How often do agents read queries? I ask because several agents post query status updates that seem to occur monthly, or at least several weeks apart. Of course I know everyone’s different, and the answer will vary widely depending on one’s current workload and how many queries one receives. But I am wondering whether most agents tend to read a couple queries every day (sort of like taking one’s vitamins and just getting it over with), or do they set aside a day for it, curl up with a beaker of scotch and slog through as many hundred as possible? Are there days of the week or month or year that agents tend to attack the slush pile more frequently? Do most agents have interns for just this sort of thing? Do most of you work weekends?
Oh my beloved woodland creature, you must be at a particularly difficult point in the novel if you are worrying about this!
What difference does it make to you?
NONE!
However, because I know that you won't stop fretting till you have some information here you go:
It varies.
(helpful, I know)
I read queries almost daily. I like to keep up. A simmering vat of unanswered queries makes me slightly crazy.
I know other agents read as they can and get very very behind. One agent who shall remain nameless (because really why would you need a name when you can have 1000 words instead)
often had 700+ queries backed up.
Another friend right now has over 1000.
That would kill me.
Some agents do have interns who do the first cull. A LOT of queries are so bad they can be rejected almost instantly.
Some agents read all their own queries. I do. Most of my colleagues read their own queries too.
And all of us read on weekends, in the middle of the night, on our phones on the subway, and when we should be paying attention to the flight attendant talking about water landings.
Here's the good news: no matter how many I get, the good ones catch my eye. Even if I don't request the manuscript, a good query gets serious attention.
As for posting updates: most of us post updates less often than we read queries because saying you're caught up throgh X date every day would soon become tedious.
I'm much farther caught up than my blog widget indicates. The reason it says 9/10 is because I have one query from 9/11, two queries from 9/12, one from 9/13 and one from 9/14 still pending. Those are queries that merited a closer look when I was tearing through them a couple days ago.
Given I get 20 or so a day, you can see I've already said no to 18 or 19 queries from each day 9/11-9/14.
NONE of this matters to you. You have no control over it and how agents read queries doesn't have much to do with how they'll view your query.
There is ONE thing you can control: the effectiveness of your query. Work on that.
Send your queries. Count forward 30 days. Query again to those agents who are courteous enough to reply to all queries.
Quit fretting about this. Figure out what's really bothering you and go take a bite out of that.
64 comments:
You know agents that have over 700 and 1000 queries backed up? That is kind of disturbing to me actually. Granted I'm not a lit agent, but I frequently hear that agents commonly get between 400-800 queries a year, or about 10 a week. Perhaps I am incorrect, but those agents must be Big Agent types.
But, despite my alarm at your startling revelation, I resign myself to your always sensible logic. You've yet to lead me astray.
Given Janet's number of 20 a day, even rounded down to the nearest thousand that's 7000 a year. So being 700-1000 queries behind is only being a couple of months behind rather than over a year!
Regardless, I totally get that these are the musings of a distracted writer! You should see the pointless things I research when I'm stuck with what I'm supposed to be doing!
Often the query trenches feel like walking through a war zone armed with a toothbrush, but this blog is your air-strike.
I think what I agree with most out of what Janet is saying here is this - the good ones stand out. I've been fortunate to snag a job working as a reader for an agent and I have seen the scary query inbox. I too wondered how the hell the good ones could "stand out" until seeing it. And it's sort of like this -
Imagine an open Facebook poll that asks "What's your favorite color and why?"
As the answers come in, you see some interesting trends. A bunch of people respond only with a color. Then there are some who give answers like "Red, because red." Then you have the number of people who respond with "shark tooth" and "kangaroo", and a few who give dissertations on these objects that are not a color. And you begin to wonder who read your question at all, until you happen across a well thought out answer to your simple question. The good ones stand out because they do the things queries are supposed to do better than all the ones that are not answers and better than all the ones that are badly answered.
Opie, don't fret. If you're here, you already not only understand the question, but you're actively working on a thoughtful answer. Take your time and you'll do just fantastic.
