Hello. Though a lifelong writer (six nonfiction books, about as many short stories sold), I'm both new here at AW and relatively new at pitching my recently completely novel. Hoping some of you fine folk might be able to help me make sense of my situation.
I've written a very long novel (~170,000 words) that very few agents will consider in its current state. However, my genre (historical/literary thriller) has some notable exceptions so I figured I'd test the waters before voluntarily gutting what I feel is a justifiable length. But instead of shotgunning it out to a lot of agents I decided to limit this initial round and adapt accordingly.
After some exhaustive research, I queried two. The first was an ambitious young agent who professed some interest in subjects found in my book. The second was more seasoned and more of a dead ringer, someone who should theoretically represent my ideal reader. Serendipitous synchronicities between her personal history and my book made this even more true than indicated in her "want list" alone.
The first agent passed (she was focusing more on YA fiction), but the second requested the full within thirty minutes, adding that my query had made her day and my book was exactly what she was looking for.
Fast forward two months to when I get a quick email that lets me know she got sidetracked with other projects but that she plans to return to mine soon. She then used some flattering superlatives to characterize what she'd read so far, but also said it *might* be too long.
Fast forward another two excruciating months, marked by complete radio silence. At four months (from initial submission), I sent a short, polite email asking if my book was still under consideration. No response. That was eleven days ago.
What do you think I should do now? A) Wait a while longer, however much it kills me. B) Send another nudge email. C) Query additional agents, even though length may be the only problem with it and this cycle will likely repeat. D) Slash and burn until I'm closer to the traditionally accepted length, however much I'm convinced that will ruin the book.
Bountiful thanks in advance for reading this far and for any advice you can offer.
I've written a very long novel (~170,000 words) that very few agents will consider in its current state. However, my genre (historical/literary thriller) has some notable exceptions so I figured I'd test the waters before voluntarily gutting what I feel is a justifiable length. But instead of shotgunning it out to a lot of agents I decided to limit this initial round and adapt accordingly.
After some exhaustive research, I queried two. The first was an ambitious young agent who professed some interest in subjects found in my book. The second was more seasoned and more of a dead ringer, someone who should theoretically represent my ideal reader. Serendipitous synchronicities between her personal history and my book made this even more true than indicated in her "want list" alone.
The first agent passed (she was focusing more on YA fiction), but the second requested the full within thirty minutes, adding that my query had made her day and my book was exactly what she was looking for.
Fast forward two months to when I get a quick email that lets me know she got sidetracked with other projects but that she plans to return to mine soon. She then used some flattering superlatives to characterize what she'd read so far, but also said it *might* be too long.
Fast forward another two excruciating months, marked by complete radio silence. At four months (from initial submission), I sent a short, polite email asking if my book was still under consideration. No response. That was eleven days ago.
What do you think I should do now? A) Wait a while longer, however much it kills me. B) Send another nudge email. C) Query additional agents, even though length may be the only problem with it and this cycle will likely repeat. D) Slash and burn until I'm closer to the traditionally accepted length, however much I'm convinced that will ruin the book.
Bountiful thanks in advance for reading this far and for any advice you can offer.
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Of the 20 full or partial ms requests on record, however, 19 did eventually receive a response. So I'd like to believe she won't just leave me hanging.
However, you're unlikely to get any information on the manuscript itself. Does it hold up? Is it engaging? Is it too long? Etc etc. That comes from the full request stage. And unfortunately at both of these stages, you're very likely to encounter agents who won't respond and agents who will only respond with form letters. (I used to get a lot more feedback on full rejections than I've been getting lately.) 
