8 Useful Things to Do While Waiting to Hear Back on Your Query

Ah, the waiting game. Truly publishing’s favorite pasttime. For authors, agents, and editors alike, it’s a huge part of the process and unfortunately unavoidable.

Authors just starting to query their work are most likely in for a long wait  before things start to move along. (So sorry about this, guys.) Agents run behind on their queries all the time, and it unfortunately in some cases can take months to get a response, depending on a variety of things. Even then, it’s not guaranteed, but that uncertainty is part of the territory of being a writer, I’m afraid.

That said, for those of you really going after landing an agent, there is good news – while the waiting game can be frustrating for new authors, there are a lot of ways to be productive during the time between when you’ve sent out your queries and when you might hear back from an agent or editor about your submission. In fact, this time can be very useful and just as productive as writing. Here are some things you can/should do during this time, both to put your best foot forward and to keep yourself from going crazy!

  1. Set up a system to keep track of your submissions and manage it. Whether it’s a spreadsheet, list, whatever, make sure you know just who/where has your query and what the details of their submission policy are (i.e.: how much time before this should be considered a pass?) Most agents update where they are with queries via Twitter or a blog, so keep tabs on who is where in their reading pile, if that info is available. For example, I periodically tweet something like “All unsolicited queries through 7/10/16 have been reviwed”, meaning if you haven’t heard from me by then on an unrequested query, it’s a pass. Otherwise, most agency websites will have a general timeframe for you to go by, as most agents are unable to respond to things that aren’t right for them. If agents request your manuscript, you’ll want to keep track of that, too, of course.
  2. Resist the urge to check in. I know this is really hard. But unless otherwise stated in submission guidelines, the only reason you need to follow up on an unsolicited query is if you’ve received an offer of representation. In that case, notify the agent as soon as possible. Otherwise, let it be, and the agent will reach out if they’re interested. Exceptions here might be requested material (such as a full or partial) that the agent has had for a while.
  3. Find your next WIP. Your old WIP is done and out in the world, so what’s your new one? Channel the energy you’re tempted to spend obsessing over the project on sub into a new project. Aside from the time when you’re keeping tabs on that submission (see #1), pretend it doesn’t exist and work on your other ideas. In the event an agent is interested in you, they’ll want to hear about your other projects. In the event you wind up tabling what you’ve submitted, you’ll have your next project lined up. Remember few authors make it on their very first book, even if it feels like your baby. Instead of dwelling, give yourself options and get better as you go.
  4. Write a piece for a blog, website, or news outlet. There are a lot of writers out there trying to get published online. Getting published online is also a completely different animal than querying a book, so be prepared to research. But, if you have the chops or a particular area of expertise, it’s is a great way to spend your “off-time” while your book is on sub. See if your favorite blogs are looking for contributors. If there’s something you’re good at or savvy about, find a site about that and ask if you can do a guest post, even if something as simple as your recipe for lemon bars on a baking blog. It will take a little time to figure out what’s out there, but it could be the start of a great opportunity or connection for you.
  5. Read some current books in your genre/market. If you’re not ready to write something new, try reading. Secret: many authors don’t read enough. It’s great when an author knows their market like the back of their hand, and it shows in the writing. If your primary WIP is out, you probably have some more free time. Use this to catch up on reading, which is a great way to arm yourself with amazing and relevant comp titles for your future use. Pro tip: buy these books from a local bookseller if you’re able, or get them at the library. Make friends as you go and you’ll have some word-of-mouth champions for your book if it gets published, and maybe an in for an author event. But don’t be sleezy about this – you should get to know your booksellers and librarians just because they’re awesome people, tbh.
  6. Work on your platform. Now is a great time to beef up your social media presence. Instead of stressing about submissions, spend a little time each day interacting with fellow authors online, or working on a website or blog. Social media is a huge component of authorship these days, and it can only work to your advantage to join the literary community online, or whatever community might be relevant to your book (ex: historians if you’re writing history, etc). Keep tabs on what relevant agencies and publishers are up to as well. Being savvy is a huge advantage in finding opportunities, and you may come across another agent/editor who could be a match for your WIP (make sure they get put on the spreadsheet if you submit!). Another thing, if you do get published, your online friends can be your greatest cheerleaders. Be sure to return the favor – it’s what makes Twitter, etc, for authors so great.
  7. Attend an event/conference. Obviously, interacting in the real world is great as well. Or so I hear 🙂 Anyway, whatever you’re writing, there’s a group out there for it. If you’re writing kids’ stuff, your local SCBWI chapter is a good place to start (many have yearly conferences). Romance writers should check out RWA. Agents are familiar with these organizations and while being involved with them doesn’t guarantee representation, they are an incredible resource and can make you seem just a little more legit. If these aren’t the right option for you, consider finding a writer’s group in your area, or starting your own. If you live somewhere where these groups don’t meet in person, look into an online chapter.  Remember that the point of these groups is to engage with others and learn, not just to promote yourself. So give back by offering to be a beta reader for others while you’re between projects, or even volunteer at an event yourself. Basically, get involved.
  8. Launch a new non-writing related hobby. Interesting people tell interesting stories, and interesting people usually have a wide range of interests. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your creativity (and sanity, tbh) is step away from the computer screen and do something else, as hard as it may be to do that. I know authors who teach yoga, draw, hike, train show dogs, teach community classes, play music, run, swim, knit, dance – the list goes on. They often turn to these things when the waiting game strikes, and often get great ideas from them for when they’re ready to start writing again. There are a ton of advantages as a writer to broadening your horizons this way (getting fresh air, meeting new people, seeing new places, etc) so don’t guilt yourself into feeling you’re not working hard if you decide to start playing pickup soccer or take a pottery class instead of refreshing your email. It’s all about balance!

