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[Agency] Trident Media Group

Chumplet

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Of course, if you get an offer of representation from other agencies in the meantime, it can't hurt to inform the first agent and give them two weeks to respond. If two weeks goes by without a response, you move on.

Augustine, your situation sounds redonkulous! I wish you the best of luck with your submission. If you're asked to do massive revisions and they don't take you, hopefully you'll have older versions of your manuscript still available in case someone else requested a full.
 

frandavea

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I have nothing but positive feelings toward Trident. I once send my first query to the wrong guy (he was in charge of foreign acqisitions), but he still agreed to look at the first 50 pages (over the weekend, no less). Sure enough, he replied with a polite rejection, as well as notes on how to improve the ms. Considering he didn't have to do anything, that was pretty cool, considering how big Trident is.

Just finished my 2nd novel, and they were the first agency I considered.
 

Leukman

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I'm now at the 64 day mark with my full being in Scott's hands (hopefully in his hands and not lost on some desk or disk somewhere)...

I guess I've resolved to wait until after the Holidays to status query.

Or is that a mistake?
 

Noah Body

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Nope, not a mistake...he's had mine for almost 90 days now, so you still have some agonizing to do! ;)

The holidays are upon us...I would not expect to see anything further until the middle of January, as most of the industry seems to shut down at this time. So waiting is probably all anyone can do at this point.
 

Noah Body

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Just resurrecting this to ask if any other folks who have fulls in for submission to Scott Miller have heard anything further after sending in their material. I for one have not, so I'm just standing around playing games of Pocket Pilot.
 

Leukman

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Just resurrecting this to ask if any other folks who have fulls in for submission to Scott Miller have heard anything further after sending in their material. I for one have not, so I'm just standing around playing games of Pocket Pilot.

Nothing. Today is day 80. In reality, it's been less than three months, so I shouldn't be expecting much, especially not until after the holidays. Nonetheless, I feel like shooting something cute and furry.
 

SusanH

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Well, I probably ruined my chance with Trident. I queried John Silbersack then a week later queried Eileen Cope stupidly not realizing they were both from the same agency... Then I read where they reject queries when submitted to two agents at once. Well, mine was a week apart. I did get a rejection from Ms. Cope, but my query sucked. I haven't heard back from Mr. Silbersack and probably won't. Same sucky query. I quess I'll put them on the back burner and query them at a later date with my new query.
 

Prawn

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Ouch, Emerita! I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Back to Scott Miller: I queryed him on 5/4/2007. I am still waiting to hear....
 
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SusanH

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wow, that is a long time. SO far I have been rejected within hours and days. An agent asked for a full about 2 weeks ago and she asks for 3 weeks to read and I haven't heard anything and I take that as a good thing. I hope Scott likes your query. I'll throw good thoughts your way. Gotta help our family here.
 

Prawn

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I'm not holding my breath. I am just saying that some agents never respond. SCott Miller is a case in point, AFAIK.
 

SusanH

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That is sad. I would rather get a form rejection than silence.....
 

John Karr

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Well, nothing like tapping the Devil's shoulder ... received a nice, personalized rejection this afternoon from Paul F.

Ah, well.
 

John Karr

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Yeah, there is that. Plus he did like some aspects of the story, so not a total loss.

Maybe yours made it further in the review process. Good luck.
 

Leukman

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Or maybe it's lining the bottom of someone's bird cage. But not that I'm a pessimist, or anything. :D

Big bird cage, eh?

Suppose they have more than one bird?

Or perhaps my full is being used for the puppy.:Shrug:
 

copperpockets

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re: Scott Miller & Trident Media Group

Hi to Noah Body, et al.

Just to add my 2¢ about Scott Miller & Trident:

I mailed the original query on Feb. 28, 2008 and 206 days later on Sept. 18, 2008, got an email request for the entire ms. This request came from Stephanie Sun. On Sept. 20, I sent the ms as an attachment, as specified, as well as the release form via fax & snail-mail. I've had no response of any kind, not even a confirmation of receipt.

I followed-up with Stephanie Sun on Oct. 27, 2008, as follows:


Dear Stephanie,

Some five weeks ago I sent along the manuscript of my novel, JASON'S TAPES, at your request, to be reviewed by Scott Miller. At that time, I also submitted the signed and dated release via fax and snail-mail.

Can you say a word or two about Mr. Miller's review process? I'm wondering when he is likely to consider the manuscript. I realize that extraordinary uncertainty in the financial markets tends to put everything in question, and that he might well be unsure about how many and what sort of books are vendible now and will be in the near future. Still, I need to arrange submissions elsewhere if he declines JASON'S TAPES, and would prefer to get on with that business, if need be, as soon as possible.

