When To Follow Up?

Now that's a truly tough question to answer. When is it acceptable to shoot an e-mail to the literary agent who's been sitting on your partial manuscript for the past three months? Most agents don't set a limit on how long it will take them to get through your opus, but then, they don't operate on a set schedule either.

It is much easier to know when not to follow up, and today is that day. Under no circumstances should anyone drop a line to an agent in New York City, no matter how long the wait or even if the agent's designated wait time has expired. The answer that you will get back, if you get an answer at all, will be 'NO'.

How can I be so wise as to know this? Simple arithmetic, actually. Take one overload of the electrical grid in New York City, add temperatures in the nineties, and then subtract the lack of air conditioning. Factor in the inoperative elevators, and there you have it. It all adds up to a very ugly picture, and you would be most unwise to pile on your little note.

Can you imagine your potential agent, slogging up God know how many flights of stairs to the flat, to sit in the dark and bake in that hot oven. Not a scenario that would lend itself to pleasantries, is it? So, the agent is broiling mad at ConEd and the world in general, and you'd best leave him or her alone to sweat it out.

After things cool off and the power is up to full strength, then you can start again to fret over the timing of your gentle nudge. As far as this weekend goes, don't even think about hitting the send key. Don't even consider composing your most ingratiatingly passive e-mail. It'll bring you nothing but heartache.