what is a good sign of interest

[mueller]

I have seven pub looking at manuscript two have held on to it since Aug 1st and the others since sept 1st. Is this a good sign?:Shrug:

[moondance]

Sorry there's absolutely no answer to this!
Best case scenario: they love it and are trawling it to committee meetings in an attempt to persuade the marketing department that it's a viable sell. They have to get everyone to agree before they make you an offer, and this can take weeks.

Worst case scenario: they haven't read it yet. It is sitting in a large pile of mss and it may take them another six months to get to it.

The one thing you can be sure of is that they haven't read it, decided to reject it and are now sitting on it. Either they've read it and liked it, or they haven't read it yet. Either way, no point getting hopes up or despondent as there is simply no way to tell!

Chin up! Hope you've started the next book!

[Jimmer]

Mueller,

From my experiences, the average time for major publishers to respond to a query letter is anywhere from one day (for an e-query) to 3 months. When they respond, they are likely to request sample chapters (unless it's a picture book). The response time for reviewing sample chapters is almost always at least 3 months. When they do respond favorably, they ask to see the full manuscript. I've had full manuscripts under consideration for over a year and I know from my writer friends this is not out of the ordinary. If they do finally get to it and decide it might be worth taking to the top editor (who decides if it goes to committee), they will often first call or email asking if it is still available. They do not want to go to the trouble of bringing it to committee and championing your cause if it's not available, especially if they know it was not an exclusive submission.

So, to your original question and assuming it was a full manuscript, 3 months is bare minimum. Be patient and get to work on the next book.

Oh, and best wishes for success.

Jimmer

[andracill]

I had an editor take 8 months to request a full (from a query) -- and then she took only two months to read it (and send me a lovely personal 'no')...but I have two other editors reading other mss of mine. One has had it since the beginning of May, the other since the end of March. Waiting is tough, no doubt about it!

[Hopcus]

Most reads of my full have taken 1-4 months, but every agent is different.