Did I just screw up?

Nope, you're fine. Multiple fulls out is totally common. Unless they specifically ask for an exclusive, it's better for you to get your novel into as many hands as possible. You've seen how long this sort of thing can take, if you've had your fulls and queries out since February. If you waited for every full to come back before sending out another, it could take years to find your one agent. If either agent comes back with an offer, you let everyone who has a partial or full that you have an offer and give them some time, like a week, to decide if they want to make their own offer or to pass. This is completely normal these days. Basically, keep querying, keep sending fulls as requested, and don't worry about it.

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

You didn't screw up. If an agent doesn't ask for an exclusive, you don't ever have to act as if they have one.

What you do have to do, if you get an offer of rep, is contact all other agents who have requested material and give them the option to offer. Usually the deadline for this is one week. Sometimes two if you have a bunch of fulls out.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Exclusivity, these days, is generally granted by request and reluctantly. So don't sweat it. You're golden. And best of luck, too!

Oh, and if one of them makes an offer, be sure to let the other one know and give them a little bit of time to consider the manuscript before you deliver your decision, even if you already know that you'll be picking the first responder. It's professional courtesy and the first offering agent won't get bent out of shape at all if you ask for a few days before "making a decision".

No. Unless an agent says "I want an exclusive," they are not expecting to be the only one looking at your MS in any form (partial or full).

Just to be clear, it's never in your best interest to give an agent an exclusive because you don't want your work tied up with just one person during the querying process. (Even if they are your most favorite agent ever.) If an agent does ask for an exclusive and you don't already have the MS out with someone else, you can give them a specific window in which they are the only ones looking at it. (FREX: "I can give an exclusive for two weeks, after which other agents may request pages.") You are also perfectly within your rights to tell them you can't grant an exclusive because someone else is already looking at it or because you have other queries out and don't want to leave anyone else waiting if they want to see the MS.

There are a few agents who will not look at a MS unless they are the only ones. (I had one lady request the full, but when I told her I couldn't give her an exclusive because other agents already were looking at it, she told me she would wait. If everyone else passed to let her know and she would read it then. But she didn't want any pressure from competing offers.) However, you should never feel pressured to not show your work to other agents. An agent who doesn't want to compete for your project is not likely to best represent it. (Whether they simply aren't interested enough to put it at the top of the pile or they just want to be the only one offering on it.)

So, no. You haven't screwed anything up. (Also, as a side note. Sometimes agents will ask who else is looking at a MS. It's okay to say who else has your work in that instance. I usually didn't say anything unless they asked, but if they did ask, I was specific - that way they had a way to check and make certain I wasn't just pretending I had interest from third parties.)

Best of luck!

Most people query 10-20 agents at a time. Your friend's advice is out of date.

It's only an issue if they're both at the same agency.