An agent requested my full manuscript and said she would get back to me in "several weeks". It's now been five weeks. should I contact her and ask, or wait longer?
How long should I wait before contacting agent?
- Thread starter nancy sv
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Does the agent have a website, and if so, does it say on the website the turnaround time? You should probably wait at least two months, especially around this time of year since it's the holidays. Is it an exclusive?
Yep, I would give eight weeks, especially since it's the holidays. Keep working on your new WIP while you wait. Good luck!
Thanks! I was thinking the same thing - especially considering that it took her 3 1/2 months to respond to my query!!
I think I'll wait until the end of January. If I haven't heard by then, I will shoot her an email.
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I'm going to chase one next week. He's had my sample since the beginning of September. I figure it doesn't take that long to write a rejection letter.
I have an agent who's had my manuscript since July.
She won't answer status queries...I don't know what to do about this.
She won't answer status queries...I don't know what to do about this.
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I know sod all about the publishing world but that strikes me as just rude especially after almost seven months.
It's not that I have high hopes for her anymore. I don't even have high hopes for the manuscript she has (I've written like four better ones since then...) but I wonder if she'll ever get back to me...I'll probably bug her again in February or March or something. I poke her at three month intervals.
Two months is nothing for a reply on a full. If the agent is in NYC, it likely shuts down for 2-3 weeks. Some agents might get back on a full in days, but they are very rare or desparate. Some great ones will take 6-9 months to offer representation. Hang in there, start the next novel, send out more pitches. If you can't stand it, nudge very gently and briefly late in Jan. Good luck. g.
The funny thing is that this one is for a book I had given up on. I wrote this book after our last big bike trip around India/Pakistan/Nepal/Bangladesh back in 1990-91. I finished the book a few days before moving to Egypt and didn't have a chance to try to get it published. I made a few copies at Kinkos for friends and family and stashed the originial. Once I got back to the USA (14 years later) I pulled it out and dusted it off and was going to try to get it published, but then we decided to go our next big trip. I stashed it again. So - last fall, I was working on writing a book about our newest big trip and didn't have time to deal with the old one, but on a lark I sent out queries to 6 agents, most of them said "no" and I forgot all about it.
Well, 3 1/2 months after I sent out the query, I got an email from this agent asking to see it!! Of course, I had totally forgotten I had even sent her a query. I sent it in, and that's that. I will not be surprised if she says no - after all it is about a journey taken 17 years ago!!
Well, 3 1/2 months after I sent out the query, I got an email from this agent asking to see it!! Of course, I had totally forgotten I had even sent her a query. I sent it in, and that's that. I will not be surprised if she says no - after all it is about a journey taken 17 years ago!!
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