If an agent gives you a specific date you can expect to hear back from them on a full ("I will be in touch in two weeks, if not sooner") but then misses that deadline, when is it good form to check in? After those two weeks have come and gone? Or continue to go by the standard 8-12? In this particular case, my ms was passed from one agent to another within the same agency. At that point, it had been 4 weeks since I sent the full. I was THRILLED to have it passed along and was really hoping to hear from Agent #2 but...didn't. So now I'm a bit stumped about how long I should wait before checking in. She specifically said two weeks so is it bad manners to go by that? Or do I just shrug it off as an optimistic estimate and stick to the usual timeline? Should I count the first 4 that it was out with Agent #1 (putting me at 6 weeks now)? Or do I start all over from the date Agent #2 first contacted me and count down 8-12 weeks from then before nudging?
Nudging Timeline
- Thread starter jennibly
- Start date
A good rule is to double the time. All sorts of things can happen to delay what an agent intends to do, so if an agent says two weeks, then wait four weeks. After that, a gentle nudge is fine.
I've had three agents and not a one has ever stuck to a deadline. James's formula seems right to me.
I would do the same since she did say 2 weeks. If she hadn't said anything at all I would assume 3 months, then a nudge.
Definitely don't take the time too seriously. An agent once told me she'd be back to me in a couple weeks. Two years and dozens of nudges later, here we are.
Hope the agent gets back to you soon!
Hope the agent gets back to you soon!
Like a wise AWer once said, "Publishing is its own temporal dimension."
Doubling the agent's estimated timeline is probably a good place to start. But don't expect an answer even at that point--just be prepared to nudge. I know of someone whose offer came after 2 1/2 years of having queried that particular agent; my own came after 4 months. The pace of the business is glacial.
Doubling the agent's estimated timeline is probably a good place to start. But don't expect an answer even at that point--just be prepared to nudge. I know of someone whose offer came after 2 1/2 years of having queried that particular agent; my own came after 4 months. The pace of the business is glacial.
For a full I'd always give at least a month. They do take a while to get through for someone who's very busy.
I thought this tweet regarding publishing times was pretty accurate. 
https://twitter.com/djolder/status/743531246190473216
https://twitter.com/djolder/status/743531246190473216