Trying to Find An Agent

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honeycomb

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Could this get anymore depressing? I've written this great novel, a real masterpiece, a pulitzer prize, a real page turner and I've only received four "send sample chapters" since I started quering a month and a half ago.

Am I missing something here? i've had my query letter reviewed by several people and it has been tweaked and tweaked.

Can someone tell me how long it takes to get a reputable agent?
 

ChaosTitan

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There is no rule or standard time. Some folks get an agent on the first query. Others can query from one end of their list to the other for years, before landing someone who wants to take them on. Others still never get an agent.

I'm glad you're proud of your novel, but six weeks of querying is just a drop in the ocean. Keep at it. :)
 

Novelhistorian

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If I were you, I'd be dancing in the streets. Just watch out for traffic.
 

blacbird

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Finding an agent isn't much of a problem. In fact, I know right where hundreds of them are.

Getting one to agree to represent your work for publication is a different animal. If you're out there telling them you have "a real masterpiece, a pulitzer prize, a real page turner," you'll likely need a lot more patience than you apparently have now.

caw
 

waylander

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Could this get anymore depressing? I've written this great novel, a real masterpiece, a pulitzer prize, a real page turner and I've only received four "send sample chapters" since I started quering a month and a half ago.

Am I missing something here? i've had my query letter reviewed by several people and it has been tweaked and tweaked.

Can someone tell me how long it takes to get a reputable agent?

Five and a half years, but I've now got one.

4 partial requests in 6 weeks of querying is a fairly good hit rate
 

seun

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Four requests in less than two months? Mate, you should have a big smile on your face. The last thing you should be doing is thinking you're not getting anywhere.
 

C.bronco

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Could this get anymore depressing? I've written this great novel, a real masterpiece, a pulitzer prize, a real page turner and I've only received four "send sample chapters" since I started quering a month and a half ago.

Am I missing something here? i've had my query letter reviewed by several people and it has been tweaked and tweaked.

Can someone tell me how long it takes to get a reputable agent?
I've haven't written a pulitzer novel, however, it will be a great commercial success with plenty of opportunities for action figures and other assorted marketing products. I forsee happy meal promotions for the movie.

2 years and counting. 1 year since I've figured out how to fix up my query letter and synopsis properly. I oughta start querying again; I've been kinda busy.
 

DeadlyAccurate

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Can someone tell me how long it takes to get a reputable agent?

Ten years and four novels for me. It still hasn't sold.

While I wish you the best of luck and hope you get an agent with this book, I also hope you're working on the next one.

And six weeks is nothing. In publishing time, it's a nonexistent time entity.
 

Birol

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That's a good question right now.
Pretend agents are a pair of Depends.
Now, saturate.
Send out those queries to any and all who accept your genre.

I recommend looking beyond the actual genre they've published. What specific books/authors have they published? Are the books anything like yours? Research this market, the same as you would a magazine before submitting.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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Could this get anymore depressing? I've written this great novel, a real masterpiece, a pulitzer prize, a real page turner and I've only received four "send sample chapters" since I started quering a month and a half ago.

"Only"? You're doing fine! That's a great result.

Seriously, give it six months before you even start worrying an iota. Six months, or rejections from all of the people in your current pool.

It took six months to find my former agent for a novel that did quite well. Six months and 14 or 15 submissions.
 

honeycomb

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Out of curiosity, you told us how long you've searching for an agent, but how many agents have you queried in that time?

I would say every author that accepts women's, ethnic, fiction.
 

Chumplet

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Two years, fifty or sixty queries, three requests for partials, no takers. I finally sold my first two novels to small presses, and I'm still plugging away with my third. Maybe this will be 'the one' to snag an agent.

Please, pleeeeeze be careful not to declare your novel a masterpiece to agents. They get a little snarky when they hear stuff like that.
 

Birol

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That's a good question right now.
I would say every author that accepts women's, ethnic, fiction.

You mean every agent, not every author, right? What I'm hearing you say is you took the shotgun approach?

Beyond finding out what the agents accepted work in your genre, did you do any type of research as to what they represent? You stated that your query letter had been reviewed by several people. What were their qualifications?
 

Maryn

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Darn, I was hoping the OP would have answered Lori's posts 16 and 21 by now. Oh well, busy time of year for us all, right?

Maryn, keeping watch on the thread
 

Birol

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That's a good question right now.
They did answer #16 in a manner of speaking. Look at post #18. It's not a precise answer, but it does provide information in response to the question. I interested in hearing the response to #21, too. This is a good discussion to have.
 
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