How long should I wait?

Sakura-chan · Jun 28, 2010

Sorry if I'm asking something that has already been brought up, but...
Recently, I sent out a full ms to an agent and I was wondering how long should I wait before sending a follow-up. Is one month too soon? Any suggestions on how to word said follow-up?
Thanks for your help.

C.T. Richmond · Jun 28, 2010

8 to 12 weeks seems to be pretty standard. I usually waited until the 12-week mark to send a nudge.

As for the follow-up email, I tried to keep things short (2 to 3 sentences). I'd mention the title of my manuscript as well as the date the agent requested my materials. Then I'd ask if the agent has had a chance to read my manuscript yet.

Good luck!

Sakura-chan · Jun 28, 2010

C.T. Richmond said:
8 to 12 weeks seems to be pretty standard. I usually waited until the 12-week mark to send a nudge.

As for the follow-up email, I tried to keep things short (2 to 3 sentences). I'd mention the title of my manuscript as well as the date the agent requested my materials. Then I'd ask if the agent has had a chance to read my manuscript yet.

Good luck!

Well.
Think I'll stop checking my inbox so often. Thanks very much for the help!

Ryan_Sullivan · Jun 28, 2010

This varies greatly between agents. Some say 3-4 weeks, some say a few months. Personally, it took my agent about 5 weeks, and his assistant even called along the way to apologize for it taking so long. Look up the agent and see what you can find. They usually state it somewhere.

Ken · Jun 28, 2010

... like Ryan said, it does vary. I waited 3 months myself the first time around. The agent got back to me in a week after the nudge. I was really green at the time and called the agency. Fortunately they were okay with that and nice about it. Not the recommended course though by any means. Emails are the way to go as I now know. G'luck.

suki · Jun 28, 2010

Sakura-chan said:
Sorry if I'm asking something that has already been brought up, but...
Recently, I sent out a full ms to an agent and I was wondering how long should I wait before sending a follow-up. Is one month too soon? Any suggestions on how to word said follow-up?
Thanks for your help.

Look up the agent's stats/response time - many will say "give us ____ weeks on fulls." If you can find that info, give them the stated time plus 2-3 weeks. In May -August or in December-January, give them at least 3 weeks past stated response times.

If you can't find that info, 12 weeks is fairly common.

Find a hobby to distarct you, or, better yet, get submerged in a new book.

Happy waiting, and good luck.

~suki

scope · Jun 28, 2010

Key ingredient: Did the agent request the full or did you just include in accordance with the agency (and agent's) guideline?

Of course you want to check their site to see if anything is mentioned about time of response to personally requested fulls (if the agent asks everyone to send a full, what the response time indicated?).

If the manuscript was not specifically requested, and no mention is made of a time line, I would suggest 12 weeks. If it was requested I would wait 6 weeks and then send gentle nudge.

Sakura-chan · Jun 28, 2010

You guys rock!
Thanks for the responses. Fortunately and unfortunately, the agent I queried is very new. The agency she's part of is listed on publishers marketplace, but they don't mention a turnaround time. So it looks like I'll be waiting 12 weeks.

suki said:
Find a hobby to distarct you, or, better yet, get submerged in a new book.

I started working on another manuscript I had put down for nearly a year and I'm also reading two different books. (Yet the computer is before me with my empty inbox that says no new messages...)

scope said:
Key ingredient: Did the agent request the full or did you just include in accordance with the agency (and agent's) guideline?

It was a requested full. She asked me to call her, too, which I did. But--horror--I forgot about the difference in time zones. Ouch.

Ryan_Sullivan · Jun 28, 2010

Sakura-chan said:
You guys rock!
Thanks for the responses. Fortunately and unfortunately, the agent I queried is very new. The agency she's part of is listed on publishers marketplace, but they don't mention a turnaround time. So it looks like I'll be waiting 12 weeks.

I started working on another manuscript I had put down for nearly a year and I'm also reading two different books. (Yet the computer is before me with my empty inbox that says no new messages...)

It was a requested full. She asked me to call her, too, which I did. But--horror--I forgot about the difference in time zones. Ouch.

Calls are always good!

If she's new, I would think you'd be on the shorter side (if she an agent exclusively). If she's also an assistant, you might have to wait a lot longer. But, new agents seem to want to jump on things faster if they like them, so it could go either way. Just enjoy the ride, you've gotten this far!

How long should I wait?

Sakura-chan

C.T. Richmond

Sloths are awesome

Sakura-chan

Ryan_Sullivan

Agented YA Writer

Ken

suki

Opinionated

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

Sakura-chan

Ryan_Sullivan

Agented YA Writer