Welcome to Writers Talkback. If you are a new user, your account will have to be approved manually to prevent spam. Please bear with us in the meantime

Following up submissions - advice please!

edited September 2016 in Writing
I would really appreciate any advice fellow writers could give me about this please... I have got my latest romcom out on submission. So far, seven agents and one publisher have expressed interest, which is great.... but it has been almost two months since the "oldest" agent requested my Full and I'm in a real dilemma about whether to briefly follow up on the status of my MS via e-mail?
I've read that many agents can get rather annoyed by writers following up and it is best just to wait to hear back. Other snippets of advice I've read, say that you should only really follow it up if you get an offer from another agent or receive offer of publication - in other words, only if you have something "new" to tell them regarding your submission.
Any thoughts/advice/previous experience of this would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you.

Comments

  • Were they hard copy or by email?
  • They were all by e-mail Carol.
  • With the Frankfurt Book Fair next month I'd expect some agents to be busy preparing for that.
  • Oh thank you for that. Right. I think I will just have to be patient and wait a bit longer! Four of the agents are based in the US; one is in Canada and the other two are in the UK.
  • With seven agents and one publisher expressing an interest, I would wait, hard as I'm sure it is!
    Good luck!!
  • Thank you Claudia! Will let you know how I get on!
  • Absolutely! Wait to see what offers come in, then choose the best. Well done.
  • Thanks Tiny Nell - knowing my luck, the rejections will all trickle in one after the other!! I had an agent for ten months who turned out to be utterly useless (we parted company just recently) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed I have more luck this time!
  • HI Bookworm - it's that time of year - holidays etc - bearing in mind that a huge amount of the literary community is female with the kids being on holiday until recently it is a traditionally slow time of year.

    What a shame about the agent - it's so hard to get one and when you do they're not right for you.
  • Thanks datco - yes, it was awful! She only ever spoke to me twice over the course of the ten months she "represented" me (and one of those times, I rang her!) and she never gave me proper details of where she was submitting my novel to. I just hope I can secure representation with a "proper" agent this time!
  • Congratulations on all the interest! I'd say wait at least 3 months before contacting them - longer if you can bear it! But do they know you've had full manuscript requests from six other agents and a publisher? And do the others know? If they don't, it might be worth updating them as I think they will be in rather more of a hurry then!
  • Hi Lou! No, they don't know I've had seven agents and a pub in total requesting it....Oooh I'm a bit tempted now just to update them...! Help!
  • Yes I think all the agents need to know about the other agents or they may be a bit put out...
  • Not about simultaneous subs but about missing out if someone else is quicker!
  • Well I've bitten the bullet Lou and have just e-mailed them.... there was another one (in the US) who had requested a partial and when I told her, she replied back within ten minutes, saying she was enjoying the first three chapters and asked me to submit my Full to her!
  • Omg it's all happening! How exciting!
  • Well I've kind of been here before, so I'm very reluctant to get too hopeful..!
  • Thank you for all your advice Lou - here's hoping!
  • This all sounds very exciting. That moment when you see the agent's name in your inbox and you're scared to open it. Hope it's a yes. Or several yeses.
  • Thank you Ana! Well, I just wanted to thank you all for your terrific advice. I'm delighted to say that yesterday, I was offered and accepted representation by one of the two London agents who had asked for my Full! I don't think it has quite sunk in yet! It has taken long enough....! Now to steel myself for the submission process....! It might sound a real old cliche but I'm proof that you just have to keep going and be determined. The battle for publication continues!
  • What wonderful news! Congratulations!
  • Thank you Baggy Books!
  • Congratulations. :)
  • Thank you Carol!
  • Yay! Wonderful news, Bookworm - I'm thrilled for you. I hope you'll share your journey with us!
    <:-P
  • Thank you Claudia - it would be an honour to keep you all posted! I've said it before and I'll say it again - writers are a very special group of people! X
  • Fabulous! Well done!
  • Thanks Heather - it has taken a long time, believe me, with plenty of ups and downs along the way!
  • edited September 2016
    Hanging on in there despite the obstacles is what makes a writer a published writer! Fingers crossed!

    (I have now used up today's quota of exclamation marks.)
  • Ha! It's that kind of post, Heather!

    Lovely to celebrate some good news.
  • Oh, just seen your news! How wonderful! Congratulations!

    (3x exclamation marks - but all deserved! Oops, 4.)
  • Thank you Tiny Nell! I always deliberately look out for "The Call" stories on social media as it's great to read about other writers who have battled on. I love reading these! Spurs you on when you are feeling low. X
  • Oooh, just read this. Fabulous! Looks like you are set, how EXCITING!
  • Bravo! Was that the agent you gave a nudge to by any chance?
  • Yes it was Ana...! I sent an e-mail to each of the seven who had requested the Full, telling them there were six other agents who had expressed interest and then two came back very quickly. Thanks Liz - just got to get a publisher now...!
  • That's fantastic news Bookworm, well done you! Keep us posted on on the next steps!
  • Yes!!!! I'm so pleased for you! The signs are looking good so keep us posted! What sort of book is it?
  • Well done just shows that persistency pays!
  • Fantastic news, Bookworm! Congratulations and good luck for the next part of the process. It all sounds very promising - keep us posted!
Sign In or Register to comment.