Wednesday, October 31, 2012

No News is Good News?

IS IT TRUE??




I sure hope so. Last week I participated in two online contests: The Hook, Line, and Sinker contest. My entry is here. And, the Spooktacular Pitch Extravaganza. My entry is here

My stats:

2 Full Requests
3 Partials

and

1 very nice comment about my writing from a well-known agent

After the contest, I queried one of the judges that participated, but didn't request anything from me at the time and ended up with a partial request from her.



Here's the problem: I haven't heard back, yet. But, no news is good news. Right?



I'm not convinced. No news could mean a few different things: 

1) The agents haven't read my ms yet. (According to twitter three other contestants have already been signed.) 

2) The agents are reading my ms, loving it, and taking meticulous notes. (This can be very time consuming. Hey, a girl can dream.)

3) The agents started reading my ms. Hated it. Stopped. (They just haven't had a chance to break the news.)



This is the first time I've had REQUESTS to see more of my work, and submitted something beyond the required query etc. to an agent. I don't have a clue about what kind of response time to expect.

Fellow writers, unite! 
Tell me of your experiences submitting requested material to agents. How long did you wait for a response? Did it come right away? And was that good or bad? Did it take days, weeks, or months? And what was the outcome?


In the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers and toes that I'll hear from an agent, he or she will want to rep me, and I will be able to yell, "Extra, extra, read all about it!"




23 comments:

  1. Waiting is hard to do! It can vary from agent to agent. Many of my queries never even received a response, so you are right. No news is NOT always good news!

    But, the contests you entered had a ton of participation and the agents requested lots of stuff. So, on the good side, it may take longer to get a response back from them:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agreed! And, in case it's not obvious: patience is NOT my virtue. ha ha

    But, I'll try to distract myself. Thanks for the encouragement! =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. One week is not a long wait at all. I would say a month or more is more common. While non-answers for queries are common, a partial or full request is going to get a response. Even if it's just a no thanks. If you haven't heard anything yet they probably haven't gotten to it yet or aren't done reading. Hang in there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks!!

      I will plan on waiting a month at minimum. At least, I have NaNoWriMo to district me! =)

      Delete
  4. Waiting is hard. Good luck. My advice is don't stop writing your next great ms while you wait to hear back about this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, good advice. Luckily, I have a project I've been itching to write and haven't had the chance. NaNoWriMo, here I come!

      Delete
  5. This is amazing news! Not that I have any direct experience, but I've heard of people having to wait a month or more to hear back from requests for partial or full work. Good luck to you and keep writing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm excited! =)

      If nothing else, I hope to get some feedback, so I can improve my ms. In the meantime, I have another project I'm thrilled to have a chance to begin.

      Delete
  6. Sometimes it takes a while, or a nudge even if they are ultimately interested. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I once waited 9 months for a response on a full request and didn't query anyone else while I was waiting (which I don't advise!) When I was querying, a lot of agents' sub guidelines gave an estimated wait time of 6-12 weeks for a response to just the query, so waiting the same sort of time for an agent to read my requested MS seemed logical. A lot will give you an idea of how long you can expect to wait when they request the material, but I used 12 weeks as an estimate if they didn't - then I started to nudge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kat!

      Great advice. This gives me an idea of what to expect.

      In the meantime, I will go back and double check each agent's website.

      Delete
  8. I think the times vary depending on the agent. I've had full requests turn around in less than three days, and others that are still out after 6 -8 months. Just keep writing and querying.... You'll hear one way or another. Or not. Some just don't respond unless they're interested.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kate. I've just heard back from one partial request. Sadly, it was a pass. But, that's ok. I'm gonna keep on, keeping on...writing, that is!

      Delete
  9. I once waited 6 months for a partial, but it varies. Congrats on your requests!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Emily!

      I'm ready for a long wait...and that's ok. I'm in the process of writing something I'm really excited about, and so it's a good distraction. :)

      Delete
  10. i'm gonna go with #2! i hope it works out for you. thanks for visiting my blog!! & signing up...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm hoping for #2 too! ;)

      Thanks for the well wishes!

      I'm excited for your upcoming bloghop...sounds fun!

      Delete
  11. Aaaarghh...I'm in the same boat. Also checking Twitter and watching people get signed. SO hard to wait!! Have you heard back yet?

    I have three partials and a full out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've heard back on one partial...it was a pass. :(

      But, I just won another partial request from the Haunted Writers contest this week. So, there's always a bright side. :)

      Good luck to you!!

      Delete
  12. Industry standard is 3-4 months, so don't sweat it and start working on your next project:-) Good Luck!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm working on a project I'm really excited about...it's a good distraction as I wait!

      Thanks for stopping by!!

      Delete
  13. Nice work, keep it up.. Its worth it

    ReplyDelete