three to four weeks

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thornhill

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From the Strothman Agency website: (http://www.strothmanagency.com/submission-guidelines)

"... please allow three to four weeks for a response."

translation:

"Because nothing is that much different these days here at the Strothman Agency. We don't have a sense of urgency either. We don't expect much to change here in our little un-noticed corner of the publishing world. Why on Earth would we be in a hurry? It's not like Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook are beating down the door. It's still 1972 in our cubicles - but with forwarded email cat videos."
 

Marian Perera

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From the Strothman Agency website: (http://www.strothmanagency.com/submission-guidelines)

"... please allow three to four weeks for a response."

translation:

"Because nothing is that much different these days here at the Strothman Agency. We don't have a sense of urgency either. We don't expect much to change here in our little un-noticed corner of the publishing world. Why on Earth would we be in a hurry? It's not like Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook are beating down the door. It's still 1972 in our cubicles - but with forwarded email cat videos."

If you don't like their response times, don't query them.

And no, I don't think Jeff Bezos is beating down any literary agency's door. People predicted the death of publishing when POD was developed. Then they predicted the death of publishing when ebooks became popular.

Yet somehow, publishing goes on.
 

Wilde_at_heart

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Three to four weeks really isn't bad. They don't have many agents. Only one for fiction, that I could see.
 

KateJJ

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How long did it take you to write the book? 3-4 weeks isn't that long to wait for an agent to decide if it's interesting to her...
 

Osulagh

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From the Strothman Agency website: (http://www.strothmanagency.com/submission-guidelines)

"... please allow three to four weeks for a response."

translation:

"Because nothing is that much different these days here at the Strothman Agency. We don't have a sense of urgency either. We don't expect much to change here in our little un-noticed corner of the publishing world. Why on Earth would we be in a hurry? It's not like Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook are beating down the door. It's still 1972 in our cubicles - but with forwarded email cat videos."

Let's give you 500 to several thousand emails to go through as only a small portion of your job. What time frame would you like to give others?


Agents are not at your every beck and call.
 

Roxxsmom

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Slush reading is only a small fraction of the things a literary agent has to do for his or her job. And the slush piles are huge. I'm amazed some get back to people as fast as they do, actually. An agent that takes a few weeks? Be grateful that they're taking the time to consider your submission and that they spend a lot of time working with the clients they already have.

Think how you'd feel if you got an agent who took forever to work with you on revisions of your manuscript and dragged their feet about querying editors because they spend hours each day on their slush pile instead.
 

Beachgirl

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Seriously? If someone is too impatient to wait three or four weeks, methinks that person is not cut out for publishing.
 

Sage

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You're whining about a 4-week wait? You're not going to make it in this business.

An agent's primary job is not to read your query. Their job is to sell their clients. They're going to prioritize that over their slush. When you have an agent, you'll appreciate that.

Once you get a request, you'll be waiting even longer. Requests, like queries, can take overnight or they might take 6 months. I had one take a year.

Then you get an offer. And you won't be going out on sub right away. You'll probably have to do revisions. Once you do go out on sub, you'll be waiting on publishers.

And let's say they want your book. You'll see it on the bookshelf two years later.

What's a month?
 

Kylabelle

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Ah, well. IMO, the "please allow three to four weeks" is a courtesy. In other words, I don't think they are really under any obligation to give you that information. And as noted, in the larger scheme of things, three to four weeks is almost about as long as a minute.

I suspect they put that polite little statement of wait time in there so nobody would be anxiously emailing them any *sooner* than three or four weeks. Of course, I don't know this; they might very well be happily doing their best to alleviate the natural anxiety they know submitters experience.
 

Ken

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If the response times continue to infuriate you despite what's been said here consider this.

If a ms is really good it will often get read by the agent quicker than usual, result of an initial reader passing it along to the agent ahead of the other slush, etc. Agents are always seeking great manuscripts with potential for good sales.
 

Namatu

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Others have already said it, but responding to queries is not an agent's main job. So many agents today don't respond at all if they're not interested. That's a combined result of the massive number of queries they receive and the massive amount of Other Work that they have to do. The response time has nothing to do with anything but that.
 

Filigree

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Three to four weeks would be a good response time, in the agent world. I just saw someone who got a form rejection at 19 months. I've had rejections, personal and form, at six to eight months later (I write them off as 'no-interest' at 12 weeks). One agency asked for an R&R ten months later, four months after my debut was published. I had to politely tell them I was already with another agent by then, too.

