Exclusive Has Expired - How to Word an Email

Phaeal · Sep 18, 2009

Agent One (great agent) received an exclusive on a partial for two weeks.

Agent Two (another great agent) requested partial the next day.

I emailed Agent Two that I would send the partial after the exclusive to Agent One was up. Which I will do.

Should I email Agent One that, the exclusive being up, I've started subbing partials/fulls again? If so, how to word it?

Heh, I always hoped to have these problems one day.

jclarkdawe · Sep 18, 2009

Either of these should work:

Dear Agent who sucks at deadlines:

I gave you two weeks. You blew it. Therefore, I'm sending my manuscript to other agents.

or

Dear Agent:

On September ??, I gave you a ??? week exclusive on my manuscript, SQUIRRELS NUTS AND HOW THEY DESTROY QUERIES, which would have been up on ??. I have another agent who is interested, and who I've told I would send the manuscript to today.

Could you please contact me and advise me of your intentions.

Thank you,

Big Bird

Personally I'd go with the second, but it's a free country. If I didn't get a reply within 24 hours, I send the manuscript to the other agent.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

dancingandflying · Sep 18, 2009

Yep. Jim's advice should work.

d&f.

Madison · Sep 18, 2009

Wow, I just had that EXACT same problem -- except agent #1 rejected me two days before the exclusive was up, so I never had to tell her to hurry up...

I'm not going to saying anything helpful to answer your question, but congratulations!!

Parametric · Sep 18, 2009

Go with Jim's advice. You might also mention that although the exclusive has expired, you'd still love to work with that agent and look forward to her response at a time of her convenience. Just lets her know that she's not being tossed in favour of a newer model - she's still loved and wanted. :tongue

Phaeal · Sep 18, 2009

Thanks, all! And I'd never toss an agent, my signature notwithstanding.

Horseshoes · Sep 19, 2009

I've go with a softer approach. If you email, be sure your sig line includes your phone number and general location (as the NY agent wonders what time zone the number calls and doesn't want to look it up).

Dear Agent,
Thanks again for your interest in my *genre*, Title. Now that the term of our exclusive has expired, I will make a few more queries but I do look forward to your response on my manuscript.

Exclusive Has Expired - How to Word an Email

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

jclarkdawe

Feeling lucky, Query?

dancingandflying

Is it tea time yet?

Madison

summertime...

Parametric

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

Horseshoes

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