Folio Literary Management

[hoyateach]

Originally Posted by xcomplex

It hasn't been that long yet but does Scott Hofman reply to all the queries he gets?

No. IME, his reader, Cicily Janus, is the one you'll hear from.

Good luck!

[connecto]

Ronempress,

Please forgive me if this is a dumb question--I am new at this querying business --but may I ask how you approached Michelle about the status of your query? Did you put something besides "Query" in the title of your email, and what did you actually say in the email if you don't mind giving the general jist? Reason I ask is that I have two RH editors who have suggested Michelle as the perfect agent for my book and I have queried her twice over 2 1/2 months and never heard back from either. I had assumed rejection but after reading your entry, I am wondering if she received either and how to proceed without being an annoyance. Thank you for any help you can provide. I am just amazed at the incredible amount of information and the generosity of spirit on this board!

[scope]

connecto,

Pardon the question, but your post leaves me a bit uncertain. I'm assuming that the original query you sent to Michelle dealt with your book and her desire to rep you, not something more general in nature? If it's beyond the response date in her guidelines, and you want to send her a third email, you can put Status Request or Status of Query - TITLE OF BOOK in the subject line. A brief, polite note asking if she's had an opportunity to read your query and if she's reached a decision.

I hope you have been querying other agents while waiting on Folio.

[connecto]

Hi Scope!

Sorry for the confusion! Yes, I sent Michelle a short query describing my book and including the name of one of the editors who suggested I contact her. No response, so after 6 weeks (the response date in her guidelines) I resent the original query. It's been about 3 weeks and no response to the 2nd query either so I'm guessing I should wait 3 more weeks and then send an email just as you said. Thank you again for your helpful suggestion!

And to your other question, yes, I do have the manuscript out to some other agents. I definitely learned my lesson after giving one agent exclusivity for 5 months even though she never asked for it! It has now been almost 8 months I have been waiting on that particular agent (although to be fair she is extremely busy) so I am so grateful I found this board, wisened up and started querying others!

Thanks again!

[ronempress]

Hi, Connecto. I did exactly as Scope suggested. Michelle responded fast.

In her defense, Folio has two pages on their site: http://www.foliolit.com/sub-howto.php and http://www.foliolit.com/sub-basicquery.php that detail EXACTLY how they expect your query to appear. I know I did not read those pages - didn't notice them - the first time I queried, so it's possible my query was trashed. Although in fairness to me, I did not do anything unusual in my query, either. That said, why take chances? Follow their outline to the letter if you didn't the first time and good luck!

[Roly]

That's great ronempress, thanks. I didn't notice those either. I think I'll rework the query to those specifications and then send it out from a different email address. What did you put in your subject line?

[xcomplex]

I followed those specs. I hope lol. I actually put Query- My title in the subject line btw. Hope thats right.

[ronempress]

Yes. You should always put the word "Query" in your subject line along with the title of your book. Good luck!

[flyinghorses12]

Hey guys! Here are my stats with querying Scott Hoffman so far, if anyone's interested:

query sent March 23, 2010
partial request from his reader, Cicily on April 9, 2010
anxiety exponentially multiplied April 9, 2010

Hopefully I'll have more to post about this

[ronempress]

Thanks, Horses and good luck!

[xcomplex]

Thanks for the luck but it blew up on me. I sent the query on the easter weekend and got a big ol R today. Here is the letter for you guys to see.

They didn't even write to my name which really bugged me and the letters were like gigantic.

Thank you for your recent email and your interest in Folio. We are always
eager to hear from writers who are serious about the business of writing;
unfortunately I do not feel that I'm the right representative for your work.

I have to be very selective of what I choose to represent and all of my
decisions are based on a frank assessment of the current needs of the
literary markets. The fact that this work doesn't fit my narrow criteria
for representation does not mean it couldn't find a home elsewhere. I urge
you to submit your work to other agencies or management companies that may
be more suited to this type of material. If you have other work you wish to
submit, please feel free to query again.

Respectfully,
Scott Hoffman and
Cicily Janus, Intern for Scott Hoffman

Blah! If any of you guys get rejected and want to swap queries for critique. I am in!

[honeysock]

xcomplex, sorry about the rejection. You said "I sent the letter on the easter weekend." Are you sending out just one query at a time and then waiting for a response? Because it could take decades for you to find an agent that way. Most people send in batches and tweak their query letter as they get responses/feedback. Also, form rejections, though painful, are common and perfectly acceptable (to most people)--preferred, even, to no response.

Good luck with future queries. (Hope that doesn't blow up on you!)

[xcomplex]

Originally Posted by honeysock

xcomplex, sorry about the rejection. You said "I sent the letter on the easter weekend." Are you sending out just one query at a time and then waiting for a response? Because it could take decades for you to find an agent that way. Most people send in batches and tweak their query letter as they get responses/feedback. Also, form rejections, though painful, are common and perfectly acceptable (to most people)--preferred, even, to no response.

