Expectations for agent communication during the pandemic

lis_kb

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Hey all,

I signed with an agent that I love last year and who I feel a strong connection with in regards to my work and my goals. We went on sub with my novel earlier this year and she kept me apprised of all the various updates (rejections) as we received them and are on our third round of subs right now. She's thus far always been very supportive and enthusiastic over my work and pre-pandemic would respond to my questions within the week, if not same or next day. But since pandemic, her communication has gotten spotty... it's starting to take her a couple weeks to respond to a question. I also have a lot of unknowns about what is going on right now with the pandemic and submissions and summer, etc. I know she's dealing with a lot of unknowns as well, and I know she prefers to answer me with firm information once rather than a bunch of maybes and i don't knows as the weeks pass.

I guess my question is — what has been everyone else's experiences with agent/editor communication during this pandemic? Are you seeing much slower responses in general or is summer always like this, even with existing agent/author relationships? How often do you communicate with your agent, especially right now during the pandemic and especially if you're on sub? Like, do other people email their agent just to catch up once or twice every few weeks, or are you on a strictly "only update me when you have news" basis, or what? Just curious.

Trying to manage my expectations here. I know we're all in unknown territory but feeling a little anxious at the change in communication style lately.

Thanks!
 

Sonya Heaney

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I don't have an agent, but I just counted and I think I've been in contact with five people (four editors and one marketing person) at my publisher since this all began. My experience has been that they're fast responding to emails when I have a general question (usually within an hour, but occasionally the next morning). *However*, news about the important stuff is definitely slower than it was six months ago. edit: For example, I waited three months to hear about something that only took days a year ago.

I was having a really hard time coping with it for most of this year, but I've come to terms with it now.

But I know it's nowhere near as stressful for me as for someone out on sub. The fact so many people (including me!) have been asking about wait times in writers' groups all over the internet is an indication we're all experiencing similar issues.
 
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lis_kb

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Thank you! Good to know I'm not the only one experiencing this. I really appreciate it!
 

Shoeless

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A lot of this depends on what situation you're currently in with your agent in terms of submission. Like if you've just given your agent a new book to consider, you can reasonably expect that some time will be taken to read it, then maybe compile editorial suggestions for you to work on, then go back and forth about how those changes are coming, until finally it's time to start submitting to acquiring editors. That can be a flurry of communication during this period.

I recently submitted a new book to my agent, and she took a couple of weeks to read and respond to it. Generally if I had any questions, I got a reply within 72 hours, although within 24 was the usual. Once a book actually goes into submission though, it can be crickets for weeks. It just means there's nothing to report. As you've said though, the pandemic situation can change a lot of things, especially if there are family considerations to tackle.

I don't normally reach out to my agent just to "check in," I'll only write in if I have a specific question or consideration. She, however, does take the time to regularly send out a mass mail to all clients to touch base, and inform us of achievements other client-siblings may have accomplished. I think it's fair to say though, that during the pandemic, communication is likely to take a hit for any number of reasons as everyone has their own hurdles to get through.