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?
#1
Posted 17 July 2017 - 10:27 AM
#2
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
Posted 24 July 2017 - 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.
"Establishing the accuracy of quotes found on the internet is extraordinarily difficult." - Jane Austen
@MindyMcGinnis
#4
Posted 27 July 2017 - 03:48 PM
agree with the previous folk BUT I would say pace yourself in moving on. Move on too quickly and you can burn through a lot of your list before you realize you have a query problem. So early on think small to medium batches and if you are not getting any requests then take a long hard look at your letter.
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