Good luck with future queries. (Hope that doesn't blow up on you!)

I sent 5 queries and got 4 rejections. Jeeze that really sucks eh? I am bringing my query to the drawing board, once again...

[ronempress]

I'm not saying don't work on the query, but most folks will tell you wait through ten queries before reworking anything. It could be you hit one out of five right because the other four weren't as good a fit as you thought. Unfortunately, it could also be the agents don't feel the market will support your book right now. That's a possibility I'm facing.

That said, if you want to send me your query, go for it. I'm always game.

[xcomplex]

Originally Posted by ronempress

I'm not saying don't work on the query, but most folks will tell you wait through ten queries before reworking anything. It could be you hit one out of five right because the other four weren't as good a fit as you thought. Unfortunately, it could also be the agents don't feel the market will support your book right now. That's a possibility I'm facing.

That said, if you want to send me your query, go for it. I'm always game.

See I heard of that advice, but at the same time I don't want to loose my chances with many agents which I wish would represent me. The thought that they aren't looking for this type of novel has crossed my mind though. Also I will PM my query and can critique your's back as well

[Mr. Anonymous]

Still waiting to hear back from Cicily. It feels so long ago that I sent my full in but it's only actually been three weeks... Gah.

[Beckstah]

I sent my query to Scott Hoffman on 4/7/2010 and I got nothin'. Looks like I have a little longer to wait yet!

[MrKennedy]

Scott has had a partial of my latest work for a little over a month now and I am of course nervous, but even more so because Scott has been probably at the top of my agent want list since I wrote my first novel years ago.

Since he's actually taking queries, I imagine that he and Cicily are inundated with reading right now, but I was curious if he is someone who you only hear good news from before the 6-8 week time frame (in other words, if it goes the full 6-8 weeks, then you're probably not getting a full ms request)

Thanks for any advice.

[Mr. Anonymous]

Originally Posted by MrKennedy

Scott has had a partial of my latest work for a little over a month now and I am of course nervous, but even more so because Scott has been probably at the top of my agent want list since I wrote my first novel years ago.

Since he's actually taking queries, I imagine that he and Cicily are inundated with reading right now, but I was curious if he is someone who you only hear good news from before the 6-8 week time frame (in other words, if it goes the full 6-8 weeks, then you're probably not getting a full ms request)

Thanks for any advice.

I can only tell you what my experience was.

I sent a query on a friday, heard back positively on saturday, sent a partial saturday (was told response time is 6-8 weeks), heard back positively sunday. It is possible that they are just more snowed in now than they were before. This took place in early March (Cicily told me to send the full when it was ready, as I'd mentioned up front the manuscript was not yet completed, and I ended up sending it almost a month later.)

[MrKennedy]

I sent my query in on March 9, got back the partial request on 17, and emailed it off on the 20th

I'm sweating hard, because out of ten or so queries sent out, I've only gotten 3 responses back, and his was the only one asking to see some material.

Thanks Anonymous...and good luck with whatever you have with them right now

[Epiphany]

Folio's newest addition to their list of agents, Molly Jaffa, is so nice and really personal. I see her going great places with her career. According to their website, she's been with the agency since 2008 and is now starting to build her list.

[Vermilion]

E-queried Michelle today (April 24th).

[Goldsoundz]

Hey Mr. A, I have a quick question for you. I got a call last week from Scott's assistant asking me to send my full after she read my query. I tried to write down everything she was telling me, but after I got off the phone, I realized I totally blanked on where she wanted me to send it. Am I supposed to send it to the same address as the query, or a different one? I have some kind of address written on some scrap paper but I think it might be wrong. Could you help me out please?

[Mr. Anonymous]

Originally Posted by Goldsoundz

Hey Mr. A, I have a quick question for you. I got a call last week from Scott's assistant asking me to send my full after she read my query. I tried to write down everything she was telling me, but after I got off the phone, I realized I totally blanked on where she wanted me to send it. Am I supposed to send it to the same address as the query, or a different one? I have some kind of address written on some scrap paper but I think it might be wrong. Could you help me out please?

Congrats on her asking for the full right away, and by phone, no less!

Sounds really promising. I sent my requested material to the same address I sent the query to. I think you can probably do the same (include the original query, mention that you spoke on the phone, etc.)

[Goldsoundz]

Thanks for the quick response Mr. A. That's what I did (except for including the original query...oops). Too bad Folio doesn't send email confirmation to let you know they got it. I can't help but think I'm gonna wait the six to eight weeks only to find out they never received it. I'd probably cry if I had to do the waiting all over again. Congrats to you to on your request. I think I'd much rather be in your shoes than mine. At least when they requested your full they had already read your partial. With me, they're going in blind. What if I write better queries than novels? It's too much to think about.

Thanks again