Hey everyone,

I'm a newbie! I'm currently editing my novel and am hoping to send it to agents in the New Year.

I was just wondering: are there any renowned good / bad times to send manuscripts to agents. Eg. is January a baaaaaaad time?

Thanks in advance! T

Hi Trixie, and welcome to WriteWords.

In the general way, it's very busy for them round Frankfurt (now) and London (April) book fairs, but that really just means you will still be read, but a bit slower. And they have more reading time in August, but the colleague whose opinion they'd like to ask before they get back to you is away on holiday.

I would say that there's not a lot of point in trying to second guess all the finer details, though individual agents will say individual things. As far as I can see, there's no real rhyme or reason to when to send or how long it takes - it's much more to do with the state of their slushpile and how well-organised they are. You just have to send stuff off and forget about it for three months by getting on with something else.

Emma

Thanks! I think I'll be ready to send my ms in after Christmas but was worried about the Christmas backlog. O well, like you said, you just can't predict really.

Thanks, again!

Welcome to WriteWords, Trixie

It is difficult to judge such things, but if you find your SAEs winging their way back to you within the week then it's a pretty safe bet that they are clearing their desks and haven't read it, so don't be afraid to resubmit in a couple of months. I've found they often clear their desks in the run up to Christmas. And have read agents blogs where they say January is a busy time for submissions because that's when writers send them in as part of their New Year's resolutions. Presumably they are geared up for the January rush and will get round to them eventually.

PS. We have a Synopsis & Outline group if you'd like help in brushing up your synopsis before sending it out.


- NaomiM

I agonised about this myself, and avoided October and April for the reasons Emma mentioned. I thought that May might be a good time, as the LBF rush would have died down but there would still be a while before the summer holiday influx. I didn't want to wait that long though, so I reasoned that late Jan/Feb might also be good (leaving enough time for post-Xmas submissions to peter out). I got a very good response rate so I'd recommend it. It's probably all in the lap of the gods really, though!

I read somewhere (but can't remember where at the mo' that the best times to submit were January and August, so you will be spot on!
Susiex

Hey Trixe. Welcome to writewords. For me, I often find myself trying to submit just after Summer and early in the new year. I'm not really sure their is a PERFECT time to submit as I think you'll probably be waiting for responses a long time regardless of when you send it. Heck, I still get reply letters back from agents I submitted to way back in Feburary! I think the best thing to do is submit it when you think the book is ready to be published and (if possible), keep track of all the agents you send it to and how long they take to reply. That way you can find out what month you get the most replies.

Hope that helps.