Anyone have updated info on Quirk's response times? I queried them a month ago and so far nothing.
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[Publisher] Quirk Books
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Not sure if you're still checking for them, but if anyone wants to know, it took about three weeks for them to get back to me with a partial request.
I think they respond to every query (with a rejection or a request). You should try querying them again.
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They haven't responded to my queries either. I did two and still nothing. One December of last year and another 6 months later. Maybe that was a bad idea, but I figured the first one was a rejected non response.
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WDusty
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Queried back in January. No response.
Frankly, I never bought into the "we don't have time to respond to all queries" story. If you have time to open an email and have time to read the query, then I think you can manage the ordeal of clicking the Reply button and typing--or copy-pasting-- "Thank you for submitting to [us]. After reviewing your submission, we've decided your material does not match our current needs. We wish you the best going forward. Regards, blah blah blah."
Frankly, I never bought into the "we don't have time to respond to all queries" story. If you have time to open an email and have time to read the query, then I think you can manage the ordeal of clicking the Reply button and typing--or copy-pasting-- "Thank you for submitting to [us]. After reviewing your submission, we've decided your material does not match our current needs. We wish you the best going forward. Regards, blah blah blah."
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I used to feel the same way, and it does sound simple (and the professional thing to do). Until you read the responses agents and pubs get to rejections. Some of them are downright scary. The ease of the reply button goes both ways.
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FWIW, Paul Stevens was an editor at Quirk Books and my agent subbed a project to him last year. We heard nothing back for quite a while and my agent has since learned that Paul is no longer an editor and is now an agent himself at Donald Maas.
And for everyone who angsts over the fact agents/editors didn't send at least a form response, there are hundreds of other folks getting pissed because they only got a form response and "why can't they manage at least one sentence that's indicates they actually read my query/submission package?" It's pretty much no-win for agents/editors in that regard.
It's frustrating as hell, I know. But it can be downright scary on the agent's or editor's side, too. I get tired of the no-response crowd, and I've helped out in an agency years ago. The only thing that grounds me now is to mentally close out the query at the end of five months. Interested agents will usually respond much sooner. If they respond much later, I have to wonder about their workload, organizational skills...and hope their current clients are getting the diligence that querying authors do not. It's harder to walk away from what you might consider a 'dream agent', until you realize that they can't be *your* dream agent if they didn't care about the query, the partial, or the full.
You make some good points. I have no issue with no response to a query or even a partial, but I do get frustrated when agents do not respond to a full. How long do you give it before you mark it a CNR?
I just checked my sub archives and I have five rejections from Quirk Books, and they were all form types. Never any comments from them but they did respond every time.
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I queried Quirk for a children's book on 10/20/2017 and no word so far. No confirmation or rejection.
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It took them 286 days to reject my submission. (That was in September; I'd submitted in December 2017.)
I subbed to them on May 17th of last year (~360 days ago), to Rick, with a note to myself that he might not respond. Of the ~40 presses I looked at that did not require an agent, ~16 or so looked legit and safe to me. This was one of those 16 or so.
No response after ~360 days from Rick and I assume it's pass (I self-published in November so it's moot at this point anyway.)
No response after ~360 days from Rick and I assume it's pass (I self-published in November so it's moot at this point anyway.)