Oh, OP. Your problem is RESEARCH. You can't just ask one agent what they do. They're all different. So what you need to do is stalk each agent you're interested in - do they FB? Tweet? Blog? Tumblr? BLindr? Google+ (no, no-one does that) - and then make detailed notes about every mention they make of their process. Your spreadsheet isn't complete unless it has entries like this:
ST: reads queries on Fridays. If I have not heard from her by 2pm Friday it's definitely a no. Colour it red and move on, loser.
Then, and ONLY then, are you in a position to--
Oh, wait. I thought of a different idea. You could just forget about sh&*( you don't control and go back to writing your books. ;)
[NB: I mean this snark in the most good natured and sympathetic of ways. I obsessed about the same stupid things too. :)]
Maybe this will help the fretishness (why yes, I did make up that word) of this little woodland creature.
Think of it like this; personally I revel in The Wait. The Wait means HOPE. Like someone told me once, silence isn't a yes. It isn't a no. It's just silence.
Of course, if you've been waiting months with only a cricket choir for company, HOPE wanes. The thing with that is...as hope diminishes, so does the URGENCY. By that I mean your heart is no longer frenetic as a snare drum when you think about who has it. You no longer get that jolt, okay, maybe only a little one.
Let's use one of our own here as an example. Just the other day DLM (Diane) reported an "R" after SEVEN MONTHS. Granted, we all booed and hissed at the lateness. She'd actually forgot about it. Which is a good thing, and just what you do for now. Put reminders in your Outlook, or wherever you need so you can go back and "nudge" the agent, otherwise, on to OTHER THINGS.
OTHER THINGS - I highly recommend working on your next book. Seriously. Because, (and I've said this to others) when you have a new WIP, HOPE rides on the back of it just as well as the one being queried.
When do agents read queries? Who cares, as long as they read yours! And for them to read past the first sentence or two, it has to be a killer query. Learn everything you can from Janet's Query blog, all the do's and don't's, polish yours to within an inch of its life and send, send, send! Then have a glass of wine and move on to the next great book in your head.
Don't sit around and wait for the queries to be answered. Keep moving forward. Keep writing, keep querying. Waiting for a response without continuing to write will leave you a neurotic mess and though most authors are to a tiny percent, to be successful, you can't just sit and wait.
Swim Down Under, Janet, because then you'll be ahead with your queries. I read 9.10.15 to be 9th October... what the? (she really is QOTKU!)... and then after a mental headshake realised it's that crazy month-day-year thing =)
Opie, I hear your pain. I hadn't thought about *when* in a day/week/month they read queries (now I won't have to worry about that, thank you). My freak out only went as far as 'to query after Thanksgiving or not' (because I'd heard that after Thanksgiving everyone in the US starts to wind down). Luckily Janet has addressed this previously (here) as well.
What would us poor woodland creatures do without her Sharkness? Pshaw, and they say the Lion is king of the beasts... I say the shark rules the woodland creatures!
I guess I'm not with the program, because I didn't read this as someone who was worried or fretting about anything. I read it as someone who is curious about the process. So this person poked his/her head out of its introverted shell and asked.
And I say, keep asking! The more you know, the more likely you will be successful.
[The thought of having over 100 unread emails gives me the shivers.]
Kristin Nelson gets on average between 100 to 150 queries a day and she tries to read most of them herself. With 700 to 1000 in queue that would make her less than a week behind.
OT: Vacation time winding down.
"Query again to those agents who are courteous enough to reply to all queries."
With the growing "no means no," policy, those agents are dwindling. Unless writers want to query the remaining 5 who do, we paper the town to agents/agencies who say nothing to us, or to agents who send a form-reply. But to those who carve an extra second to reply with something more encouraging, something divinely human, they get put on the top of the pile with a gold star and smiley face.
Dena, I'm with you: I thought it was someone who was curious what the day-to-day life of an agent was like. The view of the process from outside can be very different than the view inside.
I shudder to imagine going through the amount of email involved in a slush pile. Thankfully, there is an illustrated guide to girding up one's loins for such occasions: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/10/02/how-to-gird-up-your-loins-an-illustrated-guide/
I'm with Dena here.... if you are hyped up with nervous expectation, this is perhaps a way to earth some of that self destructive energy. Get a small response to an irrelevant question to stop fixating on the larger one.
