On to the subject at hand...
I've never thought nudging worked and I've only used it sparingly over the past six years. My thinking has always been, why would they respond if they didn't respond in the first place? And how in the heck would I determine the proper or appropriate length of time to get that message off to them? Well, I've always known about ballpark figures, so I'd thought I'd refine those a bit. It goes something like this for me:
Query--nudge after three months
Chapters--nudge after four months
Fulls (requested or standard sub format)--nudge after five months.
As for submissions to agents, I think I would remove a month or 45 days from those numbers. That's up to you.
Now, I know that some publishing houses state that their response time might take six months and longer. But for me, that's just TOO damn long, especially if they did, indeed, lose my manuscript or never got it in the first place. What a hellacious circumstance! That could double the wait time and really leave you with a nasty taste in your mouth. Imagine getting bumped from an initial five month wait into another four or five months! Crikey, what are they trying to do to us?
I also DON'T bother with agents or publishing houses that state that a "No Response Means No."
Does it work? Well, it sure did this time. I went after the chapters and fulls for 12 publishers. I started getting results within days. The longest was nine days. Now, why? Had to be the subject line, even for the identical sub address: SUBMISSION INQUIRY STATUS. That seemed to work just fine, lighting a fire under some keesters. I can only think that interns or editors scan their emails every day and look for such subject line titling. The reasoning HAS to be that, for them, this will be a quick and easy answer.
Out of the 12, eight responded. I was asked to resubmit by six of them, and one, believe it or not, offered a contract. Two excuses dominated the replies: "We're sorry, but we have no record of your submission during that time frame" and "We must have lost your submission--please try us again." One publishers admitted that they had switched their email address, while another said that they'd gone to the form-type submission format. Anyway, I re-subbed and I'm currently waiting. Oh, the sale? I declined the offer after speaking with my agent. They were just too new and didn't have a good back list--their advance was a bit small too.
Here are some samples for three different books, and I've included some special circumstances in my wording. You'll get the idea. You can tailor it however you want.
Greetings,
Please consider this a polite inquiry in regard to the status of my full submission of Fusion, an adult thriller, to (Publisher) on (Date. Any information about its ongoing reading or rejection would be much appreciated.
Most kindly yours,
Chris Stevenson
Greetings,
Please consider this a polite inquiry in regard to the status of my full submission of The Girl They Sold to the Moon, a YA SF distopian to (Publisher) on (Date). This book has taken the first place grand prize in a YA novel writing contest, but I have forestalled any commitment and advance in favor of seeking out other interested publishing houses. Any information about its ongoing reading or rejection would be much appreciated. If you would prefer my agent resubmit the book, I can arrange it. My agent is:
The Sara Camilli Agency (Address and phone number)
Most kindly yours,
Chris Stevenson
Greetings,
Please consider this a polite inquiry in regard to the status of my chapter submission of Screamcatcher, a YA urban fantasy thriller (Publisher) on (Date). This book has received two offers but I have forestalled any commitment in favor of seeking out other interested publishing houses. Any information about its ongoing reading or rejection would be much appreciated. If you would prefer my agent resubmit the book, I can arrange it.
Most Kindly Yours,
Chris Stevenson
As you can see, these are "sales nudges" in that I did obtain offers. So, I kind of held my own little mini-auction. For a normal, non-pressure nudge, the first example or something like it works just fine. They're short, sweet and to the point. In summary, I've found that publishers are not as infallible as I thought. Mistakes are made--a lot of them. What surprised me was the offer and, you know, that could happen again.
Currently I'm keeping an eye on my submission spreadsheet, waiting for publishers to enter that "danger zone." Once they lag, I'm going to be on them like a tornado in a trailer park. No more "write them off and move ons." I bet it'll work for you too.
Welcome to The War Gate, a paranormal romance/thriller with a time-travel twist.
“This was a solidly written tale with a trace of fantasy and complex thought used in defining the concept of leaping from one time gate to the next—excellent job of structuring.”
Terrie G, Bitten by Books, 4 out of 5.
“The War Gate is a captivating book. Mystery, magic and the paranormal blend together in a perfect mix. I would thoroughly recommend this book to fantasy enthusiasts who also like romance.
Orcid, Aurora Reviews, 5 out of 5.
Tag Line: Through a miraculous conception, Avalon Labrador must give birth to herself before she is executed, to solve her husband’s murder and her own wrongful conviction.
When the reincarnated Avy Labrador is kicked out of her stepfather’s house on her 18th birthday, she has no idea that the man who raised her framed her mother to cover his murder so he could acquire a major software empire. Now, years later, with the help of her magician boyfriend, Sebastian, Avy is about to discover that her birth was otherworldly and for a purpose. The ancient Roman God Janus was so appalled by the heinous murder of Tom Labrador by his brother Drake that he opened up a War Gate.
Avy has received half of her mother’s soul light and half of a God’s essence. Her mission is to put the real killer behind bars. The only catch: she must learn to “Gate-Walk”, that’s time traveling to the layman. She soon finds out that she is a drunk driver on the space/time continuum super highway.
Just when she believes she has too much on her plate to contend with, she learns that she’s pegged the wrong man as the killer…her boyfriend is not who he appears to be…and Janus, the so-called God of new beginnings, doorways and gates, just might be the biggest conman and liar she has ever met.
The War Gate has a heavy mystery structure, as well as paranormal/magic and romance elements.
War Gate Author's Note: The antagonist character, Wax Man, is not for the squeamish. I warn you ahead of time that he is the most disgusting, vile creature/human you're ever likely to read about. Not for younger readers under 13.
“This was a solidly written tale with a trace of fantasy and complex thought used in defining the concept of leaping from one time gate to the next—excellent job of structuring.”
Terrie G, Bitten by Books, 4 out of 5.
“The War Gate is a captivating book. Mystery, magic and the paranormal blend together in a perfect mix. I would thoroughly recommend this book to fantasy enthusiasts who also like romance.
Orcid, Aurora Reviews, 5 out of 5.
Tag Line: Through a miraculous conception, Avalon Labrador must give birth to herself before she is executed, to solve her husband’s murder and her own wrongful conviction.
When the reincarnated Avy Labrador is kicked out of her stepfather’s house on her 18th birthday, she has no idea that the man who raised her framed her mother to cover his murder so he could acquire a major software empire. Now, years later, with the help of her magician boyfriend, Sebastian, Avy is about to discover that her birth was otherworldly and for a purpose. The ancient Roman God Janus was so appalled by the heinous murder of Tom Labrador by his brother Drake that he opened up a War Gate.
Avy has received half of her mother’s soul light and half of a God’s essence. Her mission is to put the real killer behind bars. The only catch: she must learn to “Gate-Walk”, that’s time traveling to the layman. She soon finds out that she is a drunk driver on the space/time continuum super highway.
Just when she believes she has too much on her plate to contend with, she learns that she’s pegged the wrong man as the killer…her boyfriend is not who he appears to be…and Janus, the so-called God of new beginnings, doorways and gates, just might be the biggest conman and liar she has ever met.
The War Gate has a heavy mystery structure, as well as paranormal/magic and romance elements.
War Gate Author's Note: The antagonist character, Wax Man, is not for the squeamish. I warn you ahead of time that he is the most disgusting, vile creature/human you're ever likely to read about. Not for younger readers under 13.
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