Four weeks have passed since the agent requested the manuscript and with no contact from their end, despite a nudge from mine, I must conclude a non-answer is their answer. The biggest problem with passive replies is knowing when to move on, since they lack a moment of definitive closure. Initially I planned to wait until Monday, but I’d rather use the weekend for writing queries. Thus I make my own closure.
I could micro analyze the outcome a thousand ways, but it boils down to this: an opportunity came my way; I tried; it worked out differently than desired. Next week is a new week.
On the plus side, the hang time allowed a great opportunity for reading — eight books completed since late April — well above my average intake. The last of Team Eagle Eye finished his review; we meet Monday night. Definitely the most analytical person I know, from our brief instant message conversations so far I heard several interesting ideas. Which dovetails with another coup, really, that I have a good team in place now for proofing manuscripts. I know who can deliver and in what capacity. I consider myself very lucky to have them in my corner.
I’ve also made another decision. From the beginning of this journey I rarely referred to myself as a writer. If people knew about the novel, it was because of The Wife, or they stumbled on the site. When people asked, I answered briefly, nodded, and redirected them to another subject. Among very close friends, there might have been a bit more discussion. But in daily life, I told essentially no one that wasn’t already in the know and heard it from someone else. The don’t ask, don’t tell policy is over, effective now. To the two friends that shouldered this burden for the past four years, my apologies. Thanks for putting up with me. So what’s changed? Well I’m no expert on what makes a writer, or if I qualify in the classic sense. I wrote a novel and I write nearly every day. Sounds like a writer to me. And I got wares to sell, so it’s pimping time.
And last, a substantial tax refund arrived on Wednesday. That’s always a good thing.
Did the agent, or the person who got you in contact with the agent, give you any idea of how long it was supposed to take for a reply? I know most publishing houses take a number of months before they get around to replying on submitted manuscripts.
Of course, I’d expect an agent to show a bit more dilligence, since you are, after all, supposed to be their meal ticket, in a manner of speaking (i.e., they don’t make any money unless you do).
If you do hear from him, don’t let him charge you any reading fees. They’re a sham, as I’m sure you already know. That’s the clearest way to tell the difference between a real agent and a shyster.
Ian has a good point, you shouldn’t lose all hope just yet. You just emailed the agent the other day. Perhaps he’s on vacation, who knows?
But I completely agree that it bugs when you put effort into something and get no feedback. Kind of like job interviews I’ve been on (with major companies – I’m looking at you, Monsanto) and heard NOTHING in response. I didn’t even get a a “thanks, but no” letter. It’s such a poor practice. At least professionals should act professional and give SOME sort of feedback, either way.
Lastly, I agree it’s a good idea to start shopping the book around to other agents. Might as well. You owe this first guy nothing.
Ian – He requested four weeks. That’s actually better than many agencies, some of which want many months.
If you think in terms of what they are facing, hundreds of manuscripts per month or per week, servicing existing accounts, selling, stroking editors and dealing with lawyers, there are very few hours in the day left for reading. So to agree to do so is a bit of a commitment.
I didn’t mention this in the entry, but non responses are par for the course in NYC publishing circles. Check out any writer’s forum. I believe agents would rather not have an argument every time they say no, the number of times which could be quite considerable. Passive replies are very common in the query process; many agents will not respond at all, even to letters that include a SASE.
Some day we should compare notes on this point over gin.
Pollster – you and I were posting at the same time, so I modified my original response to Ian. It is very much like a job interview. The right fit is out there somewhere.