Poking Agents

3 months
After that send an achingly polite status request once a month until they respond or the world ends, whichever comes first. (As advised by Nathan Bransford)

Poking agents is best done with a stick.

I was going to say three months and a day, but I'll never doubt Nathan

Only because you've got a crush on him.

I sent a follow-up email two months to the day to one agent. He responded in a day to let me know he hadn't read it yet. He then responded a few days later to let me know he'd read it and was sending it up the food chain with his recommendation. So we'll see how it all plays out.

Just be polite with your inquiry and wait for a response.

em, what does poking mean in the US?

cos here....

It means snogging.

I think.

My dirty mind saw the title of the thread as "PORKING Agents" and was thinking if only I was so good looking as to be able to get away with something so unethical.

About three months I would say.

Scoody said:

My dirty mind saw the title of the thread as "PORKING Agents" and was thinking if only I was so good looking as to be able to get away with something so unethical.

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HA HA HA, now this was funny.

Two months. An agent may not be finished by then, but any agent who can't gladly give you a status report, and a completion deadline, after two months is a bad joke.

So, you've poked the agent for requested info... what happens when they don't respond to your poke?

CheekyWench said:

So, you've poked the agent for requested info... what happens when they don't respond to your poke?

Click to expand...

I refer you to answer#2

I wish I could poke editors..

waylander said:

I refer you to answer#2

Click to expand...

Yep. Three months of poking. No response.

I wish they'd just reject me, already. Form letter is fine at this point. I won't be that pissy, promise. lol

I hope you wore a condom when you poked.

scarletpeaches said:

Only because you've got a crush on him.

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I didn't see this well thought out response.

Can ya imagine, he thinks I'm after him for his agentry? I'm in awe of this guy. If I was him, I'd have 'em lined up around the block.

Seriously, here's another "poking" question. I have an agent who, without signing me, asked my permission to send the manuscript to an editor at a major publishing house the agent has a long history with, to get feedback on the novel. I gave permission - as the agent has integrity, especially on this site.

The "poking" question is: I gave permission on 2/16, and today is 3/24. How long should I wait before inquiring about the status of the agent's request to the editor? Should I wait until 4/16, when two months have passed? I don't know what the standard on this should be.

Thanks!