Update on agency response time
I just checked in to see the latest. It's been a hectic summer for us (which is unusual in publishing) with lots of sales for both our new and our established authors. So excuse me for not checking on this sooner. Onto the next issue, so what's up with our response time?
You're right we're taking longer than before to reply. On queries, we're simply getting more queries in a day than we can possibly respond to. We're a small agency getting a large agency's volume of mail. The downside is that means we can't look at everything. The upside is we get so much mail because we're selling a lot of books.
Email queries are more likely to get an answer than hard copy. We do try to reply to as many as we can, but since we want to read each one ourselves rather than rely on interns or trainees to read and reply on queries, we're limited as to how many we can handle. I tried the intern route and felt like I was handing over the fate of new writers into the hands of people without the experience necessary to really know what books I'd want to see and which I'd pass on. The pass on ones were often the most disturbing, since my tastes are very eclectic and honestly, no one else can really accurately predict what might catch my attention.
As you'll see, we added a note to our website about a month ago to ask people to remind us if their query has gone four weeks or longer without a reply. Since then, we've gotten reminders on about a dozen queries and projects and we're responded to every one of those.
If you're writing to inquire about an aging project or query, please use the
[email protected] email address as our web site instructs. Using any other will reduce the chances you'll get a reply. If you inquire at the email address that I use or Rachel uses to receive queries, your letter will be in with all the new queries, so it will be harder to find.
We prefer you email with status inquiries, but if you call, leave a detailed message, including your name, the title, the date of submission, whether it was a partial or complete and whether it was email or hard copy, and who you submitted it to. Don't just leave a message stating your name, phone number and a directive to call you back. Like the queries, we get far too many phone calls a day to reply to all of them unless we recognize your name. Most callers who don't leave a message want to discuss things like 'I want to write a book and how do I get started?' or want to query us by phone, which we don't permit. That's why we tend to make returning those 'mystery messages' a very low priority.
If you've inquired with us on a status several times, chances are we didn't get your email. Certain addresses trigger our filters and the note goes to our bulk mail folder. In that case, do try calling. But as someone suggested, if it's been four to six months or more, you should assume the project has been rejected.
We know everyone wants a personal response, but at times, our reasons are a bit more hard to define. We may think a work is quite good, but still have reservations about whether it's going to stand out in the market. We may just not find the work compelling even though another agent might. Those might sound like form rejections, but they are real, actual reasons an agent might turn a book down. If we can really define what it is that needs work, we often go overboard in providing that information.
What can you do to help ensure a response on your work? Be sure to include your FULL contact info with your submission. If you email us, include your physical address and phone number. If we tried to email you back and the mail got bounced because of server problems or a full inbox at your end, we may not find time to keep trying or attempt to locate you another way unless you give us alternate contact info. With hard copy, be sure to include a cover sheet with all your contact info, even if you included a SASE. Be sure to have a header on your manuscript with your name, title and page number on each page.
Finally, I need to remind new writers that an agency's first priority will be their existing clients. When they're particularly busy, we simply have less time for reading new work.
If you have a question, inquiry or need a status update, email us at the correct email addy (
[email protected]) and we'll do our best to get back to you.
As always, best of luck to everyone.
Gina Panettieri
Talcott Notch Literary
