Holiday Querying Logistics

I doubt any agent would reject you solely because you sent a query doing a break period.

My agent has been out since the 15th and won't return until Jan 2. I've had conversations with other agents about this and the general consensus is to send the first part of Feb. There are a few agents who are working straight through but not many. Even my editor will be out until the 2nd. You do what you want but it seems it makes more sense to polish it up and send after January is over.
I know I will get a bunch of flack about this - It is my recommendation especially if you are querying an agency with the initials WM.
JMHO

Orion, that is very, very good advice.

You wrote a book, you're proud of it (and you should be) and you want to query. But what is a rush to you is not a rush to them. You can use the three weeks to really polish the query, let it sit until January 5th and then pick it up and read it with fresh, un-egg-nogged eyes.

Take a breath, relax, enjoy the holiday (how relaxed are you gonna be if you're worried you made a mistake sending a query?) and be proud you've got a book finished.

ORION said:

My agent has been out since the 15th and won't return until Jan 2. I've had conversations with other agents about this and the general consensus is to send the first part of Feb. There are a few agents who are working straight through but not many. Even my editor will be out until the 2nd. You do what you want but it seems it makes more sense to polish it up and send after January is over.
I know I will get a bunch of flack about this - It is my recommendation especially if you are querying an agency with the initials WM.
JMHO

Click to expand...

Sometimes if you're first in the stack of queries waiting after the holiday, they read them more hurriedly -- reject, reject, partial req-- no, reject, reject. . .

But you never really know. It's a matter of personal choice, but I'm using the holidays to reconnect with this year's accepting parties and solidify existing relationships, then get back to querying in January.

Why do you worry about such things? No, we don't know if it would go to the top of the pile and no, the agent is not going to reject you because the date stamp on the envelop is between December 22 and January 2. They WILL reject it if the query is poorly written. Pay more attention to that.

I usually don't send anything during the holidays because it's more prone to get lost and also, agents do take time off, so what's the point of sending them things now when it's going to be in a big pile come January 2?

I'd let it sit away from your roving eyes until Jan. 2, reread it, then send it. Most likely, if you send it now, it'll sit in a tottering pile on a desk or a floor, prone to slide off into a wastebasket or under a desk, collecting dust and cobwebs and spiders. Ugh. Agents are mostly catching up with their clients' revisions, or contracts, or whatever needs to be done in-house before the new year.

I don't send anything during the Holidays for the same reason that I don't particularly do any magazine work during Christmas week: I'm having a pleasent time with my family, and I'm doing some writing that no one's asking for, that there are no deadlines for, that I don't have to do, that I don't know if I'll rush out to publish. I'm just having fun, in other words.

That said, I have queries and stories sitting and waiting that did, in fact, come in this week. I'm not going to just flat-out reject them. I'm just not giving them any attention until Jan. 2nd.

Where you are in the slush pile doesn't matter, like Ray points out. Just make sure that what you have in the slush pile is really nifty.

Because of the way mail is gathered and delivered, you are even more likely to end up at the bottom of a pile than the top. When we travel, we arrive back home to find our mail in reverse chronological order.

Either way, I think you're better off waiting--but this is one of those itty-bitty issues (which stamps should I use? Attractive, or unobtrusive?) that writers agonize over because they feel they have so little control.

Maestro and Pee Dee are correct. Your query package is one thing over which you do have control. Polish. Or do that extra little bit of research on the agents you're querying.

Or just go Buddhist on the topic. Lust of result only leads to suffering. Relax. Relax. Relax. (okay, I never could, but do as I say, not as I did.)