Thanks for this--it was helpful to see an overview of the step-by-step process. One question: How much time generally passes from when you sign a client with a book proposal and when you submit it to the first round of publishers?
It varies widely! It depends on if the proposal needs editing, time of year, my schedule, etc. It's never the next day and it's almost never months and months after editing.
I recently had an agent hold onto my proposal three months after signing me. She said she'd get me some feedback on edits but that it didn't need heavy editing. When the feedback never came and I asked for updates, I kept getting promises of a couple weeks, a week or so, etc, but nothing happened. After three months of no movement, I terminated the contract because I felt the agent had lost faith in the proposal--or something! Don't know what happened because she seemed very enthusiastic about it when she signed me. And all the while, she was actively looking for new clients and open to queries, which really ticked me off.
I'm sorry that happened to you. I know that three months, for me, can slip by pretty quickly without meaning to. Keep in mind that agents almost always have to be open to queries because selling books is how we earn a living. We have to both sell the ones we have, and look for the ones to sell later. It's tough, I know.
Thanks for this--it was helpful to see an overview of the step-by-step process. One question: How much time generally passes from when you sign a client with a book proposal and when you submit it to the first round of publishers?
It varies widely! It depends on if the proposal needs editing, time of year, my schedule, etc. It's never the next day and it's almost never months and months after editing.
I recently had an agent hold onto my proposal three months after signing me. She said she'd get me some feedback on edits but that it didn't need heavy editing. When the feedback never came and I asked for updates, I kept getting promises of a couple weeks, a week or so, etc, but nothing happened. After three months of no movement, I terminated the contract because I felt the agent had lost faith in the proposal--or something! Don't know what happened because she seemed very enthusiastic about it when she signed me. And all the while, she was actively looking for new clients and open to queries, which really ticked me off.
I'm sorry that happened to you. I know that three months, for me, can slip by pretty quickly without meaning to. Keep in mind that agents almost always have to be open to queries because selling books is how we earn a living. We have to both sell the ones we have, and look for the ones to sell later. It's tough, I know.