I had my first book, part non-fiction and part memoir, published by a small niche publisher last year. It's done well for a book of its type but the market is limited due to the subject matter.
Not long after I'd submitted the final draft of that book, I began writing a proposal for another. It's on a completely different subject but is again a blend of non-fiction and memoir, and is quite philosophical and personal. It has the potential to be more universal in its appeal to readers, though my style of writing is literary, rather than genre, so it's not something I'd ever expect to be a bestseller. My agent sent it to a handful of editors in mid-November with a view to getting feedback before sending it out to the heavier hitters, but so far we have had only two replies, both rejections (though with positive feedback about the writing being good and the subject interesting, just not for them). The others we have not heard back from.
My agent is planning to send it out now to the other publishing houses but I don't have a good feeling. I just hate this bit, the endless waiting and, even worse, not hearing anything for weeks and months! I can handle rejection but it's the not knowing and waiting that get me. Aaargh! It's like sending your baby out into the world and waiting for people to either love it, ignore it or tell you its ugly.
I always feel like silence is bad news but my agent insists it's not, that they just move incredibly slowly sometimes. If you've submitted to publishers via an agent in the past, what was your experience with getting answers/feedback and how long did it take?