Summer- not a good time to start querying?

Verrrry interesting ... is that why my queries keep getting kicked back? Wrong time of the year?

Wait a minute, it may be spring/summer up there but it's colder than a well-diggers ... whatever down here in Tasmania. Should I wait until later when its cold up there and beachtime down here? Can't those agents I've queried tell my fingers are nearly frozen to the keyboard?

Seasonal querying? Somehow I doubt it but then I haven't been very successful have I?

Who knows what kind of people agents are, anyhow? (are they people?)

You're welcome!

A lot of agents keep the same schedules as us mere mortals. Send your queries when they're ready.

That's a good question. I'm curious if this is true.

I think you're over-thinking it. Just send when it's ready.

I've heard the same thing about editors--book shows, conferences, vacations....

But I met an editor at a conference a couple of weeks ago and she told me to send my proposal to her after June 1.

I'd say if you know someone is out (you can find out easily enough if they're teaching at a conference, for example), don't send during that time period or the week or so just before or after, but otherwise, it's not like the entire business shuts down for 3 months.

tweetybird said:

A reliable source has told me not to query agents in the US during summers ( everybody wants to go on a holiday, go to the beach, spend time with their family etc.)

I plan to start querying in the month of June-July but was advised to start in September instead.

I would love some views on this.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I believe someone has given you inaccurate information. Any time is a good time to query agents, as they have outside lives all year long. Unless an agent gives instructions at their website to not query at certain times, I say have at it!

Yeah, if you start listening to this "best/worst time to query" advice, you'll find out there's NEVER a good time to query, because there's always some holiday, conference, vacation, event, or misalignment of the planets getting in your way.

Query when you're ready. No sooner or later.

You have been misinformed.
This one comes up fairly frequently. Here is former Curtis Brown agent Nathan Bransford's view http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2008/12/is-there-best-time-to-query.html

This is good to know. Thank you, tweetybird, for asking the question and thank you all for your views. I'm planning to resume querying in June/July.

Writing a good enough query letter and manuscript is all that matters. Certain times of the year might be slower or quicker to get a reply, but I know people who heard from agents between xmas and new years. An agent that posted here said he did a lot of manuscript reading during this time "off".

I queried and got my agent last summer, so, um, yeah.

No good or bad time to query.

Yes, and you can't query during the holidays because they're doing all that Christmas stuff, and you can't query after the holidays because they're too flooded with unread queries from writers who didn't listen about not querying during the holidays. And you can't query in the spring because of all those conferences and workshops. On and on.

Here's the deal. Even if any of these things were true, and they aren't, it still wouldn't matter. If you wait to query, it only means your query will be under a very large stack of queries from writers who didn't wait. Do you want that one opening an agent has to be filled before she gets to your query?

I've had one agent get back to me after business hours, requesting a full, and another one requested a full on a Sunday. So it seems to me that some work flexible schedules and I'm sure that includes summer time

I don't think there is any good time/bad time to query an agent. And really some big names got their agents over holidays and during the summer. Agents still read queries/novels, even when they are sitting on the beach, taking a plane ride or as most say, while their keeping the same working hours as usual.

I think that if the agent is "dialing it in" during the summer months because they have their head at the beach, then that is an agent you wouldn't want to deal with anyways. The best agents would want your work ASAP. The sooner they have the next bestseller, the sooner they (and you) get paid.

CAWriter said:

I've heard the same thing about editors--book shows, conferences, vacations....

But I met an editor at a conference a couple of weeks ago and she told me to send my proposal to her after June 1.

I'd say if you know someone is out (you can find out easily enough if they're teaching at a conference, for example), don't send during that time period or the week or so just before or after, but otherwise, it's not like the entire business shuts down for 3 months.

Click to expand...

This is a good time to add you should pay attention to the listings. Many agents have a blog and/or website, and might give you an idea of their schedules. If there aren't any details, however, don't sweat it and submit when you're ready.

I don't know if there's ever such a thing as a slow time in submissions, but historically I've gotten the quickest responses during summer months (and once landed an agent then too). Perhaps more writers are vacation-minded; perhaps there's no definitive reason. I agree with the vast majority here, though. Given how long the whole process seems to take, why wait? If you have a great, marketable book, it's always a great time to query.

Query when you're ready and don't follow seasonal trends. A lot of agents attend the various writing conferences in spring & summer and others close here and there throughout the year. Just check their guidelines & status before querying.

tweetybird said:

A reliable source has told me not to query agents in the US during summers ( everybody wants to go on a holiday, go to the beach, spend time with their family etc.)

Click to expand...

Unless this 'reliable' source is a prestigious literary agent then I would take it with a pinch of salt.

I mean, sure, people like to take holidays and hang out. I know I do. But I can't just give up work for three months of the year, much as I would like to.

Literary agents are people too. They have holidays, but they still gotta work, the publishing industry doesn't shut down because the sun is shining.

There does seem to be an industry-wide slow down in August (in New York, anyway), but there's always someone who will tell you about getting an offer for representation in that month, or getting the green light from an acquisition editor. So no hard and fast rules.

Even if an agent is away at a conference, or off on vacation, or whatever, waiting to query does nothing except put you behind writers who did not wait.

Query when you are ready, forget the time of the year. In most cases, incoming submissions are put at the bottom of a pile anyway.