[Agency] Writers House

Cricket18 said:

Thanks WriterMorgan!! Yes, in the end it alllll worked out.

The one thing I will say, I spoke to several of MH's client's and they all said the same thing...the majority of your communication will be through her assistant, Jen. This was true even for me...all of my email exchanges were with Jen. I know some people think, "Who cares? It's Writer's House!" And I admit, in the beginning, I felt the same -- *sheepish grin* But what happens when Jen gets promoted, or leaves?? Now you have to re-establish yourself w/ the new assistant because your relationship w/ MH has mostly been through the assistant.

Of course, I'm NOT saying MH doesn't speak to her clients...I'm sure she does. I think WH is an amazing agency, and MH a wonderful agent, I'm just saying, it's food for thought.

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Thanks for the input! That's interesting how you were able to talk to some of her clients...I would've have thought to ask. Good to know, though Who did you end up going with? And what genre is your book?

WriterMorgan said:

Thanks for the input! That's interesting how you were able to talk to some of her clients...I would've have thought to ask. Good to know, though Who did you end up going with? And what genre is your book?

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Ali McDonald of The Rights Factory. She's amazing! My genre is YA urban fantasy.

Feel free to pm me if you have questions...I feel like I've hijacked this thread!

What is the longest time somebody had to wait for a response from Jodi?

I sent my letter and synopsis around April...No response?

newgreekwriter said:

What is the longest time somebody had to wait for a response from Jodi?

I sent my letter and synopsis around April...No response?

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I was wondering the same thing, but I just sent mine last week.

newgreekwriter said:

What is the longest time somebody had to wait for a response from Jodi?

I sent my letter and synopsis around April...No response?

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I think Jodi/Assistant does respond to both rejects & requests - but I sent a query/sample pgs. in late sept and got a request around 3 wks later so maybe yours got lost? Maybe resend or follow up?

p.s. I queried by email, if that helps.

newgreekwriter said:

What is the longest time somebody had to wait for a response from Jodi?

I sent my letter and synopsis around April...No response?

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I queried Jodi in February and received a rejection in September (snail mail).

curlbe said:

I think Jodi/Assistant does respond to both rejects & requests - but I sent a query/sample pgs. in late sept and got a request around 3 wks later so maybe yours got lost? Maybe resend or follow up?

p.s. I queried by email, if that helps.

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email? I didn't know that was an option! LoL I would've totally done that. But that's ok...moving on

WriterMorgan said:

email? I didn't know that was an option! LoL I would've totally done that. But that's ok...moving on

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E-mail?!!!! Bah, she's busy now anyway...hmm...I have my eyes set on another WH agent ;-)

Jodi is the only WH agent I queried that didn't respond at all (by email). It's been months, so if you're all getting responses, maybe it's stuck in her junk folder.

I queried Writers House in the past and received a response in less than two months...I just think they forgot to give me my rejection. haha

For the record, Jodi prefers snail mails. I know of some people who have emailed, but she requests her queries to be sent snail mail. That said, I snail mailed her in April and got my response (an R) in August.

I've followed this thread for two days, catching up on the backlog of info on Writers House. It's six weeks this week since I sent my partial to Jodi Reamer's assistant. I sent an email two days ago asking alec if he rec'd my partial, and if there was any word yet. He has yet to reply, even to R me. I'm not sure what to think of that, other than he has no clue who I am.

I thought I had a fairly decent chance, but seeing how many others are getting the axe by JR's office on their fulls is killing me. I haven't even gotten that far yet, and I've had my heart set on landing WH, most specifically, JR. I don't write YA, but she's my genre and I like the things I've read about her, and others at WH.

After reading this thread, I decided I definitely needed a backup plan for if, or when, the R comes from JR. I think some other agents at WH might be an option for me.

Sorry for the rambling - I'm super nervous and worried because I didn't get an email response from JR's assistant. I'm not sure how much importance to place on the non-reply. If I didn't have my sequel to work on, I'd be a drooling nutbag at this point. This is most nervewracking ordeal, trying to land an agent. This thread has been helpful, however. I really appreciate all the info given out.

