Querying Advice: Nudging (without an offer)

I've seen this asked over and over: when and how should a writer nudge a literary agent about a full or partial request (if they are without an offer). Writers are in awe of agents. Afraid of making a pest of themselves and somehow ruining their chances to get an agent. They don't want to be a bother. Writers tend to tip-toe around nudging as if they don't deserve to reach out to an agent.

You were so happy just to get a request. You don't want to mess it up.

Be unafraid!

Without writers there are no books. It's a writer's talent that opens new worlds for people who love to read. This is your manuscript. You worked hard on it. You have every right to inquire about it.    

Agents understand. After all, they use nudges all the time with editors. During submission, they may need to follow up with an editor on material the agent has sent. Sometimes they have to ask for an answer on a pitch letter. How can they fault you for doing something they have to employ? As long as you are sensible, there is no problem with politely asking an agent the status of your request.  

Though I don't recommend you nudge about a query letter unless the agent's website specifically says to nudge after a certain number of weeks. So many agents use a no response policy now. Is your query lost or just not right for that agent? It's better to leave well enough alone with a query that goes unanswered and assume the letter has been rejected. There are plenty of agents to query that you don't need to worry about every letter going astray. Chances are it hasn't. (There are exceptions and the choice is yours, but I'd think twice about nudging for a query letter.)

Now if your material has been requested it's a different story. Perhaps you've been patient for a long time and you want to know what's happening.  Before you take action, though, consider the timing.

It's very important not to let your natural impatience get out of hand. Everyone is ancy when material is being considered. Important decisions are being made that could get your baby in front of editors from the Big Six. But has a reasonable amount of time passed or are you just anxious? Publishing is notoriously slow. You have to give the agent plenty of time to read as things always come up. 

So first, check their website for a clue of when to nudge. If their website says nothing, then a solid guide is never to nudge until it's been three months. My own guide was to go a week or two past three months just to be on the safe side.

Then you'll want to use the email chain you've created with the agent (Yes, save the email asking for pages in your email provider so you can reply to it.) A RE in the subject line is more likely to catch their eye and prove you have had communication in the past.  Be short and to the point. No need to waste more agent reading time by being long winded. 


Dear Agent so and so,

I'm checking in to see if you had time to read TITLE which I sent as requested on DATE. Thank you very much,

Name



That's really all you need to nudge. Have you had time to get to it? It's called X and I sent it on Y. Agents will get back to you with a yes or no. Usually they need more time, but now you have reminded them. Hopefully, the nudge will lead to a faster read and a quicker final response.

Occasionally, a nudge receives no response from an agent. In that case, wait a week or two more and send a second nudge just like the first. Give them time to get to your first nudge just in case they are out of the office or very hectic. 

If the second nudge goes unanswered, then you have to put it out of your mind and set that request aside as a no. It's hard to do that, but let's face it-- Do you really want an agent who doesn't find the time to reply to two nudges? It's like the movie; he's just not that into you. Good communication with an agent is crucial. Take the agent off the pedestal. Time to move on and show some pride. Don't go for a third nudge. 

So there you have it. It's really not that scary if you make sure you give the agent plenty of time to consider before you nudge. Be polite and to the point.

Good luck and profitable nudging! 

My Hamsters Have Agent and Will Travel

I'm happy and excited to announce that I have an agent for my middle grade story, Pygmy Hazards. The ink is barely dry on my contract with Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency. If you are interested in knowing more about my silly hamsters, please check the pages above, where you'll find the query letter I used.

I started querying in April by entering a few small contests, probably jumping the gun a little as the manuscript wasn't completely polished. Several requests for partials came my way--four in fact. It seemed my query had the voice to attract positive attention. In May, the querying began in earnest with small batches of ten or twelve. The very first query got a partial request. 

Then a new trend happened. I began to receive a lot of personalized rejections, noting that the writing was strong and the sample pages were very funny but it wasn't a 'good fit' or 'right for them.' Time went by and the collection of form rejections grew along with the personalized notes. Here and there, I got a full request, but they were few and far between. I say this not to try and claim my road was super difficult, but to prove that it only takes one person to fall in love with your story. That everyone is going to garner rejections. 

More time passed and I continued to send out query letters and enter contests, but it seemed my luck had turned. While other writers loved my query and pitches, my story didn't seem to be what agents were looking for. But then a partial from those April contests turned into a full.

About a month later I got a request to chat from that agent. We talked on the phone and it was THE CALL. It was a Friday and I had a week to think it over and make my decision. I didn't know what to do with myself for the rest of the day. I could barely sit down, let alone think. Luckily, something helpful appeared on twitter a few days before my offer. (Thank you, twitter!) Daily Dahlia posted the second part of a blog post about Nudging and Multiple Offers. It was exactly what I needed. I used the advice from that post to nudge on my outstanding requests and queries that were less than a month old.

That same afternoon I got another partial request and overnight came a full request. The agents with my material promised to get back to me soon. Things were moving quickly. Other agents declined with congratulations. 

By Tuesday I had two offers, having gone through two THE CALL sessions, and two agents were still considering. Now the days passed slowly as I tried to weigh which agent would be right for me by talking to clients, researching on the internet, and reading the contracts. (A friend with contract experience gave me help there. Thanks, Don!)  Friday morning came and the two agents still considering decided to bow out. By then my decision was made. Sarah has a love of speculative fiction as deep as mine. We seemed to have the same goals and dreams. I accepted her offer.

Here comes the embarrassing part. We had no ink in our printer. Duh, I couldn't print the contract to sign and return to Sarah. The formal announcement couldn't come until it was all finalized. Needless to say, I was dying to tell people. (A secret keeper I am not! The news slipped to many of my CPs before the first day was over.) I scrambled to ask my mom to print for me, trying to find time to get over there all while getting dinner before the first high school football game of the season. My son is in the marching band and we couldn't miss his performance.

My mom's printer was on the fritz. Of course! We drove to buy ink but by the time we got home, it was time for football. 11:30 that night I was coaxing the printer to go faster. Big sigh. It all got done and here it is announced!

Finding an agent hasn't exactly been a quick process. There were four other manuscripts and five years of effort before it all paid off. But I'm so eager to see what the future brings!