The Next Circle of Hell, Vol. 2

CCCookie, I'm sorry you're getting radio silence. I don't understand what's taking the agent so long. It's eight houses. Listing them in an email takes, like, three minutes. Does the agent have an assistant you can get the info from?

Quickbread said:

CCCookie, I'm sorry you're getting radio silence. I don't understand what's taking the agent so long. It's eight houses. Listing them in an email takes, like, three minutes. Does the agent have an assistant you can get the info from?

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Funny you should mention that. The assistant (not his assistant, but one in the office that I know has read my mss) is one of the emails I sent. She did write back, but was vague, and said when the agent got back into the office, she was sure he'd do it. So, no help there.

CCCookie, I've also asked for mine and gotten no response, but I'm going to assume she's busy and hasn't had time to email. If I get the brush off in the phone I will be much more concerned. Can you set up an appointment for a phone call? An assistant could probably set it up, and that way, you won't catch your agent at a bad time or when he's not in. Idk, its worked for me so far. Might be worth a shot.

I am hoping, CCCookie, that you hear something soon. That sounds frustrating and not a little worrisome, although I know these people have so much on their plates. Right? But that doesn't make it easier sometimes, waiting and not hearing, not knowing.

I just spent the better part of two hours reading through this thread and the one prior. Trying to get some sense of what it's like to be on submission. You guys are so supportive, and honest--which I find comforting, when it isn't scaring the crap outta me.

CCC - Sorry to hear about the brush-off. I'm not sure what to tell you here. Maybe write another e-mail and tell them you're "concerned" about the lack of a sub list? "Concerned" to me in a business e-mail always rings alarm bells. I use it when I urgently need a response and so far it's always worked.

kkbe - Are you on sub!!! Aaaahhhhh!!

Agree with Putt — I would pull the "concerned" card, CCC. It's polite, but people usually pay attention.

Don't panic, kkbe! It gets better ... I think? (I read this entire thread [actually the original thread] while I was waiting to hear if my publisher would offer. I couldn't sleep, and I'm still not sure if it helped or not, but it did keep my mind busy, which was good. )

CCC - It happens sometimes. I hope it works out for you.

I was just reading another thread under "Ask the Agent," where JL, the agent over there who answers questions, said publishers usually take 3-8 weeks for a response. That seems really short!

Next week I'll have reached the 8 wk mark and can call my agent for updates (she said she'd only contact me if we had an offer, but I can ask if it's had any interest or rejections when we talk). Going to ask for my sub list again then, as well. Nervous, I guess, as I'm not sure what to expect. Do I have a pile of rejections? Or just silence?

Three to eight weeks sounded short to me, too, Lena, but I only have two sub experiences to go on, plus others I've read about on this forum — and one of mine was in the summer, which is notoriously slow. JL has a much larger sample size. It could also depend on the individual agent's relationships with editors, I'm guessing, and the genre.

Anyway, bon courage on that call! If you do have rejections, be sure to ask if any specific feedback was offered, since it could be helpful going forward. Both my agents forwarded me all the responses, which was occasionally harsh but also useful, and made the process less scary and mysterious, I found. (Even when they are critical, editor Rs are super-polite.)

My agent forwards me Rs as they come in, which I really appreciate. I like knowing a) who's responded and b) whether they offer any helpful comments. Of course, that makes me sort of dread seeing an email from her...

RRK said:

My agent forwards me Rs as they come in, which I really appreciate. I like knowing a) who's responded and b) whether they offer any helpful comments. Of course, that makes me sort of dread seeing an email from her...

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Ditto.
I've hit 14 weeks and half the list has responded, the last 3 weeks being total silence. I'm trying to remind myself it's summer and we just passed a major holiday in the US, etc., but it's still hard...

krashnburn said:

I've hit 14 weeks and half the list has responded, the last 3 weeks being total silence. I'm trying to remind myself it's summer and we just passed a major holiday in the US, etc., but it's still hard...

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I'm at 19 weeks (4 of which I spent agonizing over whether to revise before going out to more editors). We went out to more editors recently.

Unfortunately, I've been hearing from a lot of people that publishers basically go on sabbatical in August, so here's hoping for a good September!

Okay, so I don't have to send out the "concerning" email as I just received the list. (But many thanks for the idea.) However, it shows only the publishers, no editors and no dates of when they went out.

At this point I'm not going to fuss about it. I'm just happy to be on sub.

CCC--Yay! I'm glad you finally got it. Maybe there is hope for others who haven't gotten them yet. Were the publishers big houses at least?