Sorry to be, or to seem, importunate. I guess I assumed that Mr. Miller would not have requested the entire ms unless he had time to review it in fairly short order. That being said, I'll also say I understand that submissions like mine are longshots and that more obviously promising projects will push them to the bottom of the pile.

No offense and All Best, [etc.]

As of today, I haven't received any reply. As it takes about a second to fire off a form rejection, I guess my ms is still "alive" at Trident. On the other hand, there's no way to be certain, is there?

~copperpockets
 

DeterminedNovelist

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Re: Slow Response Time

Copperpockets,

I can hear and understand your frustration. I can also understand why you'd be tempted to write an assistant to ask about the hold up. I just don't believe a letter like this wins any friends.

Think about it. Though technically you are the one hiring an agent, the fact is you're having to audition for that privilege.

Put yourself in their place. Trident is a top agency. Not only are they avalanched by new queries and manuscripts every day, they probably already have all the clients they need. They can pick and choose, and naturally, they're going to want authors with whom they can establish a friction-free working relationship.

Let's say your book is just what they're looking for, but there are also five other authors whose books are equally solid. Who are they going to select to represent, the author who's writing bitter letters before they've even established a relationship? Or the author whose personality they don't know yet? Probably the latter. That other author may turn out to be a total pain in the butt, but they don't know that yet. What they do know is that you've written them a letter accusing them of not doing their job and reading your manuscript in the time frame you'd expected.

I'm not only a writer, but I've worked as an editor going through slush. I can tell you the first thing I would do after receipt of such a letter.

Jettison your material.

You would have already communicated to me that you will be difficult to work with. I know that's a hard truth to hear, but it's just the way it is in this business.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a big fan of lengthy response times. In fact, my full has been with Trident since last summer, and I'm beginning to suspect I'll never hear from them. I seriously think that Trident needs to work on this aspect of their business. They probably shouldn't be requesting so many fulls that they can't review them in a timely manner. They're only human and there are only so many reading hours in the day. Judging by the comments on this board, they could also do a better job of responding to potential clients and keeping them in the loop. I do think it's less than thoughtful to ask for a full, sounding excited about it, then proceed to ignore the author for the next year. They've gotten the author's hopes up for nothing. If you haven't heard something in six months or a year, it's much more likely that you're in the reject pile and just don't know it.

It's not that Trident wouldn't be a terrific agency to have representing your work, or that you shouldn't continue to hold out hope, it's just that publishing grows more and more like the film business every day, where writers are ignorable until they're not. If some agent or editor finally decides you're hot, then you're going to be hot with everyone in town. The lack of courtesy shown to those who aren't "anybody" yet tends to happen more often with the larger, more prestigious agencies, but it is also just as likely to happen with smaller, one-agent shops. There's just so much "product" out there that agencies such as Trident really don't need us slush-pilers, in theory.

In L.A., they have a phrase, "He's a real mensch," meaning he's easy to work with, professional, no need to stroke the ego. That, IMHO, should be the goal of any novelist seeking to make it as a working writer these days. To be a mensch, a savvy one who knows the score, and doesn't let a lack of response get them down. Write the best manuscript you can, and send it out. When you don't get that immediate success you're hoping for, don't take it personally, just move on.

You can sell, but it wastes your valuable energies trying to hit an agent over the head for not responding as fast as you'd like, or not responding at all. When you do that, you're just butting your own head up against a very hard and resilient wall. Believe me, things are not going to change for aspiring authors anytime soon. My best advice? Get some more query letters out there to other agents so you aren't so focused on the one you want the most.

Think practical. Think like a business person. I know they (the agents) are.
 
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Leukman

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Wow, DM, as well said as any could've said it.

I was thinking the same thing, but to be brutally honest, with the sig on that letter ("No offence and all best") I had to wonder if he was pulling our leg(s). :)

No offence, copper (and all best), but DM hit it on the head. You've got to find a paradigm shift here with regard to your approach and expectations, or you'll drive off anyone who would otherwise be interested in your work...

That's my opinion (and DM's too, it seems), and only meant as constructive...
 

Leukman

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Hey JW -how's the process? Will you be submitting soon? What's it been like so far working edits with your new agent? Have you gotten over the Being Repped Shock yet? :D
 

SusanH

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I queried him and since then changed my query letter. I know my new query is much better. Wish I could query him again....sigh.......
 

Noah Body

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How long ago did you query? Hell, I'm going to hit up Russell Galen again in a couple of months, figuring that even his steel-trap mind will have forgotten all about me since my previous query was last August.