the fact that sometimes non-static IP addresses get automatically blocked off, there's nothing sneaky in trying from a different IP... Besides, there's a chance they never received the original query to begin with.

Oh, I see, I didn't notice they had updated the website. Puzzling though, if you sent the query BEFORE they said they wouldn't reply.

[dgrintalis]

Ahh, gotcha Sciri. I didn't even think of the address blocking.

[AlterEgox5]

My concern is that I sent just the query (not addressed to Ben because that wasn't mentioned in the instructions at the time) and since there was no manuscript, it got ditched automatically. 'Course I don't have any idea of that's what actually happened (especially due to others getting responses with only queries). :Huh:

I'm just all itchy because I'd hate to miss a good opportunity just because of one misstep.

And no, I wouldn't query again from a different email address. I would think that queries are maybe *slightly* more memorable than email addresses anyway (and the same name in the query and so on).

[sciri]

Again: my suggestion to use a different email address was NOT so that they wouldn't recognize YOU, but so that whatever spam filter they are using would NOT block you again if that's what happened the first time.

[AlterEgox5]

Gotcha. Missed that first post. :)

[sciri]

What puzzles me though is that new addition, that they do not reply to submissions of: "fantasy, soft SF, YA, horror, vampires". Dgrintalis, you have a horror ms, right? And I have a soft SF... I wonder if that means we won't hear back, but then they did request our mss, so I'm confused...
Oh well, I just hope they'll stay open to submission because the ms I'm polishing now is definitely hard SF....

Do you guys think it would be inappropriate to just ask if given their website update one should assume an R?

[AlterEgox5]

I was thinking that maybe they got their fill of those particular genres, or they saw some things that they liked. I've visited their website several times after their initial call for mss, and their requests and instructions have evolved over time.

[dgrintalis]

What puzzles me though is that new addition, that they do not reply to submissions of: "fantasy, soft SF, YA, horror, vampires". Dgrintalis, you have a horror ms, right? And I have a soft SF... I wonder if that means we won't hear back, but then they did request our mss, so I'm confused...
Oh well, I just hope they'll stay open to submission because the ms I'm polishing now is definitely hard SF....

Do you guys think it would be inappropriate to just ask if given their website update one should assume an R?

Sciri, yes, my manuscript is dark suspense/literary horror. Ben specifically asked me to resubmit after I'd done some revisions, and he'd read the entire MS so he knew exactly what genre it was. It could be the agency has decided they want to solely focus on hard SF going forward. I am going to let everything stand as is for now, but if/when I hear anything from them, I will post it here.

Like AlterEgo said, it may be they've had their fill of other genres for the time being.

[eqb]

It could be the agency has decided they want to solely focus on hard SF going forward. I am going to let everything stand as is for now, but if/when I hear anything from them, I will post it here.

Just to be picky, Ben is not the entire agency, but he does seem to be the one actively looking for new clients.

[sciri]

But (as a client) do you know what's going on with the rules changing all the time? -- I understand if you don't, I'm just getting a little anxious here... I'm slamming my head against the wall because I didn't wait to submit my next novel, which is a lot more about the science... Oh well. It's done. Just have to wait now.

[eqb]

But (as a client) do you know what's going on with the rules changing all the time? -- I understand if you don't, I'm just getting a little anxious here... I'm slamming my head against the wall because I didn't wait to submit my next novel, which is a lot more about the science... Oh well. It's done. Just have to wait now.

I don't know. My agent is Vaughne Hansen, not Ben. This call for submissions appears to be Ben trying to build a client list, so I suspect he changes the requirements as his needs change.

[Leonidas]

Dgrintalis, I was wondering if you've heard from Ben yet. By my calculations, you've been waiting to hear about your rewrite for almost a month. I ask this because he requested a full from me, too. I've been waiting two weeks now and I'm trying to decide whether I should send a follow-up e-mail to check on the status. I know that two weeks isn't long to wait for a response on a full in this business. But I got the impression from both the Kidd web site and recent posts in this thread that Ben was getting back to people within a week or so. I agree with sciri that it's difficult to know what to do because Ben has been sending mixed messages.

While I have the floor, I'd like to ask for a piece of advice from everyone, since I am a newbie to agent-querying about novels. If another agent asks me for a full before I hear a yes or no from Ben, what is the proper protocol? Do I contact Ben, tell him I have another agent requesting a full, and ask him to clarify whether he is still seriously considering my MS, or whether he has already passed on it? Or is there a preferable way to do it? Thanks much for any advice you guys might have.

[eqb]

While I have the floor, I'd like to ask for a piece of advice from everyone, since I am a newbie to agent-querying about novels. If another agent asks me for a full before I hear a yes or no from Ben, what is the proper protocol? Do I contact Ben, tell him I have another agent requesting a full, and ask him to clarify whether he is still seriously considering my MS, or whether he has already passed on it? Or is there a preferable way to do it? Thanks much for any advice you guys might have.

You don't need to contact Ben unless you gave him an exclusive. Just send the full to the second agent.

btw, I'd wait two months before asking Ben for a status update.

[Leonidas]

Thanks so much for the advice eqb! I appreciate it.

[sciri]

btw, I'd wait two months before asking Ben for a status update.

That is my current plan. Unless I hear earlier.

[rebobinar]

I agree - you'd need to let him know only if he had an exclusive or if another agent offers rep - otherwise, just wait to hear! He told me it would be a bit before I heard back from him. I'm guessing he's busy with all the submissions.

[Leonidas]

That makes sense, rebobinar. Thanks.