The Etiquette on Pulling a Full

communication is better. politely let them know that you have found representation and thank them for reading Your Awesome Book. i's dotted, t's crossed. it doesn't matter that they took forever. formally withdraw the book.

After a year and a half of radio silence despite nudges? Yeah, assume they're not interested and move on. I wouldn't withdraw something they clearly have no interest in ever addressing with you; just seems odd to me.

Yep, just move on. I can sort-of understand them being silent without nudges, but if you've tried to contact them during the period, it got swept under something and forgotten.

There is no point in emailing them about either thanking them for reading or to tell them you're withdrawing the book. It's just a good waste of everyone's time.

As for your new MS, how far are you in querying? Is this Speedy Agent respectable? Because if they caught you early on, you might have great luck catching others. Don't take the first agent (unless they are your dream agent) that bites without shopping around.

No, sorry, etiquette is to send an email and tell them you're pulling the manuscript. Just because they've been dismissive doesn't mean you shouldn't still be professional and do what every agent, when asked this question, says is the etiquette.

I always believe it's appropriate to err on the side of professional when it comes to business communication.
Agent LIS's actions are irrelevant in that case.
You have a full out with Agent LIS, you have since accepted/receive an offer of representation from another agent. It is appropriate and professional of you to notify Agent LIS of this change of status.
No commentary on timeline, lack of communication, etc necessary. Exactly as CL Polk said: a thank you for reading your Awesome Book, notification that you are withdrawing said Awesome Book because you have accepted an offer of representation from someone else. Appreciate your time and consideration. End of story.

Why bother?
Because to do otherwise is to behave with the same lack of professionalism they have shown you. It's that old "don't stoop to their level" mindset.
And, it takes minimal time, is no hardship for you really, and makes you feel better in the long run. It also marks you as a courteous author who treats their craft as a serious business.

And congratulations on the offer of rep from Agent Speedy!

(edited to fix migraine-induced typos)

PS - you could also nudge Agent LIS with the "I've received an offer..." but it sounds like you've already decided they are not the right agent for you (based on their lengthy radio silence).

Exactly. They were rude to you, but you ought not to be rude to them.

I agree that you should err on the side of caution and send an email to withdraw the manuscript. I had an agent who sent me a lovely, detailed, personalized rejection after ignoring my nudges for two years. Yes, two years. I've also had an agent ignore my nudges for a year and never ever respond. So you have no idea what's going on with this agent -- slow or not interested? -- and I say the email can't hurt.

Ya'll seem to assume that this agent is being disrespectful and unprofessional by going silent, and being professional to them is a way to show them up on that?

The thing is: The assistant requested the full, and there has been (as far as we've been told) nothing said about the agent in question has even seen the MS.

I could understand if the agent themselves requested the full, provided a lot of detailed feedback, and then went silent like they ran for the hills. That's unprofessional. It shows that they had their attention on it and didn't bother sending a form rejection.

But I assume that the MS somehow got lost in the shuffle and the previous nudges have gone unanswered because the MS is somehow in limbo elsewhere. Who knows what happened? The assistant might have thrown out the emails, the agent might have piled other work on top of the MS. Whatever happened, I can't see this event as something rude or unprofessional, but an accident that has just faded away. It's weird. Sending an email along doesn't create a problem, but IMO it's not worth the time and effort telling someone that a MS got loose unnoticed.

A very large imprint lost a bunch of agented and unagented submissions last fall, due to some mishap with a server migration. I just now found out about it, after a polite nudge at the six-month mark. So snafus can happen that have nothing to do with rudeness. A polite withdrawal is always the most professional approach.

WillSauger said:

Ya'll seem to assume that this agent is being disrespectful and unprofessional by going silent, and being professional to them is a way to show them up on that?

The thing is: The assistant requested the full, and there has been (as far as we've been told) nothing said about the agent in question has even seen the MS.

I could understand if the agent themselves requested the full, provided a lot of detailed feedback, and then went silent like they ran for the hills. That's unprofessional. It shows that they had their attention on it and didn't bother sending a form rejection.

But I assume that the MS somehow got lost in the shuffle and the previous nudges have gone unanswered because the MS is somehow in limbo elsewhere. Who knows what happened? The assistant might have thrown out the emails, the agent might have piled other work on top of the MS. Whatever happened, I can't see this event as something rude or unprofessional, but an accident that has just faded away. It's weird. Sending an email along doesn't create a problem, but IMO it's not worth the time and effort telling someone that a MS got loose unnoticed.

Click to expand...

All the more reason to behave professionally...
It's not a matter of showing them up. It's a matter of personal business ethics. You do the courteous thing.

It's possible the assistant screwed up and was fired. It's possible the entire thing has been lost in the ether of the 'net. Lots of things are possible. None of which means a person should abandon professional behavior in how they conduct their own business. A short email takes minutes to compose and send. At most. In fact, it should take less time than it took to compose the letter to this forum.

Simple professional courtesy takes minimal time, costs you nothing, and has no potential negative repercussions.
The gains and potential gains? You feel good knowing you conducted yourself in a professional manner. You get the satisfaction of tying up the loose ends. And you leave a positive impression. All for only a moment of thought and effort.

Will, you may of course do whatever you please, including not bothering to take three minutes to write an email that will preserve your professional image and cover your ass. It's a free country. But the etiquette, the professional thing to do is to actually write that polite, ass-covering email, and I don't see why you're objecting to a simple courtesy in such a fashion.

CL Polk said:

Will, you may of course do whatever you please, including not bothering to take three minutes to write an email that will preserve your professional image and cover your ass. It's a free country. But the etiquette, the professional thing to do is to actually write that polite, ass-covering email, and I don't see why you're objecting to a simple courtesy in such a fashion.

Click to expand...

My bold.

I think Will has explained his thinking very clearly.

I wouldn't withdraw the ms either, after so much time has elapsed. It's becoming increasingly common for no response to mean no, and I suspect that's what's happened here.

Probably. And I should bow to your wisdom, Old Hack. But the snarky passive-aggressive side of me still says sending that letter is good karma. I understand why agents blow off fulls, but I don't like it and I wish they could at least tell us "No". Maybe if enough authors sent those withdrawal notices, it might remind someone at the various Lost In Space agencies that a year and a half is a bit much. And if those same authors will post those no-response times, that might push LIS down a few rungs on the submission wishlist.

It doesn't matter one way or the other. This is the kind of thing you worry about during querying and never again.

You're not burning bridges, and any agent who would consider you not telling them about accepting another offer -- after they've had your MS for 18 months and not responding to nudges -- some sort of etiquette breach isn't an agent worth giving a crap about.

Congrats on your offer and good luck with the next step and never worry about this again. It truly, truly, truly doesn't matter.

True: in the end, you have a better offer.