Following-up etiquette

Hi all,

I need to access the hive mind for a tricky etiquette question.

I queried the head of a mid-size reputable, growing agency (let's call her Agent X) in March, and she requested a partial and then a full. All good so far. I followed up a couple of months later, requesting status.

Then, like magic, over the next 10 days I received 3 Rs on fulls I had out as well as a couple of partials, and the reasons were identical. A re-write was urgently needed addressing these flaws. As soon as I had begun this work, the assistant of Agent X responded to my status request, apologising, saying the manuscript appeared to be lost and could I email it again.

I explained to this assistant about the Rs, and the rewrite, and she said not to worry, take me time, send when ready.

I finished the edits a week ago and emailed the assistant, but no reply. I have since found out that this assistant has been promoted to agent-level in this agency and her inbox is probably swamped with queries. Should I just bide my time and wait for her to get to it, or should I try contacting the general office email address (where the original request for the partial came from, but not response to my status requests), or the direct address of Agent X?

Any advice appreciated.

Dave

Yeah, I feel lucky to get this far, but it's a double-edged sword, the closer the finish line appears, the more you want it, and those last few yards are the hardest. First time I sent my novel out, I got nothing but form rejections. 2nd round, after serious revisions, a few partials, third time, after another few months working on it, a few fulls. I have now written four drafts since I was 'finished' in October 2009, and just started sending it out again, and the reaction has been great so far. Whether it's enough to snag an agent, time will tell.

And then you only have to worry about getting a publisher, getting the marketing team onboard, getting reviews, getting good placement in bookstores, and, of course, the next book!