Hi everyone, I'm so glad to be reading through your experiences. I'm newly arrived in the same boat. My agent sent my book out on submission 4 weeks ago. Just as I was wondering how things were going she sent me an email with several rejections in it yesterday. She said not to worry, that everyone liked it and that we still have places we were waiting on and that she was certain we'd find a home for it. I'm really hoping she's not just trying to make me feel better. The good/bad/frustrating part is that no one had any real issues. Everyone thought it was funny and that I was a good writer. One publisher said they were afraid it would compete in-house with a similar series. Argh. I'm so worried it will be a situation where everyone likes it and no one loves it. You know?

Lena Hillbrand said:

CCC--Yay! I'm glad you finally got it. Maybe there is hope for others who haven't gotten them yet. Were the publishers big houses at least?

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Yes! All big 5 or their imprint/subsidiaries or places like Sourcebooks, which are also big time. I'd be happy with any of them. Good luck on getting your own list. Hopefully, it comes soon.

Ken, welcome! Sorry for your Rs already. I had an R like one of yours with my last book out on sub, where the publisher felt I wrote too much like their NYT author to take me on. *eye roll* Let's remind ourselves that it only takes one.

So glad you got that list, CCC! I think some agents are reluctant to name the editors for fear the author might try to contact them directly. (My agent just made sure I knew that's against sub etiquette, as I'm sure we all already do.)

Welcome, kenpochick! Sorry about the frustrating Rs, but glad your agent has confidence going forward. That means a lot. (Oh, and I'm on a Supernatural binge, so I like your avatar. )

I totally understand the obsession! I just got more work done on my supernatural tattoo yesterday. Thanks for the support. This whole process is so frustrating.

Kenpochick wow you got those Rs fast! You are being read quickly, now that is a good thing sorry they're Rs though

CCC and Lena, yay for getting the sub list! I agree with Fuschia.Some agents don't like to give out editor names for stalking or approaching them purposes. Good luck with sub

Welcome, Kenpochick! I've had similar experiences with quick but complimentary rejections from publishers, and I too wonder if it will be an "everyone likes it but nobody loves it" situation. It makes sense that if our agents are doing their jobs well and sending our MSS to the right editors, those editors WILL like our stuff. After all, having an agent means we've reached some objective level of good writing, and if the editor is interested in our genre, it's likely s/he will like our book. I know I'm generalizing and this is a very subjective business, but I'd be surprised if many of us were not in the same boat. (Sorry if I'm a little incoherent---haven't had coffee yet this morning!)

I'd be very interested to hear people's strategies for staying sane while on sub. Now that it's been seven months (and counting) I'm having more difficulties than usual (e.g. staying awake half the night thinking my agent has decided she hates my work and just doesn't know how to get rid of me, etc.) I know that working on a new WIP helps, but right now my day job doesn't allow much time for writing.

Herstory said:

I'd be very interested to hear people's strategies for staying sane while on sub. Now that it's been seven months (and counting) I'm having more difficulties than usual (e.g. staying awake half the night thinking my agent has decided she hates my work and just doesn't know how to get rid of me, etc.) I know that working on a new WIP helps, but right now my day job doesn't allow much time for writing.

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As someone who has been on sub for seventeen months (with three different manuscripts), getting immersed in a new project really is the only way I've found. Even if you don't have a lot of writing time, if you can get yourself invested in a new idea, you could spend all those bits of time you're internally fussing over your sub/agent situation working on your plot or world-building instead. It's all I've got.

Oh no, one more thing - if you're going off the rails obsessing over what your agent is thinking, I'd suggest a phone call. I just had one with my agent and it made a huge difference in my level of anxiety around our relationship. (And I generally LOATHE the phone.)

I'm glad to hear others in the same boat. It's so easy to find stats on finding an agent and querying but not so much on submission. I am trying to work on other stuff and had a good writing session yesterday that made me feel better. It helps that my agent said her assistant would have notes for me soon on another of my manuscripts. I'm definitely not used to having an agent yet. It's nice to have a cheerleader and feel like I'm not alone in this, but I always seem to be worried she'll give up. I'm guessing the worry will never stop. There will always be something to worry about.

JoyMC said:

As someone who has been on sub for seventeen months (with three different manuscripts), getting immersed in a new project really is the only way I've found. Even if you don't have a lot of writing time, if you can get yourself invested in a new idea, you could spend all those bits of time you're internally fussing over your sub/agent situation working on your plot or world-building instead. It's all I've got.

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I'm so excited about my new project/WIP right now that I almost feel like we should scrap the novel that's on sub and wait until this one is ready. The next thing is always better, right?

(I'm not going to suggest scrapping the novel that's on sub. That would be crazypants.)