Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Hi guys,

I'm after a bit of advice. I queried an agent who requested the full manuscript - terrifying! - and said to allow six to eight weeks for a response. In two days it will be exactly eight weeks (but who's obsessively counting, right?) and I've realised I've got no idea how to approach the agent. I want to be professional, but don't know how to word the email. So far all I've come up with is: "Dear agent, so did you like it or what?"

I mean, I can bluff my way through pleasantries and all the rest, but any ideas how to ask the BIG question?

:Tears hair out and bangs head on keyboard:

Hi, Jenemb! That's a crazy-making situation to be in, but I wouldn't do anything just yet. A lot of agents blow their projected response times, so I'd give the agent at least another couple of weeks to get back to you. And as another writer once pointed out to me, when you status query an agent, you're basically saying, "No one else wants my manuscript, but I'm desperately hoping you do!"

That said, I have status queried a few times, so if you do decide to do it, you might want to approach it with something like "Just checking in to make sure you received my manuscript, X. If it got lost in the ether, I'd be happy to resend it." Because they get lost sometimes, so that's a legitimate concern.

Best of luck with your querying. I'm just about to jump back on the query-go-round, too - hope I don't get too dizzy... :)

I agree with Krista. Wait at least another week or two so that it's clearly way past the 8-week mark, then send a note checking to make sure it was received. It's not a bad idea to phrase it that you know how busy he/she is (so the agent knows that you are not being pushy and are sympathetic to them, but are just concerned about your work). Unfortunately it's not at all unusual for 6-8 weeks to turn into 6-8 months with no reply. Hopefully if you make contact with this agent you'll at least get a response. Good luck!

ETA - Don't forget to include all the other correspondence you've had with this agent so he/she can scroll down and refresh his/her memory of who you are and what was requested.

Krista G. wrote:That said, I have status queried a few times, so if you do decide to do it, you might want to approach it with something like "Just checking in to make sure you received my manuscript, X. If it got lost in the ether, I'd be happy to resend it." Because they get lost sometimes, so that's a legitimate concern.

Yeah, that's happened to me. Waited three months to hear back on a full only to find out the agent never received it.

I agree with Krista, though, that you should give it another week or two. Stated response times are just guidelines.

Krista G. wrote:I'm just about to jump back on the query-go-round, too - hope I don't get too dizzy... :)

Ugh, me too.

Thanks for your advice guys! I will definitely leave it a few weeks before enquiring.

Gargh. It's like high school dating. You don't want to be appear to desperate, too casual, too disinterested, or too slutty, and deep down you just want them to like you!

Jen

As far as the wording goes, I think it's fine to say something along the lines of, "Have you by chance had an opportunity to take a look at my manuscript? Please take more time if you need it, but I thought I would check in." Be sure and include all of your previous correspondence with the agent in the body of the e-mail so they can refresh their memory about who you are and where things stand.

Thanks Nathan! That was exactly what I needed.

I'm so glad you're still going to be hanging around the forums! I can't even tell you how helpful I've found your site. Everyone here is so welcoming and encouraging, and it's because you've lead by example. Best of luck in all your future endeavours.

Anymore advice for another requested full? I sent it at the end of May. Mid-July, I sent a follow-up email, just a "Checking to see if you got my full" sort of thing. I got an automatic response from the agent saying she was away that day, but nothing else since then. I figured she must have assumed that was enough of a response (or maybe her email server actually marked it as responded to?), but obviously now I'm fretting. Time to send something else? And what to say?