Following up with Literary Agents
Should you follow up with literary agents you’ve queried who’ve requested more material? Absolutely. Read below to find out why, when, and how.
Please note: You should NOT follow up with book agents you’ve queried who haven’t requested more material. Odds are, and I mean 99.99%, they’re not interested. However, author representatives you’ve queried who’ve requested more material but haven’t yet responded might be interested. Even if it’s been months, or many months, since you sent them your work.
Here’s what you need to know…
7 Reasons to Follow Up with Literary Agents
Tip #1: Finding a Literary Agent
If you don’t follow up with book agents, you might not get an offer for representation. During my tenure as an author coach, I’ve seen many instances where my clients submitted requested material to literary agencies and never heard back. I always encourage my clients to follow up because, sometimes, those literary agencies reply positively. In some cases (more than you might imagine), book agents ask that the material be resent because they didn’t receive it the first time.
Tip #2: Find a Literary Agent
Following up is normal. Try not to overthink or get emotional about following up. Until a literary agency offers to represent you, your writing is going to be more important to you than the literary agencies you’re querying. That means it’s up to you to make sure your material is delivered. If a literary agent requests additional material after you query him or her (email submissions only), and you don’t receive confirmation within 72 hours the material was received, send a brief and polite follow-up to confirm receipt. I reply every time one of my coaching clients sends me absolutely anything. Why? It’s professional, I don’t want my clients wondering if I got what they sent me, and I don’t want them needing to follow up with me to be sure. Plus, if I didn’t do that, my email inbox would be even fuller than it already is. With follow-up emails!
Tip #3: Finding a Literary Agent
Once you have the best manuscript and pitch materials possible, there are only two things you can do to increase your Odds of Getting a Literary Agent: 1) Query literary agencies until you run out of agents, and 2) Follow up.
Tip #4: Find a Literary Agent
Some literary agents ask authors to follow up. Even if book agents who request your writing don’t ask you to do this, they should give you the courtesy of following up. Especially after getting you excited by asking for more material, to let you know if they’re still interested or passing on the project. If they don’t have the decency to do that, they should expect you to follow up, and they shouldn’t be irritated or snarky when you do. Instead, they should appreciate you extending them the courtesy of a follow-up, and they should appreciate the opportunity to consider your work. Many writer representatives feel and act that way; some don’t. Regardless, that’s what you and your writing deserve.
Tip #5: Finding a Literary Agent
Following up can result in you getting an offer for representation faster (this isn’t as obvious as it sounds). A simple follow-up can cause a book agent to read, or finish reading, your material faster than if you don’t follow up (as long as you don’t do it too soon). In other words, the literary agency might make your project a priority. And, if the literary agency never received the requested material, your follow-up will allow the literary agent to finally read your book.
Tip #6: Find a Literary Agent
Closure is important mentally. Querying book agents can be extremely challenging psychologically—even if you’re a macho ex-military guy who’s spent his entire life in a sales job. If you don’t do what you can to get closure with literary agents who’ve requested your writing, it can create “ants in your head” regarding what may or may not be happening with those agents. That can cause you to stop querying. No matter how good or bad your reality is with literary agencies, my experience says you’re going to be more productive and empowered if you know what your reality is. If you don’t, it’s too easy to imagine the best or worst. Neither of those things are good. It’s best to try and not think or feel anything in that regard when submitting your writing to literary agencies. Just keep querying and following up.
Tip #7: Finding a Literary Agent
Email, website forms, and postal mail aren’t perfect (so, in some cases, you should follow up by phone). I typically get 50-60 emails a day and, as you can imagine, I send quite a few as well. I don’t think a week goes by that something someone sends me doesn’t arrive, and/or something I send someone else doesn’t arrive. I’d curse technology but that might come back to haunt me, so, never mind that. The point is you should consider following up by phone. That is, if an agent requested your full manuscript or book proposal, it’s been 12-16 weeks, and you’ve sent two email follow-ups that haven’t been replied to. Some book agents might not like you doing this, but see what I said in reason #4 (above) regarding my view that book agents who ask for your material should have the decency to reply.
The bottom line with following up is…
what do you have to lose?
And, since you might be wondering what typical turnaround times are for literary agents who’ve requested material (broken down for different types of books and scenarios), click here to see my Literary Agent Response Time article.
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Finding a Literary Agent – Locate USA Literary Agencies