Southern Girl said:

I've followed this thread for two days,

After reading this thread, I decided I definitely needed a backup plan for if, or when, the R comes from JR. I think some other agents at WH might be an option for me.

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You have queried other agencies right? WH is one of the best, and most competitive agencies to land so I wouldn't put all your eggs in that basket... I never expected to get a request from JR because she's such a superstar in the world of agenting...so when the request came it was a pleasant surprise rather than something I'd been agonizing over since the minute I sent the query...and six weeks on a partial isn't a long wait at all, especially for someone as busy/successful as her...wouldn't stress about it until you reach the 3 month mark, maybe then nudge again...

Southern Girl said:

I've had my heart set on landing WH, most specifically, JR. I don't write YA, but she's my genre and I like the things I've read about her, and others at WH.

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Don't get your heart set on one agent or agency. You need to find the one who is most passionate about your work. You have no way of knowing who that will be until you find her or him.

Don't stop querying until the finish line

If you do get a yes, check with all the others you've sent unanswered queries (if they're high on your list), partials or fulls (wherever they are on your list, as a courtesy) before accepting.

Good luck!

ETA: From one who was broken-hearted when Merrilee H. turned down his partial.

Curlbe & Rainbow Dragon - thanks for the feedback. I sent my query to JR on a whim, never expecting to hear a thing back from her, 8 weeks later - I'd completely forgotten about even querying her in the first place. It was a complete shock when alec sent the letter asking for the partial.

I have queried other agents, but none so far have even nibbled, and I think I've queried over twenty - some twice even, with no response. How does a person organize all of this querying business? I feel like I'm running out of agents for my genre...

Three months on a partial is agonizing. And just for a partial! I can't imagine how long on a full. Would someone seriously keep a partial for three months and then turn it down? I don't understand the logic in doing so...and I see that I still have a lot to learn. My expectations have been completely unrealistic, I'm discovering.

If you've only queried 20 agents, trust me you haven't at all exhausted all the good/legit agents out there for your genre . I don't write paranormal romance so I can't give agent reccomendations but a lot of other people on AW do so maybe message one of them to ask? I've gotten 6 full requests & 2 partial reqs but that's in 3 months and fifty queries, and I'm still sending several out a week even though I still have the manuscript under review at several agencies. Just keep querying - as Janet Reid says, this is all a numbers game. And it might not take 3 months to hear back from JR at all, I just meant six weeks is nothing to stress about/assume the worst over...

Southern Girl said:

Three months on a partial is agonizing. And just for a partial! I can't imagine how long on a full. Would someone seriously keep a partial for three months and then turn it down? I don't understand the logic in doing so...and I see that I still have a lot to learn. My expectations have been completely unrealistic, I'm discovering.

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Happens all the time. And if you get a full request, you can budget 3-4 months to hear back on that one, too - and maybe for an "R". And then if you get signed, there are possible revisions, then more submissions to editors, hopefully a sale and then the book hits shelves... 2 years later.

You need A LOT of patience in this business.

Ah, thanks for the clarification on the three months.

I stopped sending out queries when I had a number out there still unanswered. I haven't sent out a query in over a month, except for 6 on a site that contacts agents for you, based on a proposal type thing the author creates. I will take your suggestions, however, with other authors in my genre. I actually went through my favorite books at home and looked for agent names as a starting point, and then moved on to the Writer's Market book and made a list. I've queried that list extensively - as I mentioned, some twice because of no response - and now I'm grappling for new names.

I've already started working on another book because I see so much potential in the story. Somedays I wonder if I should shelve it for awhile and go back to concentrating on landing an agent for the first one.

curlbe said:

If you've only queried 20 agents, trust me you haven't at all exhausted all the good/legit agents out there for your genre . I don't write paranormal romance so I can't give agent reccomendations but a lot of other people on AW do so maybe message one of them to ask? I've gotten 6 full requests & 2 partial reqs but that's in 3 months and fifty queries, and I'm still sending several out a week even though I still have the manuscript under review at several agencies. Just keep querying - as Janet Reid says, this is all a numbers game. And it might not take 3 months to hear back from JR at all, I just meant six weeks is nothing to stress about/assume the worst over...

