Querying over the holidays

Transatlantic · Nov 25, 2012

I sent some queries to US agents over the two days before Thanksgiving. I wasn't thinking about the timing since I live in the UK (though I'm American and my book suits the US market).

Four days with zero responses is agonising! (I did get a handful on Wed., including two partial requests - yay!) (I was always an impatient person, and the Internet has only made it worse.)

Was it stupid to query the day before a holiday? Might it actually hurt me - i.e., will their inboxes be so full when they back to the office that they might be quicker to delete than usual?

Ms_Sassypants · Nov 25, 2012

I think you just need time. But of course, querying over the holidays would mean a longer time to wait.

2 request for partials. I would kill for that kind of response.

Good luck!

Jamesaritchie · Nov 25, 2012

Four days with zero responses? Four months is more normal.

This topic comes up about every week. Query as soon as you have something ready to go. The only thing waiting ever doe is put you behind those writers who don't wait. Wait until after the holidays and you'll still be behind those who queried just before the holidays.

Erin · Nov 25, 2012

Query whenever you want. Don't worry about querying over the holidays. Your query will be in the inbox when agents return to work. I've actually gotten requests on the day after Thanksgiving (traditionally a day off for many in the US) and on Christmas and New Year's day.

amschilling · Nov 25, 2012

The exception being the agents that have specifically posted that they're closed to queries, of course. A few in the U.S. have said they're done taking them until the new year, and anything sent between X date and Y date will be deleted. So don't worry about the holidays per se, but check their blogs and twitter feeds to make sure they don't have a "do not submit" sign up. If they don't, send. For exactly the reason Jamesaritchie said.

blacbird · Nov 25, 2012

Transatlantic said:
Four days with zero responses is agonising!

"The horror, the horror."

-- Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

caw

Steely · Nov 26, 2012

Well, it's getting to be that time of the year... it's the holidays.

I've been talking to a lot of my friends who are currently on submission and many of them had surprisingly different opinions about querying over the holidays.

Some queried all year round no exceptions, but some intentionally stopped querying during December because "agents would give queries less thought in December due to holiday chaos... agents are people too."

Any thoughts?

Susan Coffin · Nov 26, 2012

You can query anytime you want. Agents get to them when they can.

Amadan · Nov 26, 2012

I figure they're also likely to be deluged with NaNoWriMo submissions.

Billtrumpet25 · Nov 26, 2012

Amadan said:
I figure they're also likely to be deluged with NaNoWriMo submissions.

Oh, good heavens. :tongue

That may or may not turn out well at all.

Depending on the quality of the writing, of course.

wampuscat · Nov 28, 2012

I've heard that January is a notoriously bad time to query because of an influx in queries due to New Year's resolutions and NaNo, but I have no personal expertise in the matter.

Little Ming · Nov 28, 2012

Didn't we just have a thread with the exact same title?

Old Hack · Nov 29, 2012

Little Ming said:
Didn't we just have a thread with the exact same title?

We did indeed, Little Ming, and they cover the same ground.

Merging in moments...

Jamesaritchie · Nov 29, 2012

There isn't a time of the year when you can't find very good reasons not to query.

Agents are human, which means they don't want to pass up the next bestselling writer, regardless of what time of year it is. Would you?

Querying over the holidays

Transatlantic

Should be writing!

Ms_Sassypants

Cadence of Her Last Breath

Jamesaritchie

Erin

Listening to my other selves

amschilling

blacbird

Steely

Susan Coffin

Tell it like it Is

Amadan

Billtrumpet25

wampuscat

Recovering adjective addict

Little Ming

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Jamesaritchie