Thanks Emma,
it is so lovely to hear success stories like your own. Sometimes I drown myself in woes of what its like to be an unpublished author - hence my new website (I've been told by Writewords NOT to post the url so i cant say the website address anymore). But it's so nice to hear these stories.
Keep 'em coming!

Elle

It is lovely to hear of success and that's so encouraging. I am a bit alarmed though about books being sold quickly, if they are going to be sold at all.

Has anyone had a long wait for an agent to sell their book? I am not sure exactly when my agent started to send it to British publishers. It was definitely out in the market at the end of May, but may have been earlier – he approved the latest version two to three months before that.

He hasn't mentioned anything like rejections to me, neither good news or bad. I have every confidence in him, as he took me on with the recommendation of a writing tutor, and I do know of successful deals he has made.

Any crumbs would help! I'm new to the website.

Issy,

I am not sure exactly when my agent started to send it to British publishers. It was definitely out in the market at the end of May, but may have been earlier – he approved the latest version two to three months before that.

That is just not acceptable. He does not deserve your confidence. Get on to him NOW and insist that you be kept up to date on progress. He is working for you. The least he should be doing is keeping you informed on who he is sending your novel out to, and what their response is.

Dee

Hi there I,

Mine started to be submitted around June. So we in the same boat. In answer to your question, it doesnt help when you hear published authors saying how they got a deal in a week!!!! One says that on my website, whilst another said it took three months.
So, what then...?

Just hold tight and think about how it felt pre - agent. When there was no one fighting your corner. You now have an agent, so thats cool (now, all i need to do is follow my own advice, right?"

It's hard to believe, but your agent is working for you, not the other way round, and you are entitled to know what's going on with your work, if not to be unreasonably pushy. Apart from the kind on Preditors and Editors, most agents are not in it to rip you off, but they do vary in how pro-active they are, and how persevering.

My experience of agents (and I've had 4, of one sort or another, and have a friend who's one as well) is that they don't like telling you bad news, unless they've got good news to sweeten the pill, as in, 'X turned it down, but I've sent it off to Y, and I think Y'lllove it'. So most agents won't ever say, 'it didn't work, sorry. I thought I could sell this book and I can't.' They just won't ring you up at all. You have to ring them. That's hard, because you don't want to find you haven't got an agent. But if they have faith in your work, they'll be prepared to wait for the next one.

Emma

Thank you for your responses - I have emailed my agent with a friendly enquiry.

He always replies immediately if he is in the office, but my email has been redirected to a colleague.

I will let the forum know the result.

I have had a reply to advise the names of eight editors who have declined and seven editors who are still considering. All are mainstream.

My agent, personally, is on paternity leave.

Will just have to wait a bit longer.

I had a lightening-quick response to an emailed query to a publisher. He replied within five minutes to say that 'it sounds really interesting' and that he wanted to read the whole manuscript.

Exciting and unexpected, huh?

That was three months ago, and since then nothing.

It's worth mentioning that I don't yet have an agent. I guess if I did, they would be able to lobby for me.

Suffice it to say that I'm now sending queries out to agents!

Maria

Well, that's very encouraging. Very good luck, though after three months you could probably start asking gently what's happening. The idea obviously leapt off the screen at him/her, but of course in the end they have to clear the time to actually read the thing. A friend of mine is a senior editor, and routinely goes to bed with two or three manuscripts to look at 'properly' (in the sense that she already knows they're promising) before lights out!

Emma

I'm in the same boat too - had eight rejections - still waiting on one more until hitting the next round of editors. It's very frustrating after all the effort in securing an agent. The worst thing is not having the right to reply and the feeling that circumstances are beyond your control. The waiting game is awful!

I've just done a rough count and reckon I've averaged eight or ten rejections on each of seven novels, and plus ten or so of short fiction. Nil illegitimis carborundum! (= 'don't let the bastards grind you down'.

Emma

<Added>

There is a higher power out there - I didn't type a smiley, but it's very apt!

Yeah I know, the best thing to do is keep writing and reading. Did you have agents for your previous novels?

When it comes to me and agents, either I used to be a bad picker, or someone up there has a rather unkind sense of humour!

I got an agent with the fourth novel, who I soon realised was an alcoholic barely capable of functioning. An editor friend read it and said, 'if I got this from an agent I'd try very hard to buy it'. She passed me on to agent number two, but was then headhunted and took on a different kind of list and didn't buy it. (Well, that's the kind version they told me. I've always wondered if she got cold feet). The fifth novel was not a success, and I'm not surprised my agent couldn't sell it (in fact, it's crossed my mind to wonder whether he actually sent it out. Its only redeeming feature is that I learnt a lot doing it, and it saw the birth of one of my two narrator/MCs in The Mathematics of Love). By the sixth he was very ill, but didn't want the trade to know, and what little energy he had was most reasonably spent on the authors that were actually paying his rent. He then died while I was writing the The Mathematics of Love, and it was taken on by a friend of a friend who'd been very senior in the trade and was doing a bit of agenting while she thought about her career. She didn't manage to place it, and then got a job. I tried one agent, who loved it and for whom I did lots of revisions - a lot of work - and then she suddenly said she was really sorry but didn't love it all enough to sell it after all. I think that was the worst rejection of all. I then tried the rest of my list of recommendations, including Clare, and six or so others. (Some of whom, I might say, are just getting back to me about my submission now!)

Putting it all in a list like this makes me wonder where I went wrong (or maybe, was there anywhere I didn't go wrong?). But you're so thrilled to get an agent at all (and if like me you don't write short fiction, an agent's the only proof you can show the world that you're a writer) that if you've got one and start having doubts, dumping them seems like an unbearably retrograde step.

Emma

Emma,

Blimey, what a rollercoaster. To say you've earned your stripes is some understatement. Can I ask what's happened to the other six (?) novels? Will they be published? Are they all of a similar vein?

I just have to say congratulations again on your deal - I hadn't realised what a journey you've had.

Myrtle

Yeah - congratulations on your deal - an inspiring example for all of us. Regarding firing agents - I've tried to be as ruthless as possible and in fact had to let an agent go who took more than 3 months to get back to me regarding manuscript revisions after agreeing to take me on. Long emails with excuses were all I received. The initial euphoria in getting an agent is dangerous, you have to be careful who has it, and it's not necessarily the big name agents who are the best. It took me about a year to get an agent after rejection upon rejection upon rejection. And then I had to get rid of said agent and replace her. One thing I've learnt is that there are no guarantees in this game and you can't rely on anyone!