Hi all,

An agent requested a full manuscript of my novel Sirocco Express, which they have had for three months. I have not heard a peep from them, except when I called to confirm that they had received it. Would it be reasonable for me to call them and ask what's happening?

Tony

Tony,

I don't think it wouldn't do any harm at all to politely enquire how they are getting on with your manuscript.

Isn't the waiting game horrible?

If it had only been a few weeks, I would have said leave it, but after 3 months, I think you can ask about it. They will soon tell you if they haven't read much of it yet, but you might get some positive feedback whilst you have them on the phone, and be able to ask anything else you want to know.

I wouldn't pester them constantly, but to enquire now and again is fine I think.

Good luck, hope you have some good news.

Katerina

Tony, I think Katerina's right. 3 months seems to be the accepted idea of a reasonable time to wait. I think a polite enquiry would certainly be in order.

Emma

<Added>

And yes, good luck with it!

Katerina and Emma,
Thanks for the advice. It confirms what I thought, but I didn't want to make an ass of myself (plenty of scope for that already). I'll give them a call next week.
Cheers
Tony

Tony, could you email them perhaps? It wouldn’t put them on the spot, and you wouldn’t have to brace yourself to keep the pleading note out of your voice…

Best luck,

Dee

Hi, Dee. Unfortunately, they seem to prefer post and telephone at this stage. They don't even have a website.
Tony

Keeping my fingers crossed for you Tony.

Thanks, Roger. I'll let you all know how it works out.
Tony

Very nice of you to say so, B. I'm still coming to terms with just how slowly everything happens - or doesn't happen - in the book trade.
Tony

Well, that was a waste of time and emotional energy. After requesting a full MS, the agent in question has just sent my MS back with a standard rejection letter, saying that they had considered my 'sample' and it was not for them. But they didn't ask me for a sample, they asked for a full MS based on the sample that I sent previously and they've had the full MS for over 3 months. To add to my chagrin, the MS looks as if it has not been read, it does not have any comments annotated and on the back there is a yellow post-it note saying 'Biography and Real Life'. It's general bloody fiction, you f***wits!!!

AARGHHH!!!

Tony

Off to find a bottle of something strong.

Sorry to hear this, Tony - the publishing world is such a bugger. But it's their loss. Have a few drinks - then get it out to the next 10 agents.

And don't let the b******s grind you down.

Huge and heartfelt hugs

A
xxx

Yes, lots of drink and plenty of swearing. That's really tough. It's horrible when it happens like that. But Anne's right, the way not to let the bastards get you down is to get right back on that horse, as soon as you're sober enough to stick the stamps on straight.

Emma

I do sometimes wonder if there’s a secret link between agents and the alcohol industry…

Tony, believe me, I know how you feel – and it’s shit. All you can do is bounce back. A rubber bum is a requirement of an aspiring writer. Yes, it hurts – but when the sting (and the hangover) wears off, send it out again, and keep banging your head against that brick wall. Between the lot of us, we might just demolish it.

Good luck

Dee

Dee said it right. That's shit. Sorry to hear this.

Get back on the horse and send samples out to every agent in the book - even those who've rejected it (for those, just say it's been revised, even if it hasn't)

Colin m

Anne, Emma, Dee & Colin,

Thanks for the commiserations, guys. In the event it was no more than a couple of glasses of wine, so my head is fine this morning. I will put together another list of agents and go through the whole routine again. I'm also considering whether to invest in a review by The Literary Consultancy or some such. Maybe I'm deluding myself and the thing is not publishable. Thing is, I really want to tell this particular story, that's what I find so frustrating. In fact, I'm so committed to it that I would consider self-publishing if all other options were exhausted.

I was once learning to hang glide and I had a crash. After he had established that I was not broken - unlike his glider - the instructor urged me to do another flight straight away. His reasoning was that if I thought about it for too long I'd never want to do another. So I did do another flight, straight away. The only problem with this inspiring story of fortitude is that I crashed the second flight - nearly breaking my arm - and I've never been on another hang glider since. I think there's a moral there somewhere, errm...


Tony