How long do you wait after querying an agent before you realize silence is the Kiss of Manuscript Death? Are the 6-8 week timeframes really how long it takes to hear back? I have received 8 outright form rejections, but the others are silence. How long before I know the silence is really rejection, and I should move on?
When is silence a rejection?
Started by
Keeppositive
, Jul 17 2017 10:27 AM
2 replies to this topic
#1
Keeppositive
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Posted 17 July 2017 - 10:27 AM
#2
dogsbody
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Posted 17 July 2017 - 03:48 PM
I mean, you should be moving on regardless, in the sense that you should be querying other agents before hearing back from others.
But you never know? A lot of agents adopt "no response means no, thank you," but then a lot of them deal with horrendous backlogs. Some writers talk about getting page requests months and months after querying. Sometimes they have a deal with a publisher before an agent gets around to replying!
#3
bigblackcat97
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Posted Yesterday, 10:45 AM
Dogsbody is right, always be moving on. Also, follow agents on Twitter - some will post when they are at Inbox Zero or that they have caught up to queries through a certain date. Then you'll know if the silence is a rejection or a backlog.
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