How long do I have to respond to a request for a full?

kearoh · Jul 15, 2017

I spoke with an assistant at a well known publisher who passed along my information to an agent at a very reputable agency. I sent a synopsis and a partial to the agent after we spoke and made it very clear that I was still in the revision process. A few days later I was asked to send the full even though the agent knows the manuscript is mostly a first draft.

How long do I have to respond to the request? The first draft is horrible, but I don't want to miss the opportunity to submit. I'm planning on doing a "quick" pass to polish which will take up to a week. Is that too long of a wait?

Harlequin · Jul 15, 2017

Why are you trying to get an agent when it isn't finished? :/ I mean I get it's a connection and sometimes you don't know when you're finished, but even so.

kearoh · Jul 15, 2017

Harlequin: I've had some great opportunities to network with publishing professionals recently, so have been taking advantage.

Old Hack · Jul 15, 2017

Even so, you've shot yourself in the foot by doing so before you have anything to send them.

Tell the agent you have only a first draft right now, and you'll send it to them as soon as it's polished and ready. Then work your socks off. Take a month or two.

kearoh · Jul 15, 2017

Thanks, Old Hack. I did tell the agent I only had a first draft. Was asked to send anyway.

Filigree · Jul 15, 2017

Something about this doesn't feel quite right. Reputable or not, I'd be very careful about this agent. Some of them are more editorial than others, and willing to work with a rough draft. I don't know your situation. You may also have a verifable track record, so both publisher and agent can see your skill level. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Otherwise, it's usually a good idea to polish your mms as much as sanity permits, before you send it anywhere.

Another thought: is this a UK agent? They can be open to less polished material if the promise is there.

Sage · Jul 15, 2017

Did they say to send now, or to send when you have a polished draft? It isn't too strange for an agent to be interested in a pitch/opening pages and ask for a revised novel if some circumstance puts the pitch/pages in front of their eyes even though they know the novel isn't ready. Some reputable agents, for example, used to peruse SYW and would request authors to send pages when the novel was ready. However, they usually say "when your novel is done" if they know it's not.

Old Hack · Jul 15, 2017

I agree that there's something odd here. OP, if you want you can send me the name of the agent, in complete confidence, and I'll let you know if I know of anything dodgy about them.

kearoh · Jul 16, 2017

I know a few people who know the agent. They are very well respected and well known in the industry. Not a UK agent.

spottedgeckgo · Jul 16, 2017

Hypothetically, you are going to be working closely with this person in the future. Might be a good opportunity to see how the communication channels are going to work. They know it's in an early draft, so maybe you could discuss your reservations with them directly and see what they say. Re-iterate that you aren't nearly done, and ask them if a couple months to polish things up would be acceptable, or if they are just hunting to know the direction of the story.

If you can't talk to your agent, then it's not an agent worth having.

StoryofWoe · Jul 16, 2017

Unless the agent closes to all queries, including referrals, sometime in the not-too-distant future, you don't really have to worry about "miss[ing] the opportunity to submit." If they're interested in your book now, they'll probably still be interested in two months. Like others have suggested, you're better off waiting until it's as good as you can make it.

A couple of years back, I participated in a webinar with one of my dream agents who offered a first chapter critique following the presentation. The guidelines stated that book did not have to be finished, but the agent reserved the right to request partials or fulls from the excerpts. I was pleased as punch when my crit showed up in my inbox with a partial request, but at the time, the book was only half-written. I thanked her for taking the time to review my piece and said I'd query her when it was ready, and she wished me luck. When the time came to query (about eight months later), I mentioned this previous exchange in the letter, and it earned me another partial req. Unfortunately, it didn't result in a full, but my point is: waiting until the book was done did not kill my chances with this agent. Better to take your time putting your best foot forward, because you're far more likely to squander the opportunity by subbing prematurely.

Best of luck with the book.

Sage · Jul 16, 2017

StoryofWoe said:
Unless the agent closes to all queries, including referrals, sometime in the not-too-distant future, you don't really have to worry about "miss[ing] the opportunity to submit." If they're interested in your book now, they'll probably still be interested in two months. Like others have suggested, you're better off waiting until it's as good as you can make it.

A couple of years back, I participated in a webinar with one of my dream agents who offered a first chapter critique following the presentation. The guidelines stated that book did not have to be finished, but the agent reserved the right to request partials or fulls from the excerpts. I was pleased as punch when my crit showed up in my inbox with a partial request, but at the time, the book was only half-written. I thanked her for taking the time to review my piece and said I'd query her when it was ready, and she wished me luck. When the time came to query (about eight months later), I mentioned this previous exchange in the letter, and it earned me another partial req. Unfortunately, it didn't result in a full, but my point is: waiting until the book was done did not kill my chances with this agent. Better to take your time putting your best foot forward, because you're far more likely to squander the opportunity by subbing prematurely.

Best of luck with the book.

The key with this story, btw, is that the situation was one where the agent might have expected authors to not be done with their novel. And that happens. There are plenty of ways that agents end up requesting an unfinished novel that are totally legit. And authors should be upfront at that time, then spend whatever time it takes to polish the novel. As long as the agent knows that's what's going on, they'll expect it to take a while.

In this case, OP, I'd send a response along the lines of, "Thank you for your interest! I'll send you my manuscript when I am finished revising it," since you already made it clear that the previous submission was for a first draft.

Quickbread · Jul 17, 2017

Totally agree that good agents are willing and happy to wait. They know revisions take time. I can speak from personal experience that even the most excited agent may not be able to interpret beyond what they see in your draft. Unless you've got multiple agents vying for your work, don't rush and do it right. The agent will be there later, and if not, another one will be.

Just my two cents. Good luck!

kearoh · Sep 11, 2017

I am back with an update. I did end up sending the first draft to the agent and got very helpful feedback from several people within the agency. They are willing to look at a second draft once I address the issues that were brought up. Very exciting!

How long do I have to respond to a request for a full?

kearoh

Harlequin

Eat books, not brains!

kearoh

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

kearoh

Filigree

Mildly Disturbing

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

kearoh

spottedgeckgo

Da Gecko

StoryofWoe

Sick and pale with grief.

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Quickbread

kearoh