Also the cynical pragmatist in me reads it as a bit of am 'Oi - what's happening with my bloody manuscript prod?'
Some sharks shouldn't be prodded to see if they are sleeping I guess as we all know they are in a state of perpetual motion to keep breathing. In this instance it seems that it is probably not a fangless task!
QueryTracker is a good website if you're one to obsess about this kind of thing. The premium subscription is really worth it if you want to get a fairly accurate picture of who responds to queries/partials/fulls quickly or in batches or who hasn't responded to anything in weeks (and who we can assume has gotten behind).
I opted not to get the premium subscription because I was certain I'd spend time obsessing and wasting time instead of writing. Instead, when I'm feeling nervous about something that's been out for ages I bother a friend who *does* have a premium subscription. This, in crazy writer land, makes sense.
Let me take a different spin on this in defense of the question. I think knowing when agents read queries is helpful in crafting your query. If the agent is relaxed in a comfy chair with his/her favorite adult beverage, feeling great about life, warm of heart, and with plenty of time to browse through the slush pile, that agent is going to look more favorably on what s/he's reading.
However, from what I read, that's rarely the case.
Often, the agent is grabbing time in between other things to read queries. Time is not in abundance. They are frequently doing this on their own time. So at least the initial pass through queries will be quick. You have literally SECONDS to grab the agent's attention with your stunning prose and genius story idea. This is why Janet harps on about keeping queries SHORT (250 words max), and starting with your "pitch", leaving the bio stuff to the end.
That's how I see it.
I am mostly incoherent today. Not enough sleep or coffee. Query Tracker is a good tool. I too wonder about an agent's process but as a curiosity. Each one is different I am certain. I can't imagine 100 unanswered emails. Ugh!
I got a rejection yesterday after 30 days; a polite form letter. I prefer that to the cone of silence. One partial request I received was after only 3 days. There seems no rhyme or reason to it. What one agent adores, another may ignore entirely.
I do wonder what is happening to my queries and pages when they are out there. I can't help it. I fret. But I do keep writing. Best we can do is to keep chumming the waters to attract that legendary shark, and pray we're not going to need a bigger boat.
Dena - I think the problem with this just being a curious-want-to-know-more type question, is that it's not at all helpful to know the answer (if the question even can be answered - see Sam's comment above!) It makes no difference how/where/when agents read queries, there is no answer that would cause a writer to query more effectively. Nor is there any answer that will make the waiting any easier!
I may be wrong, it might be that OP's mind has been put at rest, I also think I should cut them a bit of slack because I know nothing of life in the query dessert and the questions that torture those there!
Agree with what's been said about trying to get a peek into the agents' processes. But that's also like trying to use another writer's process to find your own, and, like agents, we're all different too.
That said, being informed is good, and the OP is, I'm sure, trying to be smart about the process, like we all attempt to be.
Which brings me to a question about burnout--hundreds of emails, and that's only one part of the job. I've heard rumblings about agent burn-out before, and am wondering how rampant it is. This makes me more concerned about the how--rather than the when. Is the agent reading with bleary eyes? Exasperated sighs?
Hello fellow citizens on Janets planet. I am back from sunny Italy and reved up. Missed you guys and ancious to finish my novel. Regarding todays topic...I like what Donna said, waiting is simply waiting.
Glad to see we're all still living the woodland life. Pardon typos, I'm typing on my phone for the first time. I'm such a tecno-virgin.
While I've found this post intriguing, and the comments entertaining, I'm reminded that I should be writing.
Dang. It's more fun to pretend reading blogs is part of my work rather than a distraction.
Ah, well. Back to the grindstone. ;)
Moe Ferrara moved agencies, announced she was open to queries, and bot, did she get deluged. Still working her way through, according to Twitter.
As forburnout, when an agent has had enough of queries, they have the option to close to queries until they have made their way through the pile. Nothing says they must always be open to queries.
The two questions that stuck out for me were: "How often do agents read queries?" and "Are there days of the week or month or year that agents tend to attack the slush pile more frequently?"
