R&R Response

We've just come through a string of major conventions and book fairs. Could be she's just been really busy. I would wait another week or so then nudge again.

Unfortunately some agents don't ever respond and there's not much to do about. But it's also likely she's working on it, but hasn't had a chance to make a decision. (And agent time is not like writer time. Nor is publisher time. Haha. Have a cup of tea and work on something else while you wait.)

I've heard anecdotal tales of agents just going silent to passively reject things, even fulls they'd requested. Though as Aggy said, she could just be really busy too. My own agent was rather slow in getting back to me with a yay or a nay after reviewing my full. She initially just talked with me about it as she mulled it over. But this was over a few days, not weeks or months.

Regardless, good luck and keep hanging on!

Her attitude is not very professional. Had this been a one nudge deal, fine, but there's no reason at all to let four weeks pass after saying she would get back to you on the following weekend. On occasion, something serious does pot up that causes such a delay, but it's rare.

And there's never anything short of death that should stop the agent from sending a quick saying she's sorry, but something truly serious happened.

This is a business, and those who do not keep their word are not good people to be in a business partnership with. Do not tell me you'll do something, and then not do it. If it happens, you'd better let me know why as soon as possible. If you just leave me hanging for four weeks, you are, at best, a liar, and I don't want a business relationship with you.

You know, you're still out a freakin' year. I hope and assume you were writing and not sitting and waiting for that year. But really--- what gives them that right? Well, we do, right? The whole freakin' structure. It's terrible. It's not right. But in the end, we need them more than they need us, and so...it's all about who has the power. Meanwhile, I'm reading these books on Kindle's First of the Month Promotion w/ editors and agents and promos galore-- taht obviously all these people "fell in love with" and they are dreadful. I read dozens and dozens of books. I read for read and review programs and am sure I will eventually get kicked to the curb b/c I am finding them so light, so lacking in truth and substance, so poorly excecuted. Oh, my. And so the bookworm turns....

I'm sorry to hear about the pass. I did two R&Rs for an agent who ended up ultimately passing on the manuscript. It was a frustrating experience. But hopefully you have ended up with a stronger manuscript that you can continue to query.

As for the agent telling you why she didn't love it, I don't think that's something that you can expect or is fair to expect. Can you say why you didn't fall in love with the last book you read and liked but didn't love? It's unfortunately just the nature of this business. An agent who offers rep is making a big commitment to your manuscript, and she needs to love it. Which is super frustrating.

I'm sitting at the end of a long string of "I liked it but I didn't love it" passes on my latest, and I just want to scream, But what have I done wrong? And the frustrating answer is probably nothing. Or the book just isn't good enough or can't sell in this market, for some vague, indefinable reason. Which is why always having the next project that you're working on is the best advice.

leighpod, although you've been a member here for over a year you only have six posts, so perhaps you don't come here often. We have one rule here at AW, and it's this: respect your fellow writer. Perhaps you've not spent enough time here to know that, or to understand that it means we don't tolerate rudeness or sniping. I suggest you work on that if you want to make it to eight posts.

Now, onto your post:

leighpod said:

You know, you're still out a freakin' year. I hope and assume you were writing and not sitting and waiting for that year. But really--- what gives them that right? Well, we do, right? The whole freakin' structure. It's terrible. It's not right. But in the end, we need them more than they need us, and so...it's all about who has the power.

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Agents and editors can often take a long time to react to queries and requested material but it's not because they have power and so don't think they have to treat us any different: it's because their primary obligation is to look after the clients they already have, not to read unsolicited material which is probably not going to work for them.

The other side of the coin is that writers commonly send out work without doing the necessary preparation. They send work out before they're good enough to find representation; they don't revise it sufficiently; they don't research how to submit; they don't research where to submit. Consequently, agents and editors have slushpiles which are almost overwhelming, most of which is unpublishable or inappropriate to their lists. If all writers took more time and care before submitting, agents and editors would be able to respond in a more timely manner.

Meanwhile, I'm reading these books on Kindle's First of the Month Promotion w/ editors and agents and promos galore-- taht obviously all these people "fell in love with" and they are dreadful. I read dozens and dozens of books. I read for read and review programs and am sure I will eventually get kicked to the curb b/c I am finding them so light, so lacking in truth and substance, so poorly excecuted. Oh, my. And so the bookworm turns....

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You might not like those books but that doesn't mean they're without merit: it means that you don't like them. That's all. Remember our one rule, and be more thoughtful next time you post.