48 day nudge, CNR if no reply

One of those agents who demands that you personalize your query, or else he probably won't read the pagers, and then he doesn't even bother to respond. You need to put the work into petting his ego and explaining why he's THE BEST AGENT AND YOU WILL JUST DIE IF YOU DON'T WORK WITH HIM but don't expect him to so much as acknowledge you.

He once wrote an article about queries that ended with the line "And if it doesn’t work out, please know that I wish you the best of luck connecting with a good agent who isn’t such an asshole." Definitely a case of "believe what he says."

@Ardenwolfe I've queried multiple books at various times of the year and I've come to the conclusion there is no one good time of the year. Obviously they'll give preference to their current clients, but some workaholic agents work through the holiday season. It is rare, but I'd love to find an agent who loves working that much. Anyways, best of luck to all!

@righthing04 On a side note, I will tell you that querying now is probably the worst time of the year. Most literary agents and editors are pushing their clients' books for the Christmas Crush. Also, and not to scare anyone, but the market is supersaturated with hopefuls. This is especially true for YA. So, the competition is as fierce as it's ever been, with authors trying to get their work recognized.

Keep at it, but know it's an uphill battle with everyone and their mother having time to write a book. A side effect of being locked up and at home due to COVID-19, it seems.

Regardless, best of luck!

Ahh damn I guess I’ll try nudging. You’re probably right, but might as well give it a shot.

@righthing04 Sadly, after eight weeks of no response, it probably means a no. Chris has also adopted a no-response means a rejection policy, these days. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You can nudge, yet I very much doubt you'll get a response. The best-case scenario is your query got caught in the spam filter. You already know the worst case. Your call, but I'd say it was a no.

My apologies.

It's been more than 8 weeks since I submitted my manuscript, should I wait or nudge? And if I should nudge, should I email query@selectricartists.com, the one which I sent the book to, or christopher@selectricartists.com, which is there on his contact tab?

EQ: 9/12
CNR: 11/10

90k YA fantasy

Thank you.

@righthing04 No, if you submitted before he became closed to queries, he'll still get to your work. Chris does this if he's overwhelmed and is trying to catch up due to his work submission method and responsibilities to current clients. This is normal for him. Hope this answer helped.

If he's closed now, does that mean he won't respond to queries submitted in September?

Profile Update: Closed to queries.

Thanks cadertot

He's closed through 2020. https://www.selectricartists.com/submit.html

Thank you so much, @Ardenwolfe! I truly appreciate it :)

@KeeptheFaith: Yes, he will, but it'll be a hard sell. I do know that it's best to ask first. Best of luck. :)