Query Request Times and No Responses

[Checkways]

Has it been your experience that requests usually come very quickly?  I don't think I've ever received a request beyond two business weeks.  Almost all of my requests have come in between 1-3 days of sending.  Of course, I have a very small sample size, so I was curious as to what your experiences were.  Once I don't hear from an agent after a few days, I pretty much accept that it is a rejection. 

I think it generally comes down to a simple thing: if they're backlogged on queries, they're usually backlogged on requested materials.  Thus, they are much less likely to request more material and add to their backlog.  Add this reason to "no response equals No," and I think it's safe to say that your chances of getting a request beyond two weeks is pretty small.

[CillanXC]

3 of my current requests (1 full and 2 partials) came after more than a month, and another partial at just under a month. In fact, the only request I've gotten that came within a couple days was from an agent who had already invited me to query the project. So as far as requests go, I'd be inclined to think that the time frame doesn't really matter.

Once an agent has the material, though, it does seem that offers come fairly quickly if they come at all. Not always, of course.

[lb92]

Yeah, I give the agent 2-3 months before I close out if there website isn't clear. If it is clear, I add about two weeks to their response time. I've gotten requests anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months.

[Checkways]

Thats interesting. I guess it just proves that a small sample size can be very misleading. Maybe there is still hope for my aging queries.

[Checkways]

Once an agent has the material, though, it does seem that offers come fairly quickly if they come at all. Not always, of course.

What do you mean by fairly quickly? 1-2 months or 1-2 weeks? I hope its not weeks because my work has been out a while.

[lb92]

Thats interesting. I guess it just proves that a small sample size can be very misleading. Maybe there is still hope for my aging queries.

Yeah, agents have hundreds of queries in their inbox at any given time, no matter how small the sample is. And that's all unpaid work since they, get paid after a client's book is sold. Most agents take an hour or two a day on queries, while some read them outside the office on weekends. Every agent works differently, it's like comparing apples to oranges. 

[CillanXC]

@Checkways, it does vary from agent to agent, but from what I've seen from the agents I'm currently querying, the offers generally seem to come within a couple of weeks to a month; the average seems to be about 3 weeks. I say "fairly quickly" because etiquette is to allow 6 months to hear back on a full request.

But again, this is only for a subset of agents, and there are other factors that the QT data doesn't always capture (i.e., someone nudging with an offer, speeding up the response time).

[Checkways]

Thats interesting. I guess it just proves that a small sample size can be very misleading. Maybe there is still hope for my aging queries.

Yeah, agents have hundreds of queries in their inbox at any given time, no matter how small the sample is. And that's all unpaid work since they, get paid after a client's book is sold. Most agents take an hour or two a day on queries, while some read them outside the office on weekends. Every agent works differently, it's like comparing apples to oranges. 

That certainly is true. But if i were getting 200 queries a week and i had fallen behind by a month, Im pretty sure i would just delete most of them. I just wouldnt have the time to read a 800 page book of pitches written by 800 authors. That sounds daunting and horribly unfun, but maybe thats why im not an agent!

[Checkways]

@Checkways, it does vary from agent to agent, but from what I've seen from the agents I'm currently querying, the offers generally seem to come within a couple of weeks to a month; the average seems to be about 3 weeks. I say "fairly quickly" because etiquette is to allow 6 months to hear back on a full request.

But again, this is only for a subset of agents, and there are other factors that the QT data doesn't always capture (i.e., someone nudging with an offer, speeding up the response time).

Thats very interesting. Here's hoping that offer comes soon for you then.

Does QT show offers? I can only see requests.

[CillanXC]

You can see offers in both the data explorer and the timeline, but the data explorer doesn't show all of them, because it only shows initial responses (i.e., not to 2nd- and 3rd-round submissions).

[lb92]

Thats interesting. I guess it just proves that a small sample size can be very misleading. Maybe there is still hope for my aging queries.

Yeah, agents have hundreds of queries in their inbox at any given time, no matter how small the sample is. And that's all unpaid work since they, get paid after a client's book is sold. Most agents take an hour or two a day on queries, while some read them outside the office on weekends. Every agent works differently, it's like comparing apples to oranges. 

That certainly is true. But if i were getting 200 queries a week and i had fallen behind by a month, Im pretty sure i would just delete most of them. I just wouldnt have the time to read a 800 page book of pitches written by 800 authors. That sounds daunting and horribly unfun, but maybe thats why im not an agent!

We're lucky agents love what they do. It's a waiting game, honestly.

[Checkways]

You can see offers in both the data explorer and the timeline, but the data explorer doesn't show all of them, because it only shows initial responses (i.e., not to 2nd- and 3rd-round submissions).

Oh goodness, i never clicked on the dropboxes before in the data explorer. You have opened up a whole new world for me, a world full of anxiety, envy, and self-loathing. Thank you.

[CillanXC]

You're welcome! (Well--except for the anxiety, envy, and self-loathing bit .) Good luck to you as well.

[Sarah Ahiers (Falen)]

yeah i definitely had some requests come in after a month or two, so don't lose hope! Especially this time of year when things are really slowed down because of the big conferences and summer