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Cyia said:

Happens all the time. And if you get a full request, you can budget 3-4 months to hear back on that one, too - and maybe for an "R". And then if you get signed, there are possible revisions, then more submissions to editors, hopefully a sale and then the book hits shelves... 2 years later.

You need A LOT of patience in this business.

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Both QFT.

And I'll add you need a spreadsheet or some written document where you track who you query, what you send them and when. Because you should be organized in your approach and you should not be requerying the same agents with the same project. For many no response = a rejection. make sure you know what to expect and if that agent is a silence=no agent.

And I have never heard of a third party query site (ie, sending your queries for you) working. So, dig in, do your research, and send your own queries. Then track them, so you can see the responses or when to write them off as a no.

good luck.

~suki

Southern Girl said:

I haven't sent out a query in over a month, except for 6 on a site that contacts agents for you, based on a proposal type thing the author creates.

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DO NOT USE A SITE LIKE THAT!

Agents hate "query services" because 1 - they want to hear DIRECTLY from the writer and ONLY the writer. and 2 - they're usually, painfully, pitifully obvious.

Those "services" generally do query blasts. While they ask for your information, they scattershot every agent with an e-mail address. (Rachelle Gardner, for one, mentioned that in one day, she received double digit queries - almost identical and all on the same subject - for "new age" style writing. She's a Christian market agent, so you'd think that the service wouldn't be sending her books that are contrary to a Christian audience, yet they did. She spoke to a few other agents - the same day - and they ALL got the same queries. Again, all auto-deletes because they were so obviously not written by the writer.)

Yes, to everything Cyia said. Do not do!

Cyia said:

DO NOT USE A SITE LIKE THAT!

Agents hate "query services" because 1 - they want to hear DIRECTLY from the writer and ONLY the writer. and 2 - they're usually, painfully, pitifully obvious.

Those "services" generally do query blasts. While they ask for your information, they scattershot every agent with an e-mail address. (Rachelle Gardner, for one, mentioned that in one day, she received double digit queries - almost identical and all on the same subject - for "new age" style writing. She's a Christian market agent, so you'd think that the service wouldn't be sending her books that are contrary to a Christian audience, yet they did. She spoke to a few other agents - the same day - and they ALL got the same queries. Again, all auto-deletes because they were so obviously not written by the writer.)

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Suki,

I have a record of who I've sent a query to, when, and what the response was. I resent queries to those who did not reply to my first, after several weeks had passed, as a follow up query. Those who didn't reply to the follow up, I crossed off my list. That's about as organized as I am with my querying process. The proposal site was used as another way to flesh out new contacts, not to cut corners or avoid doing the work. Where I see I'm falling short is the research end of things.

Ok. The site I used has an agent with Carol Mann who has been mentioned here at AW a number of times. She opened my information, looked over my sample, and as of right now, that's where it stands. I chose only 6 agents in my genre, and I controlled what information was sent to them. I wrote my own query, I attached my sample chapters, etc.

It was Agent Inbox - seemed completely legit to me.

Southern Girl said:

Ok. The site I used has an agent with Carol Mann who has been mentioned here at AW a number of times. She opened my information, looked over my sample, and as of right now, that's where it stands. I chose only 6 agents in my genre, and I controlled what information was sent to them. I wrote my own query, I attached my sample chapters, etc.

It was Agent Inbox - seemed completely legit to me.

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First off, congrats to the partial! =)

But seriously, don't use those kinds of websites. E-mail the agents directly.

newgreekwriter said:

First off, congrats to the partial! =)

But seriously, don't use those kinds of websites. E-mail the agents directly.

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Thanks I actually forgot that another agent requested a partial way back when I first started querying, but they turned it down. Larsen Pomada. So, that makes two that requested partials. Better than I thought! I've started my querying process again.

Shoot. I had a good question and now I can't remember it. Anyway - I scrapped the Agent Inbox thing. I hate losing those six contacts, but lesson learned.