[Agency] Writers House

newbie2writing said:

Nope. You are right. Jodi Reamer is my first choice and since snail mail takes longer and a lot of the others on my top 10 take email, I wanted to get her response first before pursuing anyone else. I noted in my query it was an exclusive, so hopefully that might help and a response won't take as long as some of those that I've read on this site (8 months!).

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newbie2writing said:

On the flip side, I would have hated getting involved with another agent only to hear that she was interested, albeit too late. It may tie me up for a little while, but honestly I'm not in any hurry.

Does anyone know Jodi Reamer's response time? Also if the agents talk, as a lot of people suspect, then wouldn't sending out a query to a giant list of agents do more harm than good?

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Hi,

Sending exclusive queries isn't going to do you any favors, all it's going to do is make the process about 50X longer. It won't give you an edge, in fact top agent Jenny Bent has this to say on her website:
"Please do not send an exclusive query. Queries are meant to be shared with multiple agents."


You should absolutely send individualized queries (i.e. don't email/mass mail the same letter addressed generically) and if you're new and nervous then start by sending 5 or so queries every couple of weeks and see the kind of responses you get, that way you'll be making reasonable progress while still giving yourself time to edit the query as you go along, if something about it isn't working right (or to edit the manuscript if an agent does request and then has suggestions for improving future submissions).


Also, Jodi Reamer is a lot of people's dream agent, I wouldn't put all your eggs in that basket - of course it was worth querying her, but if you get a negative response don't be discouraged. AS for timing, my request from Jodi came from her assistant and took about a month from the time I sent an equery. Good luck! And please, do query some other agents...

I am SO glad I joined this site! It finally seems like I'm not feeling in the dark on my own. I will take everyone's advice and start working on a few more queries. Obviously, I know that they aren't all going to say yes, but the anticipation of that first 'no' is daunting. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks!

Hi All -

Anyone query Steven Malk recently? I sent him a query on 2/7. When I last queried him in the summer of 2008, he replied in 5 minutes. It's been nearly two weeks, and I'm wondering if he's just bogged down or if my query is someplace in the cyber void.

Reason I'm concerned is he'd asked for a full in 2008, passed on it, but he told me to consider him for future work.

Eek! I'd so like to have him as an agent.

Anyone else out there playing the waiting game with Steven?

Thanks for any comments -

ILS

ILSinTexas said:

Hi All -

Anyone query Steven Malk recently? I sent him a query on 2/7. When I last queried him in the summer of 2008, he replied in 5 minutes. It's been nearly two weeks, and I'm wondering if he's just bogged down or if my query is someplace in the cyber void.

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hi there!
i queried steven malk monday and got a request from his assistant tuesday. maybe your query got missed?
hope that helps.
-ej

Great-looking stats there, ej! You go, girl. : )

Hi ej -

Thanks so much! I'll wait a couple more days and requery.

Ohmygawd, ej. Are you querying Butter? My book's about an overweight warlock boy attending a fat camp. How weird is that?

thanks honeysock!

ILS, that's too funny! love the twist of the boy being a warlock in yours. maybe he and butter went to fat camp together!
here's hoping the big boys get picked up by agents!

For anyone waiting for Jodi Reamer - I had quite a quick R considering how busy she is. Mailed on 19th Jan, and R was postmarked the 16th Feb (signed from Alec Shane, her assistant). Just a form R, but it had my name and book title. It was always a long long shot, but it's nice to be have an answer.

Sage -

If I were you, I'd send an email to Merrilee and remind her that she has a full from you she hasn't responded to and explain the situation. She may ask to see the new book, and then you'll have to decide if you want to play the waiting game once again. Or, she might decide to reject the older MS, which in my mind wouldn't be a bad thing either.

ILS

P.S. I received a very nice personalized rejection notice this afternoon from Steve Malk. He complimented my writing and my imagination and said his door is open to future work. And THEN he recommended another agent at Writer's House and told me to feel free to tell the other agent Steve sent me. Wow! I've never been so happy about a rejection notice. He's such a class act!

Sage said:

Unfortunately, I just status queried her. <bites lip>

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I status queried her assistant at the 3 month mark on mine in January and she replied the next day with an R. Hopefully, you'll hear back with better news!

For those asking about S. Malk, I queried him on 1/6 and he responded 1/15. So just over a week.

When I queried Steven Malk, it was 30 minutes from query to full request (via assistant, of course )

S. Malk has a lovely assistant. queried awhile back and she requested a full within twenty minutes or so, and rejected the MS in about a week. she was so kind though -- so professional. i think she's really on top of things. she and Malk would be a great team to work with.

good luck to all

Steven Malk called me last night just to give me a status update on where he was with the book and to let me know what he thought of it so far and how soon he expected to finish it. He knows the full is with other agents, because I had to deny exclusivity, so he just wanted to stay in touch with me in case I heard from someone else.

I was so impressed, I almost fainted. He has only had the full for a few days. Very cool how he values a writer's time! If anybody is deciding who to query at Writers House, I recommend him.

Gemnyc said:

For anyone waiting for Jodi Reamer - I had quite a quick R considering how busy she is. Mailed on 19th Jan, and R was postmarked the 16th Feb (signed from Alec Shane, her assistant). Just a form R, but it had my name and book title. It was always a long long shot, but it's nice to be have an answer.

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Same with me. I got my first rejection today. I am bummed, but I have two other queries out there. And so it begins...

newbie2writing said:

Same with me. I got my first rejection today. I am bummed, but I have two other queries out there. And so it begins...

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Keep your chin up--you're on the right track. Stick with sending out 5-7 query letters at a time and that way if you don't get many requests, you can edit it before submitting the next batch.

newbie2writing said:

Same with me. I got my first rejection today. I am bummed, but I have two other queries out there. And so it begins...

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newbie don't be discouraged -- we've all been at that scary beginning stage. you'll definitely find your way through the bumps and bruises that precede success. hang in there and keep pushing. rowan is totally right -- send out queries in batches, and see how it goes. if it's not getting any bites, maybe consider the Share Your Work thread (password: vista) where you can get feedback from other AWers. the fact that you're already communicating on this forum is a huge step in the right direction.

in the meantime -- start working on your next book. it'll keep you busy and give you hope for new possibilities.

we're all here to help each other. i know i'd be lost without all of you.

best of luck!!

T

2/22/10 Query sent to Dan Lazar (email)
2/23/10 Ejected on 1/23/10 by his assistant. "Not right for our list."

MG Fantasy

Sorry for the R, ILSinTexas. At least it was fast.

Hi!
Anyone knows about Maya Rock? She isn't listed in WH page and her Pub Mktplc page has disappeared too!!!

I queried Ms.Rock on 2/11 and haven't heard anything.

She's known for rapid response times and most of the posts on here about her have been very positive.