You have to wonder, when you don't hear back from a literary agent, whether or not your query fell into some black hole in New York City, to be reduced to atomic particles that float off into the atmosphere.
As for the unanswered e-mail queries, you always fear that some aggressive spam filter gobbled up your words and the agent has never even seen that letter you slaved over for months, struggling to use the choicest, most succulent words.
Send off those queries via WEbook and you'll gain some insight into what happens to your query.
It goes unopened. Unread. Ignored.
There may still be some bugs to be worked out in the system. At Writers House, agent Dan Conaway doesn't want e-mail queries, but he's signed on to the WEbook system which delivers queries via e-mail. Does that mean he won't open submissions sent through WEbook?
Scott Gould of RLR Literary hasn't responded to one of my queries, ever. By submitting to him through WEbook, I know if and when he even looks at the query. Should it remain unopened, I could safely assume that I'm on the Black List, my e-mail address listed in every spam filter in every literary agency across the country.
The first few queries sent through WEbook were answered in record time, so maybe I've developed some unrealistic expectations. Literary agents are busy, more so in these times of tight markets. There may be no significance to the delay that I've seen in the second round, in which all of the queries are still sitting around, unopened since last week.
Queries submitted, queries left unopened. After a time, they'll drop out of the agent's inbox due to old age. It doesn't matter how they're sent. The non-response remains the same.
2 comments:
MMmmm, I think it might be just the holiday season. That and the implosion of the 'progressive', 'far left' baroque marxist agenda most of these people are befudled with... and the climate change that is changing in the wrong direction; ya know... crap happens in New York.
Just kidding, though. I think it's the holiday season. Patience, grasshopper.
In the meantime, I am becoming an independant writer; just like an indie film maker, recording artist. So, it's not self-published anymore--it's INDEPENDANT. The new catch word. So, look out--the new blockbuster, razzle dazzle razzmatazz is coming. :)
Yes, I'm losing it. I know.
I signed up on WE thing, but so far i could not move myself to post a query. I really, really do have a bad, bad case of reject hives. It's almost like the shingles, really. I truly admire your stamina. You are going to make it.
They take more vacations in publishing than any industry. Close up shop for a couple of weeks at Christmas, half day Fridays all summer long? No wonder they're not turning a profit.
Keep writing and keep reading. A manuscript left to ferment for a long stretch of time will look very different and editing will come from a fresh outlook.
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