And the answer that popped right into my mind was: whenever they have a minute or two of free time. Because an agent's job is to look after their clients. That's usually enough to take their entire work day. I've heard agents who read queries over lunch or dinner, or just before bed, or when standing in line at the liquor store, or between sets at a concert... basically, whenever a minute can be stolen from whatever the agent is otherwise focusing on. At least, this is what I've heard.
Adib: I posted that on my Facebook a couple weeks ago. I think it was the most-liked thing I've ever posted.
Regarding burnout:
On Wednesday, Janet posted a link to a previous blog post on this very subject:
Agents going of the rails
Donna, thank you for the salt on that wound. (So joking of course, I was grateful the agent did respond, even if slowly. How would she have known I'd put the MS down for a nap?)
Brian, a fascinating commment - it sounds like the new gig is highly eye-opening. (Har - want to review my now-defunct query? KIDDING.)
2Ns, you bring to mind the Arrant Pedant's latest post: http://www.arrantpedantry.com/2015/09/14/overanxious-about-ambiguity/
MBO - "divinely human" - Love!
I never had a request for a partial or full that did not come within two days of a query, and often they came within hours. This is why I always assumed, once a week has passed, the ship has sailed. I know others have had a very different experience ... but, in its own (negative) way, my experience did curb the fretfulness. After a relatively short time, I assumed every ship had sailed, so I didn't wonder for a painfully long time.
Diane's link: http://www.arrantpedantry.com/2015/09/14/overanxious-about-ambiguity/
If I was an agent I would read them in the bathroom. That is were most of them belong, especially if you count the eight hundred and seventy seven queries I have written and flushed.
Ooh, thanks BJ. New job has me less blog frequent, and there was a chunk of posts I missed.
DLM, all I can say is this -
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0
Nervous excitement and anticipation, yup Diane, that's it.
Colin, mille grazie.
Dangit, B, I can't view YouTubes till the off hours. *Eating my heart out*
2Ns it's so good to have you back! Hoping it was lovely.
It is an interesting question, whether a query can be crafted to the moment in which it'll be read. But I'd have to think that's also irrelevant; if it grabs attention, it'll do that across the board, and not need special circumstances to do so. I understand why this question would crop up; but when I'm crafting a query or a synopsis or, ya know, a novel, I can't be thinking about the why's and wherefores of when and where it'll be read, I have to be serving the story or providing both a creative and effective professional communication.
Even if a writer isn't distracted from the work itself already, this sort of question can do the job in a snap.
Sigh! It kind of sucks being a woodland creature sometimes.
You're very welcome, Diane!
And I agree with Diane, you can't be worried about whether the agent is reading queries in January or July. And this was ultimately my point in my previous comment: our concern is to write compelling queries. Our queries should be so awesome that Janet is stopped mid-sip, with glass of adult beverage in hand, time seemingly frozen as her eyes and brain soak in and contemplate what she has just read. And after she dabs said adult beverage from her clothes and her phone having just let out a squeal of joy forgetting she was in mid-sip, she hits "Reply" and tries to force her fingers to form coherent language, deleting her initial attempt which came out as "gimmegimmegimmerightnowihastahastareadwhyareyoustillreadingthisyouneedtosendittomenownownownownow." Her polite and professional request for a full sent, she takes a deep breath, another gulp of vodka, and resumes her perusal of the slush. Except this time she remembers to swallow before she reads--just in case...
I believe that's the goal. :)
ihastahastaread
OSUM. Colin wins Tuesday, everyone.
Maybe the OP is only wanting to know the process, but we're still back to square one as to relevancy regarding reading the work.
Because...
1) If they are currently querying - what does it matter?
2) If they will be querying - what does it matter?
I mean, so what if the agent is caught up or not? So what if you know that or not?
There might be one advantage.
1) Caught up:
a. A possible fast response (here be the advantage)
b. Slow response - interpret at will
c. Silence - interpret at will
2) Not so caught up:
a. Slow response - interpret at will
b. Silence - interpret at will
I don't see the point. Which is what I suppose Ms. Janet was pointing out. Worry about something else - really.
Ha Colin - good one!
I was busy typing my numbered (read boring) response about the OP only wanting to know about the process.
Thank you Janet, for being the amazing font of inside information that you are. The thought of a thousand backed-up anythings hanging over my head makes my eyes a little bulgy. Then again, that's a common condition for a woodland creature anyway, I understand.
