So, I know I told all of you to go for simplicity (see this post, and then this one): thank us, tell us you've attached the requested, and end with a pleasantry, like "I look forward to hearing from you."
Well, we agents have to find this balance--simplicity, professionalism, or what we're actually thinking?--for ourselves as well.
See, I received a "Here's my manuscript" note this morning that had me grinning. Truly grinning.
Now, if I were to be 100 percent professional, I'd wait until I was back in New York to say anything. Vacation time and work time = separate. (Not true in the least, but it's usually wise to give that impression.)
Then, if I was going to respond, theoretically, I should wait a day or so--not, you know, an hour. Me? Check email while watching Julia Child make bouillabaisse? 'Course not.
So, forget the first two.
Then there's the matter of how much humanness is allowed: do I do the standard agent "I got this" ("Thank you, [name of writer]")? Do I thank her? Do I tell her that I'm sending it to my Kindle right away and that OMG I'm probably going to run out to the hammock and read this on a deck in the middle of the redwoods while eating Barefoot Contessa's peach-berry cobbler? (I found it--the cobber, not the manuscript--good, but not great. But that might be because I let it sit in the fridge for two days before eating it.)
Do I tell her that I immediately IMed a friend on GChat with a grin? :-D
I was eating the most delicious Moroccan food in San Francisco last night, at a place in the Mission (oh BART, how strange you are, compared to the subway!) and a friend was telling me her experiences using The Rules--picking and choosing, of course; I think all concerned parties would implode if it were followed to the letter. I found myself crunching into pita chips, disconcerted at how applicable some of those things are, when it comes to our correspondence with authors.
It's always difficult to know just how much we can say--without risking putting ourselves in very awkward territory, should things not work out.
For this reason, most agents prefer form letters and formal correspondence. It reduces awkwardness.
Just know that, next time you get a, "Thank you, [your name]" confirmation, the agent might be watching cooking shows, snacking on cobbler, hanging out with an awesome cat, and considering a spin in a recycled-parachute hammock. Because, you know. That's what I'm up to.
8 comments:
Yes, awkward territory. I've been there. It's not a good place.
I think most writers understand the postition agents are in. OK, some writers whine when an agent doesn't send them a personal letter explaining why they were rejected.
Hope you're enjoying your good food and your vacation:)
Wow, you check your work email while you're on vacation? I wouldn't even bother opening it up until I had to... but I'm thinking that would probably be a bit overwhelming if you waited too long. Eek!
I didn't know agent's wait to respond just because they can! Wow, that gives me a whole new respect for you guys :)
Cobbler, nachos, german chocolate pound cake or alaskan king crab, it's all good and always simply wonderful to hear from agents to know they're human too (and thinking of me when that damn german chocolate pound cake is staring them right in the eye).
As long as the writer is sane and realistic about the odds, those kind agent responses go a longggg way toward boosting morale on Query Road.
The acknowledgement of a writer's writerliness nestled in that kindness is like a bright red rose in a black-and-white garden.
Even if it's a no in the end, it's still a hopeful no. And, it sure is nice to hear something other than our own voice echoing through the void.
I think that's why so many writers have issues with "no response means no". A response -- any response -- helps a writer feel like they're in the game, that they're not just throwing words into that void.
(All that said, now you have me craving peach cobbler! Yum!)
Professionalism wins in every infuriating way.
And then, AND THEN! When you are better acquainted with each other, you may swap jam and stories about snoring.
(Enjoy your vacation!)
I always imagine those who are receiving any communication of mine to be checking their emails whilst drinking cocktails and wearing lingerie. But that's just me.
And there are those of us that stress over our reply, and completely botch it up by forgetting to attach the synopsis. Crap.
Forget the peach cobbler - I'm drooling over a piece of triple layer chocolate cake while wishing the last few days of holidays would end so that I can send my full request ;) Oh and yes - the chocolate is divine!
Post a Comment