Uptil how long can i expect a response to a query?

rohitwow

Registered
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Hi . I was just wondering, is it practical to expect a favourable response from an agent at the end of their stipulated period? i.e. If the agent says 'upto 3 months', is it possible to get a 'yes' after waiting that long? Can it take longer at times? Not that I haven't sent queries to multiple agents. Just, don't want the hope for my book with an agent that sounded 'just right' to lose ground with passing days...
 

Katrina S. Forest

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Messages
2,053
Reaction score
280
Website
katrinasforest.com
The waiting time is more dependent on an agent's workload than the content of your query. Once the agent reads your query, odds are he or she will make a decision fairly quickly. My guess is that if you haven't gotten a response yet, it's because there are a lot of queries in line ahead of yours.

I'm in the waiting boat right there with you, so I totally understand how you feel.
 

rohitwow

Registered
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Thanks Katrina!!! You made me feel a whole lot better :)
 

Ferret

Dook!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 8, 2010
Messages
733
Reaction score
98
Requests can come at any time. I just got a request today from a query I sent in May. The agency website states that no response after six weeks should be taken as a rejection, so this was unexpected. (And I already have an agent, so it was too late.)

However, you shouldn't wait around hoping for a positive reply. Send out more queries. Rework your query if you think it might need it.
 
Last edited:

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
9,232
Reaction score
1,897
Location
Providence, RI
If you're serious about querying (that is, not just testing the waters), I recommend putting together an annotated list of all possible agents for your book. This will make it easy for you to send out 3-5 queries a week, on whatever day is most convenient, no matter how you're feeling about the process. The more queries out, the more chances you hit the right desk. Obsessing over any one query wastes psychic energy that should be going into your next book.
 

Chumala

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 22, 2009
Messages
377
Reaction score
34
It depends how good your story is. If you have a great story, I've heard reports of getting a responce the next day. I think Nick Sparks got his first query letter replied to in a day or so, turns out that is his agent now. :)
 

Anne Lyle

Fantastic historian
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 23, 2007
Messages
3,469
Reaction score
397
Location
Cambridge, UK. Or 1590s London. Some days it's har
Website
www.annelyle.com
No, it really doesn't depend on how good your story is - it depends on when the agent gets to your query in the queue. If the agent is well organised and processes each day's queries at the end of the day, you'll get a quick response - if he/she is always behind, it could take weeks for your submission to get looked at. I've heard of people getting rejections practically by return of email!

FWIW, my agent responded within 90 minutes - but then I sent my email in the evening, which is when he seems to do his submissions readings, on the first day his agency re-opened to queries.

It's the luck of the draw, seriously.
 

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
18,615
Reaction score
4,029
Location
Brillig in the slithy toves...
There's no baseline. I've had requests in minutes because the agent happened to open his email at lunch and mine popped in while he was reading, so he opened it.

I've also had them show up 9-10 months after querying because the agent was backlogged and she only read things in order of receipt.
 

rohitwow

Registered
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Messages
16
Reaction score
1
Thanks. So I think I better start work on my next book soon. Who knows, mid-way I just might get a deal for my first :). Thanks evry1!!!