Sometimes the blog family nails it. The different perspectives come together like a pie - pecan, I'd say, because we're all a little nuts, with vanilla ice cream and bourbon sauce.
I liked Dena's take on this, and Adib's and Colin's. Querying is the most exciting, wonderful, terrifying process there is, and we wee, introverted little creatures tend to overthink things anyways. One can research until their eyeballs bleed, but what we REALLY want is to be a fly on the wall (or in some cases, a remora) as our dream agent scans our query. By the way, the word "query" is Carkoonian for "a piece ripped from the cornea of a writer's inner soul." Most writers probably couldn't tell you the balance in their bank account, but I bet they could tell with Sherlockian precision who they've queried and when, and why that agent, and each agent's stated response time, and probably quote that once Writers Digest blurb where that agent said they were looking for that one thing which is exactly what the writer wrote.
Also, welcome back Carolynn!
Apropos of nothing, we are supposed to get a half a foot of snow today, which I think is vastly unfair.
I really, really do hope writers don't start being logical.
Colin- thank you. Coffee is now all over my front side and boss is giving me funny looks. However, I was under impression that Janet's adult beverage of choice was whiskey? I could be wrong - the kale plants in Carkoon are really getting to me.
I believe Christine's definition of query is correct. And Marc- no worries there. The whole process of writing defies all possible logic.
I think this is on-topic, but if not, just ignore. :)
It's interesting to me how much of Janet's advice boils down to not worrying about things you have no control over. And very good advice it is.
In fact, there's no need to worry, ever, about anything. Don't believe me? If you can control it, worry isn't constructive: take action instead. If you can't control it, then worry doesn't help. QED, as mathematical types say.
Of course, this realization leads to me worrying that I'm worrying, because I shouldn't be. Then worrying about worrying about worrying, and... you get the point. If it was as easy to not worry as telling yourself "Don't worry", there'd be a lot fewer therapists out there.
So what works? The best thing I've found is breathing meditation.
E.M.: You may be correct, though if the slush pile is particularly bad, she might not be checking labels. :)
Missed 2N's return!
Welcome back to the Furry Woodland Creature hell (of our own making)!
:)
Colin- I could see that. A deep and nasty slush pile could make her miss a label that says Zombie Killer Meade (it's a real thing) instead of Cask Islay Scotch. And Beefeater Gin will get the job done so...
What were we talking about?
E.M.: Is that a meade characterized by its zombie killing properties, or a meade produced by zombie killers, or... wait... it's meade. I don't think I care. Where can I get some? :D
Colin, It's a craft Mead. I get it at a local brewery, but you can get it on Amazon. It's full name is Nektar Zombie Killer Cherry Cyser Mead. Be warned laws here in the states do not allow it to have the kick it would have in UK. At least that is what I've been told. There was a mead I enjoyed when in school in London that stole my memory of several nights, one night that resulted in a tattoo I still can't explain so the Zombie Killer is not quite that potent.
However, I do recommend the Zombie Killer for enduring the trials and tribulations of being a Woodland Creature.
E.M.: Amazon says that it's no longer available. *sigh* I'm always on the look-out for a good mead, so that's disappointing. Oh well... :)
Colin, check out local craft beer shops. I think meads are becoming a thing. If we ever happen to be at same writer's conference, I will bring you some Zombie Killer :)
Thanks, E.M. I will, and I'll report back if I find it. Hopefully there'll be an appropriate topic that day. "Agents and Their Favorite Meads." "Mead-iocre Queries." "How to Deal with the Mead-ia".
I'll stop there. :)
Colin, I thought we were on topic. Meady musings of what agents are doing while writers fret and fuss. Right? Ok back to Carkoon. Cheers and thanks for the laugh.
I also viewed OP as simply curious about how an agent goes about handling one of the big parts of agenting. I am fascinated by other people's jobs, too. Coincidentally, another agent posted about her work flow today:
http://redsofaliterary.com/2015/09/28/notes-from-the-armchair-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being-behind/
(I still don't know how to make the link live, sorry.)
There is only one appropriate response to no response from an agent after a query has been sent.