There you have it folks! Some tips on keeping your sanity while waiting to hear back. Patience is a virtue 🙂

So You Got an Offer of Rep…

So you’ve been querying your manuscript for what feels like forever, tirelessly researching agents, proofreading email drafts until your eyes bleed. And then you waited, and waited, and waited. Then maybe you revised, then you waited some more. And then finally! Someone said they want to represent you and your work! This is what you’ve been waiting for! Yay!

Now what?

I’ve been tweeting a few tips on offers of representation recently because I see a lot info out there about how to query, but not how to handle things once you get the thing you’ve been working toward. There are definitely a few do’s and don’t’s for this part of the process, and ways to make the lives of the agents who have your project easier (which could lead to even MORE offers). Spring is a big season for agents to make offers, so you might find yourself there soon enough! Read on for some tips!

OMG AN AGENT OFFERED ME REPRESENTATION…

Yay! Don’t accept right away. While you’re probably very excited to receive an offer, this is the part where you need to put your business cap on and put aside your writerly joy. Play it cool, play it cool 😉 You are talking about the person who is going to represent and guide your career, so you want to make sure it’s the best fit, which might not always be the first person who said yes. Be polite and respectful to the offering agent, tell them you’re excited, whatever, but tell them you will need time to make your decision. If an agent pressures you to decide too quickly, this might be a red flag. Standard turnaround time is 2 weeks or so (3 is probably more ideal), because now you need to close out your pending submissions and give everyone who still has your query a chance to offer as well.

Remember: you set the decision deadline, not the offering agent. Make sure you ask for enough time, or you may have other interested agents pass on your project just because they didn’t have enough time to finish reading! Don’t rush yourself or other agents by trying to figure it out in 5 days. A good agent will be flexible and understand that you need time!

Review your sub list for this project. Ok, now you have your window to deal with your submission list. What agents did you send this project to? If an agent has already passed, assume the pass is final. If they haven’t responded yet, they need to be notified that you received an offer.

Write an email to notify all agents with whom the submission is outstanding. It’s a courtesy (and an advantage for you) to let all the agents who have your project know that you received an offer. Don’t just say nothing or pull your submission without giving them a chance to throw their hat in the ring. Even if you’re madly in love with the agent who offered, you’re doing yourself a disservice by closing out your options prematurely. Plus, in rare cases an agent might withdraw their offer. Rare, but it happens, so you definitely want to keep all your doors open until it’s time to decide.

WRITING THE NOTIFICATION EMAIL

Write and send this email in the same chain of correspondence as your original submission. Please do this! This is one of my biggest pet peeves that maybe other agents don’t care about, but for the sake of this blog I am making a stand. It is very time consuming (and honestly annoying) to go back and find the original query, especially if it was sent months ago and your inbox search is as fussy as mine is.

Change the subject line of the email to say “OFFER OF REPRESENTATION: Title, Age Group/Genre of your project.” This allows everything to be in the same chain while still showing the agent there’s an update. Many agents skim through their inboxes to look for these on a daily basis, so make sure it’s front and center in that subject line to get a faster response.

