Your experiences with full requests whilst querying

[bookmadbee]

I don't know if there's already a thread about this and I missed it, but I would like to hear about your experiences with full manuscript requests from agents whilst querying.

If you've had full requests, how long after submitting your first chapters did you get the request for the full?

If the full request turned into a rejection, did you hear back from the agent and if so, did they give any feedback or was it more a "not for me" kind of response?

If the full request turned into an offer, how long did it take for you to receive the offer after you submitted the full manuscript?

Lastly, did you let any other agents you queried know that an agent asked for the full? Some agents ask to do this on their website and some don't, so I wonder what the usual thing to do is.

Thanks so much for your replies. I'm back in the querying trenches and have been wondering about this, but my Google searches have mostly led to stuff to do with the American market and I wonder if the numbers are different there as most US agents seem to ask only for the first 5 or 10 pages initially and not the first 50 pages / 3 chapters as seems to be the norm here.

Hi @bookmadbee a previous thread - https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/creative_writing/4229206-Waiting-on-agents covers all of this and more. When I first joined mumsnet I waded through the entire thing and it was so informative.

So many of the questions you've asked don't have definitive answers as each agent is different, however the thread above should help to fill in some gaps 😊

Hi @bookmadbee, I too am in the querying trenches and have been googling about these things. Three weeks ago, I received my first-ever full request, five weeks after sending the query and first three chapters. The agent apologised for having taken so long to reply. Waiting to hear back is really hard. I'm trying to tell myself to be patient - if they took five weeks to respond to the query, it'll probably take a while to get back to me after sending the full MS.

I haven't let any other agents know that another has requested the full. I keep thinking about doing so but am holding back at the moment.

Absolutely do tell other agents if you have a full request elsewhere. Agents will always admit that they have a fear of missing out so they will move you up the slush pile and probably also request the full. Ditto if you're offered representation tell the others!

@BecauseOfIndia thank you, that thread looks amazing! I will have to have a read this weekend.

@Strampalata congrats on your full request, I hope you have good news soon!

@BecauseOfIndia just saw your advice for letting other agents know, I have been wondering about this too, thanks! Would you recommend letting all of the agents you’re querying know or only those who specifically mention on their website that they’d like to know? Thanks again, very helpful to know that!

Let all of them know - just a quick email saying something like 'As a matter of courtesy, I am getting in touch to let you know that the full manuscript is currently being considered by another agent.' You want to create as much FOMO as you can!

Thanks @bookmadbee - still waiting at the moment!

Thanks also for the advice to tell the other agents, @LouisaMayAlcott and @kungfupannda - I'm feeling more confident about going ahead and emailing them now🙂