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Joined: 3/12/2012
Posts: 8
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It has become a standard practice with many top agents to only reply when they like something. No response means a no.
To remain in charge, and since the agent is suppose to work for the writer I have heard of several authors now adding that if they don't receive a response by XXX they will assume the agent is not interested.
I know of several authors who will self publish if they do not get an agent, but they all want to know how long they need to wait. Let's face it, many works can be edited and formatted and a cover selected in three weeks. This is a big temptation these days.
So, how does an author stay in control?
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Joined: 3/13/2011
Posts: 222
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I set my goal and I'm sticking to it. That is how I stay in control. Before I submit to any agent, I consider their policies and how they handle rejections. I check around to see their reputation. I look at their twitter feeds to see if they mention when they're all caught up on their submissions. (This lets me know if I have a 'no!' or a 'not read yet'.)
But, I'm not tempted by self-publishing currently. Why? I know exactly what I want and I have no intentions of stopping until I get it.
It is all personal choice, of course. And what your actual goal is at the end of the day. But, if you aren't getting replies for agents, it may be necessary to ask 'why' and find out the answer to that before jumping to conclusions.
There are a lot of reasons a book doesn't get noticed like it should.
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Joined: 7/1/2012
Posts: 2
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A year ago, I submitted to six agents. Two of them replied. One of them I have been working with for 13 months now. I say 'working with' because we have no signed agreement. She has seven of my completed manuscripts right now. Many times I was ready to throw in the towel with her. Her replies were cryptic at best but always ended with 'may resubmit' after I made the changes she wanted me to make. At one point recently, I totally rewrote an entire manuscript twice just because she wanted a holiday changed. I have however, placed time limits on the amount of exclusive read time I will endure with her. She keeps inking that she loves my work and I will be a multi-published author one of these days because I am willing to follow directions and make changes. But for how long do I continue with this?? She has a great reputation and sells books to many houses....I am flattered she is taking her time to continue to work with me but when is it time to sign on the dotted line and try and sell one of my books??
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• Let's face it, many works can be edited and formatted and a cover selected in three weeks. This is a big temptation these days.
Given that the average self-published writer is in competition with every book ever written, and has no way to steer people to the website other than joining every forum they can and mentioning it (just like every other self-pubber) I’m hard pressed to see the temptation. Releasing a book that’s not been professionally edited, via a free-to-publish medium, where the average self pub sells a total of less than 100 copies (less if we subtract friends and family) too often makes it seem that self-publishing is like sitting in a cardboard box and pretending to be a race car driver.
If you already have a name and fan base it can be made to work. But if the only one seeking your name on the cover of the book is your mother…
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