From Partial to Full?

[12yearovernitesuccess]

Hi All,

You're all such a wealth of knowledge and experience, I'm hoping you can answer this question, if only theoretically.

What's the potential offer rate from an agent who requested a partial (first 50, synopsis, chapter summary and bio) and then requested a full?  Any oddsmakers out there?

Thanks,
Susan

[bodwen]

I think that calculating the exact odds might be tough, since an offer of representation tends to put the kibosh on further research.   

Right now I'm 0 for 3, with one more still out there.  I've often wondered if that's good/bad/or typical.

Consider a full request off a partial to be a sign of victory -- an agent read the beginning of your work and they wanted to keep going!  That doesn't happen to everyone.

[AshK]

I used to think cold fulls were the big shizzle, but now I believe the full-off-partial definitely reigns supreme as the mark of unmistakable interest. As long as we work chapters 4 through the end as furiously as the first three, we should fare well.

[bodwen]

Me too.  But now I consider "cold fulls" to be "full length partials."   

[AshK]

EXACTLY.

But the ego boost is still undeniable.

[tradergirl]

Full-off-Partial is the bees' knees. 

TG

[jeannie_lin]

I'm actually in the midst of this. I would be depressed if I saw this while querying because I didn't think it would be this tough, but my situation is hopefully atypical!

I've received 9 full requests off of partials first.
So far:
5 rejections
1 waiting on response
2 offers
1 closed (I contacted to withdraw)

I'm not extremely hopeful on the one still open. So the rate for me was about 1 in five.

Modified: one more rejection while I was up lollygagging and refreshing my e-mail.

[twoheadknight]

Wow, thanks for the stats, Jeannie!  Karma for you! 

This is very helpful. 

[YukonMike]

I'm actually in the midst of this. I would be depressed if I saw this while querying because I didn't think it would be this tough, but my situation is hopefully atypical!

I've received 9 full requests off of partials first.
So far:
5 rejections
1 waiting on response
2 offers
1 closed (I contacted to withdraw)

I'm not extremely hopeful on the one still open. So the rate for me was about 1 in five.

Modified: one more rejection while I was up lollygagging and refreshing my e-mail.

Congrats on the two offers. When things settle down, make sure you share some of the details in the success stories thread. I love reading good news. 

[jeannie_lin]

Thanks Mike & Knight. I'll definitely be singing it from the rooftops once things are settled!