Make it easy for the agents who still have your project to get back to you.  This is a matter of giving them all the material they need to decide and the time to review it (2 weeks, folks!). Include your original query and synopsis below your email notifying of the offer (hence the advice on notifying in the same chain). If the agent has already requested a full or pages from you, be sure to re-attach them along with a synopsis so they’re right at the agent’s fingertips. This makes it more likely they’ll look at your project right away and get back to you faster, rather than getting distracted before they have a chance to search for the full you sent them 3 months ago. If they ask you for the full once you notify, be sure to send it ASAP so they have more time to read.

Keep the text of the email brief – include a reminder of what the project was, when you submitted it, and the date you need a decision by. This is just nice to refresh the agent’s memory about the history of your submission. Your deadline is the most important part. It saves the agent from having to ask, and also allows you to give yourself time to decide. Set a deadline for interested agents to get back to you that is at least 2 days before you agreed to tell the original offerer your decision. That way you will have some time to review any competing offers of representation and decide what is best for you. Lastly, include your contact info so they can reach out!

SAMPLE “OFFER OF REP” Email:

From: Timmy McWriterman
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2016 3:19 PM
To: Sally McAgent
Subject: OFFER OF REPRESENTATION: WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, YA Literary Mystery

Dear Sally,

I’m writing to let you know that I have received an offer of representation for my YA literary mystery, WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG, which I submitted to you in October. You asked for the full, which I am re-attaching here, in February. Please find the original query  and synopsis below for your reference.

I am looking to close out all pending submissions by end of business on Monday, May 16. If you are interested in the manuscript, please let me know by then and I’d be thrilled to discuss with you.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you again for your consideration!

All best,
Timmy
timmy@writerman.com
555-555-5555

Done! Now wait to hear back and keep track of responses as they come. On to the next phase:

OKAY, NO ONE ELSE OFFERED ON MY PROJECT. WHAT DO I DO?
That’s ok! You still have a choice. You can either go with the original offering agent (assuming you like them/feel they are a good fit) or turn down the offer. Up to you!

or

MULTIPLE AGENTS HAVE OFFERED ON MY PROJECT I AM EXCITED BUT SCARED HALP
Multiple offers are great! If you don’t get multiple, it’s ok, but having them is certainly a nice position to be in. So, here’s what to do next:

Research the agents who have offered again. You definitely did this before submitting because you’re an informed author who wants to put their best foot forward, right? But now you’re going in greater depth. Read their bios, their blogs, their websites. Stalk their Twitter for a while. You want to get a sense of how they present themselves and what kind of personality/agenting style they might have. You also want to research the agency as a whole to see how they fit into the larger publishing world. This will give you some background going into the next phase which is:

Talk to the offering agents by phone. Now is the time to pick up the phone and have a chat with the offering agents. Believe me, you want to do this part – hearing someone’s voice in conversation can give you a way better sense of them than reading their emails. On the call you want to ask about them – their history with their agency, what kind of project they typically deal with, their agenting style (hands on? hands off? editorial heavy?). You also want to ask them about you/your project – meaning, what vision do they have for the project? What publisher might they have in mind for it? Do they expect a revision? What do they think is working/needs work? You should get off the call with a clear sense of their enthusiasm for your work as well as how this person approaches their job. This will give you a better sense of whether or not you will mesh with them. Remember that it’s a professional relationship, but you also probably want an agent that you like as a person.

Note: be wary of agents who offer with the promise that they can sell your book for a million dollars, make it into a bestseller, whatever. No one can promise that. Also be wary of an agent who says your project doesn’t need revision. Most do. You’re better off going with someone who loves your book enough to make it better and fight for it, but will be transparent about the industry with you and help you manage your expectations. 

Talk to their clients. Ask each agent for the names/contact info of one or two clients who can speak to their experience working with them. This might seem invasive but is totally ok and normal! Most clients are happy to talk about their experiences with agents.

OKAY SO I CHOSE MY DREAM AGENT! YAY! ANYTHING ELSE?
Yep! First, let the agent know that you accept their offer, obviously. You’ll probably need to sign an agency agreement with them (perhaps I’ll do a post about these somewhere down the line).

Lastly, let any remaining offering agents know that you’ve decided to go with another agent. You don’t have to go into detail, just drop them a note in that same email chain thanking them for their consideration and time. While you may feel like this is unnecessary now that you have the agent of your dreams, it’s never a bad career move to keep friendly communication open with everyone you deal with. Publishing is a small world, and you never know who you’ll cross paths with again!

After that, it’s onto the next part of your publishing journey. This was just the beginning!