Waiting on agents

[Hazelwood63]

Hello. I'm just looking for company on this long waiting game. Anyone else waiting to hear back from agents at the moment? I sent out five initial submissions at the end of January. So far I've received a really encouraging rejection and two requests for the full. Nothing from the other two so far. It's coming up to a month since I sent off the first full ms, and just over three weeks for the other one. Has anyone else waited over a month for a response to a full and been offered representation, or is it maybe time to think of moving on?

@NewWriter Yes I’ll be attending the gala too. Let’s exchange details indeed.

@HelloEverybody I'll PM you my number so we can message!

Are either of you members of Jericho Writers?

@LuciferRising no not yet, I was going to see how the festival went first. Are you a member and have you found it to be useful if you are?

I am. I find their feedback sessions really useful. Each Friday, they send out a task, and you paste your effort into a forum. It may be something like your favourite 300 words from your WIP. People then comment on it, and if you are lucky, someone from Jericho also provides feedback.

I'm not so keen on May's topic, marketing, but that's because I'm still trying to edit.

I have also connected with critique partners, and there are beta readers too. I believe you also get 1 free submission pack review - I need to keep an eye on that and make sure I don't miss my chance.

@LuciferRising That sounds really good, I think I will join eventually. Maybe once I've finished preparing everything I need to for the festival (the query packs etc). I really wanted to join a writing group to get some feedback on my writing - my husband suggested that I try to find one in person but I've struggled to find anything yet so maybe this online one is just what I need!

@LuciferRising No I’m not yet. But I find it really useful even for non members.
@NewWriter what genre are you writing about? I’m writing speculative fiction.

@HelloEverybody I'm writing YA! That's my finished manuscript and my next idea that I'm planning to write later in the year too.

Hi y'all - anyone entered the PFD queer fiction prize?
I'm wondering when they announce any long lists?
Also, if they don't think the work is good enough for that, is it still worth entertaining their Mentorship programme, do you think?

sorry I don't know @Helpwhatwouldyoudonext !

I was wondering about Query Tracker - it looks quite handy, there's a paid for bit where you can see how long agents take to get back to people... I might subscribe once I've kicked my submissions pack/ MS into shape. Do others have it?

I'm also thinking of getting the premium membership of Jericho @LuciferRising - I might try it out for a month and then decide whether I want to do a year or just a couple of months depending on how much I use it

I have a year's membership of Jericho Writers (impulse buy when i entered one of their competitions last year) and it's good value. The relevant webinars are like buses... nothing useful for ages then a month of useful content. I've watched some of their archive events too which was good. The agent match is variable - some haven't been updated for a while even though their wish list has changed. But good to get a feel for different agents.

Thanks @Moonflowered I have bought a month and there's soooo much content! Was just watching some videos from their getting published section. I think I'll likely buy a year - I just need to figure out when I'll watch their content since I have small children and I'm on maternity leave so I usually write at naptime/bedtime but I need to carve out sometime to watch these handy videos too

I did a year because I used their editorial services and you get a discount. Absolutely loved April's Friday feedback and was posting each week, not keen on May's. Keen to see June's.

Looking forward to using their beta readers etc

@NewWriter I'm trying to work out how to access this, but can't figure it out. Apparently, it starts next week. Even though I believed I had a finished MS, I am now carving it up completely based on feedback, so thought it would be useful. My inciting incident has changed, and my plotting is weak, apparently.

https://jerichowriters.com/join-us/video-courses-for-members/#sixweeknovel

Thanks @LuciferRising , that 6 week course was one of my main reasons for joining premium actually! I saw it in Harry's weekly email. I can't figure out how to use it either - hopefully can next week!

@LuciferRising I've just found it - if you go to My Jericho and then Expert Advice all the videos for writing a novel in 6 weeks are there!

I joined Jericho writers recently too. I'm considering doing one of their editing courses later in the year and members get a 10% discount on those, which justifies a years membership by itself. Some of their masterclasses are definitely very, very good. But overall, I'm definitely not making the most of my membership yet. I really need to set aside a few hours a week to use it all properly.

I finished all the classes of my MA a month ago. And for the first few weeks I was writing lots and really getting stuck into my dissertation chapters. But about a week and a half ago I got a virus, started sleeping really badly. Grades started coming in from some classes, etc. With the end result being that my writing has suffered. I really struggled with a particular chapter I was writing last week, I think I know why now but I'm not sure how I feel about what I think I need to do. While I was working that out, I moved onto my next chapter and while I worked out some really fine detail on the plot that needed to be figured out, the writing isn't good.

On the 'positive' side of things, I entered Cheshire, Bath, First Novel and I Am In Print. I've applied for a few bursaries/courses and the PFD mentorship programme. As a result, I'm constantly checking my email even though all of these things have specific dates/timelines to inform people if they are successful or not. If I'm this bad about wanting a response when I know for an absolute fact that I won't be getting one until a particular future date, I can't imagine what I'll be like when I actually start querying!

@GhostImposter I've set up a separate email address for querying because I was constantly refreshing my emails on my phone. Now I have to log in, I'm checking it less often. On the plus side, being more aware of all the rubbish arriving in my inbox has made me finally hit the unsubscribe button on a lot of it.

I write around children and work, so despite the best laid plans, writing usually happens in peaks and troughs. One of the most important things I've learned is which parts of my day writing can happen in most effectively.

Hope you're feeling better after your virus now, and good luck with all your entries.

Thanks! Not intuitive. The email made it sound as if it was 'starting' soon!

They are creating a new one with Harry. Apparently that is the old one and an email will be out shortly.

Oh that makes sense! I mainly signed up for that course - will be good to do it together. I have a new project I've just started so I can do the exercises with that one in mind

@NewWriter if you have the Premium Member events email then the link to enroll is at the bottom. Starting 1st July.

Exciting! I see they are advertising on FB a free write better prose workshop. Can't find that one on their website. Seems open to all.

Thank you @Moonflowered and @LuciferRising , I definitely would have missed that! I actually did open the June events email but I totally missed that course so I have enrolled now. The premium membership has loads of great resources but I am a bit overwhelmed trying to sift through all the content!