This business can move very, very slow.
 

DanielaTorre

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Even after getting an agent, I'm still getting responses four months after I queried other agents. If you can't wait a month for a response—and by some chance in hell you do land an agent—you're in for a rude awakening.

They don't work for you. You are the least of their priorities. I pity the agent who ever has the misfortune of working with someone as impatient and condescending as you.
 
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Filigree

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I hate to harsh the vibe again, but Daniela is right. Patience - and a little more knowledge about how commercial publishing works - can really smooth your way right now. It does take time.

My debut was queried in November of 2011 to agents, who all said 'nope.' Then to fairly well-researched publishers in February 2012; two of the seven said 'maybe'. I picked one and addressed their very real concerns about a problem segment. I got their offer in mid-March. After squee!flailing around for a couple of hours, I realized I'd painted myself into a corner and needed an agent *right now*. Asked the publisher if I could take a week to think about it. Publisher said 'take two'. Found an agent (thank you AbsoluteWrite!).

The agent, publisher, and I didn't sign the contract until late April 2012. Final copy went to the editor in late May. We spent June tearing the book apart in developmental and mechanical edits - I learned soooo much. I saw the cover art in late June. The ebook was published in late July 2012.

That's actually considered blindingly fast in commercial terms, but I work with a smaller publisher in a genre accustomed to fast digital output. For a print/e-book release by one of the Big Five, that timeline can stretch a year or two.

Self-publishing can appear to be faster, but not if it's done well. Then, you are responsible for all the things the agent and publisher would do for you, and it's imperative you do them very well. Too many sloppy books and author's revised editions, and even the most loyal self-pub fans can burn out.

This is a long game. Play it accordingly. Always be writing or planning something else, and try to forget about the manuscripts you have out in the world.
 

DanielaTorre

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I hate to harsh the vibe again, but Daniela is right. Patience - and a little more knowledge about how commercial publishing works - can really smooth your way right now. It does take time.

The worst part about this is that the OP is publicly calling the agency on this. Me thinks he/she might be high maintenance. :Shrug:
 

BenPanced

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Let's give you 500 to several thousand emails to go through as only a small portion of your job. What time frame would you like to give others?


Agents are not at your every beck and call.
Not to mention twice as many snail mail queries, general day-to-day mail and email, phone calls from staff, phone calls to clients and editors, etc. Damn them for having a job to do.

I'm still waiting to hear back on some queries I sent out. In 2008 and 2009.

Three to four weeks? That's a fucking walk in the park compared to how publishing usually moves. One agent surprised me when she replied within 10 DAYS when her usual turnaround is three weeks.

Yeah, you'll go far in this business, Sparky. Stay klassy. :Thumbs:
 

Filigree

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The worst part about this is that the OP is publicly calling the agency on this. Me thinks he/she might be high maintenance. :Shrug:

This thing happening, right here? This is one of the few things that can doom an author on social media. Thornhill, you have a clever and engaging site, and an interesting-looking book. Please don't sabotage them over a minor annoyance in the publishing world.
 
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Kylabelle

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The worst part about this is that the OP is publicly calling the agency on this. Me thinks he/she might be high maintenance. :Shrug:

Let's cut out the slurs please. They are not needed. Piling on is not cool.
 

Putputt

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Patience, young padawan. :D

Blergh, I'm the most impatient hippo in the world. I get it. Waiting sucks. Two minutes after sending my agent an e-mail, I'm rolling around the bog whining about why she hasn't replied yet. Waiting is the werst.

But, like everyone else said, reading slushpile queries is just a small part of an agent's job. Even replying to signed clients takes time, and that takes priority over going through the slush. And if/when you do get an agent and go on submissions, hooooo boy, the wait can be even worse than when you're querying. Higher stakes and all.

Waiting is a big part of this path you've chosen. Make life easier for yourself and write the next book while you're querying/submitting/waiting for contracts.
 

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Hey, I want a piece of this action.
..And also the way you have to wait for weeks and months for replies from short fiction markets! Is also! Are they like in the 18th century and! I really, really!
!
And the first sentence having to kick ass and the opening 10 000 words and that blurb! What do I look like--a blurb-manager? Maybe my book starts kicking ass on chapter 20! Why does the start have to be awesome too?
...anything else? Ah yes.
...And the way not all readers write online reviews is a disgrace! And when they do write them it's even more of a! And the!

Thanks
 
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