I think I've finally gotten my query to a point I like, but I realize the holidays are coming up now. Would it be better for me to send it in January when things have cooled down for people (I'm going on the fact that agents have real lives too). Or should I just do it and expect to wait a while?
The Holidays
- Thread starter Little Rose
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Go ahead and send it now, Little Rose. No, it probably won't be looked at until after the first of the year, but you'll be that much further up in queue. Think of it like standing in line for tickets to a concert. The box office opens when it opens. You can arrive early or late, but it still opens when it opens. If you arrive early, you can also LEAVE early because you'll have been served while others are waiting. The nice part with sending queries is that it's your letter doing the waiting, and not you personally! 
Cathy C said:The nice part with sending queries is that it's your letter doing the waiting, and not you personally!
Yeah, right.
No, no, great advice, Cathy... but come now. I realize it may have been some time since you sent out queries, but do you really not recall the anxiety? LOL
(Sitting here after having two REALLY quick turnarounds on queries -- one day -- asking for partials... only to be, well... waiting, and waiting, and waiting... and probably will still be waiting until after the ball falls. Does anybody here have any cyanide? Aspirin? A warm hug?
)
SpookyWriter
Banned
I'd give you a warm hug, if you promise not to become a man in my arms...errr...kooties!
I'm in the same boat and won't hear anything until next year. So, I will send out another batch of queries, continue to finish work on the next novel, and just chill until the thaw....
Best wishes!
Jon
I'm in the same boat and won't hear anything until next year. So, I will send out another batch of queries, continue to finish work on the next novel, and just chill until the thaw....
Best wishes!
Jon
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LOL! Of course I still remember!
But is the anxiety any LESS when you're staring at the letter on your desk waiting for New Year's, than staring at the mailbox? (And trust me, the waiting game still exists even after you've gotten accepted. Every deal is the same thing, all over again. I'm in high anxiety as we speak, waiting to hear if we have another deal. We probably won't know until after the first of the year...
)Little Rose said:
Send'em out. Hell, I've got unanswered queries from September, October and November out right now. Yours aren't going to be ignored any more or less than mine.
Who knows? You might hear back before the first of the year. Last year at this time, I sent out 2 partials. I received a rejection on the Dec. 17th and a request for a full on Dec. 23rd (along with a very nice wish for a Merry Christmas). It depends a lot on the agent. This year, however, I sent a full out in October, so I prolly won't hear back until January. (Though, if Santa could bring me an offer for representation, I'd be ecsatatic. After all, I've been a VERY good girl this year!)
So, to make sense of a senseless post, go ahead and send it out.
So, to make sense of a senseless post, go ahead and send it out.
gee, thanks everyone! i'm so excited to join the multitudes of you waiting around anxiously for an answer. this is such a fun business
Special Offer!
But wait! If you order before midnight tonight, you also get:
MORE WAITING!
The fun has only begun, in other words. First waiting for a response to the query ... then waiting for a response to the partial/full mss for your work? MORE WAITING! The joy never ends, it seems.
Not even when you've managed to land a good/reputable agent, as I have ... I thought that, having somehow duped such a well-known agent, that my work would quickly attract a publisher. Nope. It's waiting ... waiting ... waiting ...
Little Rose said:gee, thanks everyone! i'm so excited to join the multitudes of you waiting around anxiously for an answer. this is such a fun business
But wait! If you order before midnight tonight, you also get:
MORE WAITING!
The fun has only begun, in other words. First waiting for a response to the query ... then waiting for a response to the partial/full mss for your work? MORE WAITING! The joy never ends, it seems.
Not even when you've managed to land a good/reputable agent, as I have ... I thought that, having somehow duped such a well-known agent, that my work would quickly attract a publisher. Nope. It's waiting ... waiting ... waiting ...
Holidays
It's a personal thing, but I never send anything out in December that hasn't been requested. It's more than just busy agents and editors, though many read absolutely nothing after about the 10th. It's also the chaos of the mail system, the fact that things get buried, lost, routed wrong, and sometimes destroyed.
As an editor, I hated receiving anyting in December, and when I worked for an agent, she felt the same. Things that arrived in December seldom moved at all, and usually just got stuck in with a mass of other stuff that all got sorted out sometime in January. December is more than just Christmas shopping and parties, it's also an extremely busy time for agents and editors because this month is when you concentrate on selling books you've already published, and on promoting clients are already work with.
Patience is a virtue, and after being on the inside, I've found it's simply safer, and more productive, to wait until Christmas is gone before mailing anything.
It's a personal thing, but I never send anything out in December that hasn't been requested. It's more than just busy agents and editors, though many read absolutely nothing after about the 10th. It's also the chaos of the mail system, the fact that things get buried, lost, routed wrong, and sometimes destroyed.
As an editor, I hated receiving anyting in December, and when I worked for an agent, she felt the same. Things that arrived in December seldom moved at all, and usually just got stuck in with a mass of other stuff that all got sorted out sometime in January. December is more than just Christmas shopping and parties, it's also an extremely busy time for agents and editors because this month is when you concentrate on selling books you've already published, and on promoting clients are already work with.
Patience is a virtue, and after being on the inside, I've found it's simply safer, and more productive, to wait until Christmas is gone before mailing anything.