Patience is a !@#$% virtue

"Have you decided yet, hon?"I’m still waiting. Why? Because I said I would. When agents asked for the full, almost all asked that I not make a decision until I heard back. They promised to read it quick, and I, like the French Lieutenant’s Woman, promised to wait (a few days). Except instead of standing on a seawall, I’m staring at my cell phone looking for the caller ID to flash (212). Ring! (Checking the battery, again).

So what am I doing to kill the restless hours?  Here’s a glimpse:

Talking to authors
Interested agents have given me names of clients to talk to. Have they smiled and said good things while blinking “run you fool, run!” in Morse code? Nah, all had huggy, squishy, loverly things to say. But it’s more than the happy salad days. I’ve learned a lot by hearing about books that flopped, difficult sales and other bumps in the road, and how they handled them.

Searching Publishers Marketplace
If you’re querying, it’s well worth the $20/month to join. Not only can you find out who reps whom, but you can seriously look under the hood of an agent's career. Book sales, relative size of deals, foreign rights, film rights—all of it’s right there at your fingertips. (Granted, some agents don’t report their deals—why is that?)

Haunting writers' forums
I joined Backspace and Absolutewrite, where I've scoured the sites for postings about the agents that offered representation and the other agents that have the full manuscript. The good, the bad, the voluminous rejections...

Casing Barnes & Noble
I made a list of books sold by the agents I’m talking to. Then I hit the bookstore and looked up the acknowledgement pages of said books. Some agents got glowing mentions. Others were conspicuously absent. Does it mean a lot?  I dunno, but every little bit helps.

The Coconut Telegraph
I emailed a few writer friends asking,“whatdoyouthink?” All had varying opinions of the agents, but pretty much the same advice—take your time and choose who’s right for you. Easier said than done.

Meanwhile, I’m still waiting.

(Speaking of waiting, here's a nice blog entry by Kristin Nelson about exactly that).

Comments

[m.g. tarquini]

The Coconut Telegraph.

*snort*

[Jamie]

Hey, that's what Jimmy Buffett always calls it!

[Jaye Wells]

Sounds like you've made good use of your time. Of course, this is all moving at lightning speed to everyone but you.

[Kelly]

You've done a lot more than I knew to do! Some of the agents might not even make your week deadline to finish reading--I tried that with one agent. The agent stated she would finish the read over the weekend, never got back to me. I finally sent an email saying I signed with the other agent. The agent congratulated me. Then months later I got a rejection letter from the agent. Strange. :)

[Jamie]

Most agents just asked what my timetable was, while others offered to read it "right away." Most did, but a few haven't.

Still waiting on one. I've goosed them via email, but really don't want to keep waiting. Another very high-profile agent appreciated that I had other offers, but still said it would be 6-8 weeks. It made it through his slush reader but still was with his assistant, and then he'd read it. I can't see myself waiting (and putting off good offers) for two months, for what might ultimately be a rejection anyway.

Time to decide.