Query...waiting...?

I've run into this situation as well. Imho, I'd take it as a rejection and move on. Have you checked out Agent Turn Around Times? If the agent in question is listed, you might get some info on other people's experiences with him/her.

Also, double check the agency's Web site, blog, etc. for clues. Sometimes an agents specifically posts if he/she doesn't respond to queries, or you might learn from a blog if the agent is seriously backlogged.

Only send a follow up query if you've determined the agent normally responds, and if you really, really, really want to target this agent further before giving up.

best of luck to you!

After two months, I sent a follow-up to an agent (after making sure they didn't have a blurb on their site saying they normally respond in so-and-so time frame if interested). They asked me to re-send the query...one reason I'm a big fan of people sending "I received it" e-mail responses."

Two months later, I received a response asking for more material.

Two months or more later, I received the rejection.

If it's an email query some agents equate no response with a rejection --you won't hear from them unless they want to see your work. You should have other queries out there.

ORION said:

If it's an email query some agents equate no response with a rejection --you won't hear from them unless they want to see your work. You should have other queries out there.

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With spam filters and the intrinsic nature of the internet, I still hold that every agent should have at least an auto-response that says "I received your response" especially if they won't respond if they aren't interested.

ILove2Write said:

Also ASTONWEST, that was some helpful information. Did you feel after that that you would send another query to that agent with a new project?

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Yes, after the initial "oops" of not being able to track down my query, things were very professional (despite taking what seemed a long time in my opinion ), and I'll likely think of them in the future for other projects.

I agree an autoresponder is a must, but it won't stop your email from ending up in the spam folder unless the agent turns off their spam filter.

I would be very surprised if there are agents out there who confirm receipt of a query, email or otherwise, unless by autoresponder. I have had authors put in postcards with submissions (not queries) for me to drop in the mail and confirm receipt. Then again, delivery confirmation with the USPS is very inexpensive, so I'd suggest just using that on a submission. I strongly advise against anything requiring a signature. Depending on the size of the agency--or even publisher--there may be no one there to sign when the mail carrier shows up and then your materials are sitting at the PO waiting for someone to come get them. Do you want to add that delay to the mix?

Four months seems a long time for a query response. I read queries within a couple of days and either request more or reject it. As always, I ask that authors visit the "What We Want" page of my website before querying me.

Z

Andrew Zack said:

I would be very surprised if there are agents out there who confirm receipt of a query, email or otherwise, unless by autoresponder. Z

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I did about one hundred e-queries when I was agent hunting, and I was shocked to get six or seven "got it, thanks" replies that were either non-auto response or maybe what you could call "semi-auto-response." For example, the title of my novel was included in the return text. Since two of these agents came back and asked for partials a day or two later, maybe they just pay closer attention to the queries where they will take a few minutes to look them over in consideration of asking for more.

A lot of agents are fairly clear about their query response procedures, which vary widely. Some will actually say that if you haven't heard back within a certain period, to treat it as a "no thanks." This is more common with agents who prefer e-mail queries.

When the policy isn't clear, and it's been a few months, it never hurts to poke them again to see what's going on (very politely, of course). Sometimes you don't get a response that time either. But a couple of times in my case the agent has come back with "what query? Please send it again." It can't hurt to check.