Start drinking. ;)
Don't worry, Theresa--I've got your back! :)
http://redsofaliterary.com/2015/09/28/notes-from-the-armchair-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being-behind/
Sorry, was there a post today? I'm too distracted by the picture Janet posted...
...of the whale. Beautiful creatures. Majestic, really.
Yep.
ETA: The part of being an agent that would appeal most to me is looking through the slush pile. I know it's probably romanticized, but I love the idea of reading queries and manuscripts and finding that untapped potential, nurturing the talent. I could never handle the pressures of contracts and the demands of publishers (I could, but I did that in a former life and left it behind for a reason), but I used to judge Scholastic writing contests and it was always a thrill to read the entries.
Great timing. We were just having this discussion between some writers. One had noticed response times slowing down on query tracker. My wild guess would be agents taking vacations with families before school starts, but what do I know?
Then the question comes up, "Maybe they're getting ready for Frankfurt and selling their unsold manuscripts there."
Probably not, but what do I know?
I know some people find the line charts, pie charts, column charts, spreadsheets, etc. handy, but I think too much of it can drive you crazy. It's like putting a blind dog in a sausage hanging room.
Julie: Please excuse my ignorance, but what is Frankfurt as it relates to unsold MSs?
Thank you for the welcome backs. It's great to be back.
OT again...Italians drive like madmen, smoke too much and the young male professionals wear suit jackets that are too tight and skinny-pants that are too short. It's the fashion I guess.
Beeeutiful country, friendly and accommodating to folks who do not speak the language. We need an Italian chapter of Carkoon in the Italian Alps. How 'bout it Colin?
Susan,
One writer has a theory agents are slowing down now according to stats in Query Tracker because they may be getting ready to promote unsold manuscripts at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
I didn't think that's what agents did there, but who knows? Frankfurt is so far off my radar I pay zero attention to it. I know agents go to it and see other agents and publishers. They are out of their offices. They talk about their feet hurting. If a published author was there and wanted to become loved by the masses they would give away comfortable flip flops methinks or shoe insoles. (I know, I know. Cost.)
Julie: Got it, thanks! For some reason, I was reading that sentence as Frankfurt being a last-ditch effort for manuscripts that haven't sold yet, which would be curious. Oh, to be a fly on the wall there.
Hmmm...maybe you're onto something with the flip flops. Stick your name and book title on the sole and voila--Marketing. =P
Susan,
Hmmm...maybe you're onto something with the flip flops. Stick your name and book title on the sole and voila--Marketing. =P
Agreed.
2Ns: I think you want an FPLM-Alpine Branch. Carkoon would turn the Alps to lava. Not pretty. Unless you like molten rock, which, unsurprisingly, many Carkoon natives do.
This almost makes me feel like there as a BIG party and I somehow forgot.
Like the sub-header thingie, I JUST NOW saw the addendum to the contest with Eve Messenger receiving the ARC, and A. Velez getting the book.
Should I get glasses? Oh, wait, I've got corrective lens implants. No excuse. But it did slip past me till just now.
Congrats EVE MESSENGER for the "other" win!
Regarding Mead:
Colin, if you have any friends in Canada who will collect and deliver booze... I mean, mead... there is a winery in Saskatchewan that will ship it in Canada. Friends have tried it, and have said it's great.
There's another brewpub right here in my city that makes it, but I don't think they do online orders.
Oh, and Canada does not have any laws restricting how strong (or not) it has to be.
There is also Cigar City Cider and Mead here in Tampa. Maybe you can have it shipped up to you. Their alcohol content on Mead runs from 7.3% to 13.5.
BJ: Isn't everyone in Canada my friend? :D
Craig: Wow--I just checked out their website. It doesn't look like they ship, but they know their meads, that's for sure. All the different types there are... cool! :)
Anyone from Tampa going to Bouchercon in Raleigh? :D
Colin - if we're not, then we should be. Unfortunately, I've never been to North Carolina, and I doubt I'd be able to get there any time soon. :( (Although Bouchercon would have been a great reason.)
Love D,s sub-header.
I am starting to see the importance of Writers conferences- knowing what an agent does also gives insight to the "how". Thank you for the insight, Janet!
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