Irene Goodman Literary Agency

I'm so leery of querying Irene now. Miriam has never responded to 2 queries on this book (and 1 on another book). I want to query Irene, but all the emails go to the same address. Do you think it's worth it to try again? (The book has been revamped & retitled, and I think Irene may be a good fit).

I queried Miriam back in April and got a request for a full within twenty minutes. I sent the full right away and am still waiting to hear back. I keep telling myself to be patient and wait a little while longer to send a status query.

Erin said:

I'm so leery of querying Irene now. Miriam has never responded to 2 queries on this book (and 1 on another book). I want to query Irene, but all the emails go to the same address. Do you think it's worth it to try again? (The book has been revamped & retitled, and I think Irene may be a good fit).

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I don't think anyone ever loses anything by trying. Go for it. What's the worst you're gonna hear?

privatepook said:

I queried Miriam back in April and got a request for a full within twenty minutes. I sent the full right away and am still waiting to hear back. I keep telling myself to be patient and wait a little while longer to send a status query.

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3 months is about right for a status query. It's been about 4 now? Can't hurt to request a status at this point. Like I said to Erin....anytime we deal with agents, what is the worst you're gonna hear? I would rather know than continue to sit in some kind of limbo.

I hope you're querying other agents and not putting all your eggs in one basket.

privatepook said:

I queried Miriam back in April and got a request for a full within twenty minutes. I sent the full right away and am still waiting to hear back. I keep telling myself to be patient and wait a little while longer to send a status query.

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Hi privatepook. The submission guidelines on their websites asks for a detailed synopsis of the book. Do they mean a chapter synopsis? Would you mind sharing what kind you sent? Thanks!!

HappyCamper said:

Hi privatepook. The submission guidelines on their websites asks for a detailed synopsis of the book. Do they mean a chapter synopsis? Would you mind sharing what kind you sent? Thanks!!

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I sent them a one page synopsis detailing the entire plot of the book. That means no cliffhangers, no mysteries left unsolved .... everything that happens in your book should be in there.

Writing a synopsis is not fun... some writers will tell you they'd rather write another book. If you're new to writing synopses, there are several threads here on this site that will help.

EgyptianGoddess said:

3 months is about right for a status query. It's been about 4 now? Can't hurt to request a status at this point. Like I said to Erin....anytime we deal with agents, what is the worst you're gonna hear? I would rather know than continue to sit in some kind of limbo.

I hope you're querying other agents and not putting all your eggs in one basket.

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Totally querying other agents and have a few partials and fulls out there. Wish me luck!

privatepook said:

I sent them a one page synopsis detailing the entire plot of the book. That means no cliffhangers, no mysteries left unsolved .... everything that happens in your book should be in there.

Writing a synopsis is not fun... some writers will tell you they'd rather write another book. If you're new to writing synopses, there are several threads here on this site that will help.

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Thanks privatepook! Yup, pretty new at the synopsis game. Just thinking about trimming my current three pager down to 1-2 pages is giving me hives. Hehe. Good luck with your full!

privatepook said:

Totally querying other agents and have a few partials and fulls out there. Wish me luck!

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Of course I wish you good luck! Let us know how it's going.

I sent a query, a four page synopsis, and the first ten pages to Miriam mid-April. In late June I received a full request from Barbara Poelle. Still haven't heard. It's only been about two months. It's funny, but I'm so wrapped up in my latest work that I'm pretty relaxed about it.

Anyway, apparently they do share. So querying one is like querying the whole agency.

I have 2 projects (one YA and one mystery) I'd like to send to 2 different agents at Irene Goodman. Does this sound like a bad idea?

Lucy Joseph: I'd suggest sending out your strongest one first to an agent there and wait for a response. If you're rejected, wait a couple weeks to a month and send out the other one.

Personally, I think it is bad form to send out two queries to two different agents in one agency. Imagine the sticky situation you'd end up with if both request fulls and then both offer representation. Not good, imo...

erin_michelle said:

Lucy Joseph: I'd suggest sending out your strongest one first to an agent there and wait for a response. If you're rejected, wait a couple weeks to a month and send out the other one.

Personally, I think it is bad form to send out two queries to two different agents in one agency. Imagine the sticky situation you'd end up with if both request fulls and then both offer representation. Not good, imo...

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Good point. I never thought about that happening! Duh. Pretty unlikely, I'm sure, but still, if it did I would look bad.

Irene Goodman automated response

Hi Everyone,

I sent a query to the Irene Goodman Literary Agency recently; on their site it says: "When your query arrives in our inbox, you will receive an automated response letting you know that we have received your query."

I did not receive an "automated" response and wonder if this means a) the email did not go through or b) they send an automated or generic confirmation after they review the email.

Has anyone received this automatic email? If so, can you share some insight? Thanks!

Travel13 said:

Hi Everyone,

I sent a query to the Irene Goodman Literary Agency recently; on their site it says: "When your query arrives in our inbox, you will receive an automated response letting you know that we have received your query."

I did not receive an "automated" response and wonder if this means a) the email did not go through or b) they send an automated or generic confirmation after they review the email.

Has anyone received this automatic email? If so, can you share some insight? Thanks!

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If you didn't get an automated response, I would resubmit. What they said seemed clear to me

I did not receive the automated email either- sent my query 9/10 and no response. Wonder if mine went into the black hole.

I didn't get an autoresponse either, nor did I on my previous subs to Miriam. Nor have I ever gotten a response from them. I finally queried Irene on a new book on 9/10, so I suspect it's too soon to hear on that one.

I believe I received an automated response but that could be my imagination playing tricks on me. I did get a response to my query in less than three weeks from Barbara Poelle (thumnbs down, unfortunately).

I didn't get an automated response on my 9/1 query addressed to Miriam Kriss. Haven't heard anything since then.

Hi All,

Thanks for your feedback. I followed up with Irene Goodman Literary Agency, from another email address, and learned that they did get my initial submission. Neither of my emails generated an automatic response. So, presumably, they are receiving submissions and the auto response does not work.

Best -

I've been waiting for a reply from Miriam on my full since April. I've sent two status queries and heard nothing back. Anyone else waited more than 6 months on a full with Miriam?

Travel13 said:

Hi All,

Thanks for your feedback. I followed up with Irene Goodman Literary Agency, from another email address, and learned that they did get my initial submission. Neither of my emails generated an automatic response. So, presumably, they are receiving submissions and the auto response does not work.

Best -

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Yep - sent a query from two different e-mail addresses and no auto response. Must be N/S.

I had a 91 day response from Miriam, requesting a full. Then a 90 day wait for the R.

Just wanted to chime in as another who did not receive an automated response.

Another who never received an automated response on a query sent 7/8. I didn't even know they did automated responses. Time to requery and see if they got it! They've always been speedy with responses before.