I absolutely wanted to make sure that I posted something about when to follow up with an agent. Since everyone has different response times and different schedules, it can be confusing. However, it is an important part of the submission process and could be the difference between you waiting two months vs six months to hear an answer to your query letter/partial manuscript/full manuscript sent.

First thing to keep in mind: you should have a list of six or seven agents you want to pitch your book to at once. I've never heard anyone demand exclusivity on a query letter. Send those letters out (usually by email) and view the response times on the websites of those you submitted to. I've managed to keep query letters down by answering them within the week they come in and most agents I know are like this. If not, they have a designated day where they respond to these letters at once. If more than six weeks have passed without you hearing from an agent, assume the email was lost and resend. Don't resend more than once, though.

When an agent requests to see a partial or full manuscript, pay attention to the guidelines they give on their website. Assume they want two files at most--one with your chapters or full manuscript in Times New Roman (no courier new please), 12 point font, without spaces between each paragraph unless the space indicates a scene change, and your contact info on the first page, and one with a synopsis of the book. I ask for them to be 3-5 pages long. I've been known to take longer on reading a book because there are six files (one for each chapter) and this will make it harder to read when I transfer it to my kindle (inevitably the file names will be chapter one, chapter two, etc without the name of the book or author to guide me on which story it continues). I've also taken longer to read files I have to reformat because it takes away from me reading someone else's work who followed directions.

In my request emails, I state my response time can take up to 12 weeks. I've been known to take longer or shorter depending on my schedule. I do invite the author to follow up after 8 weeks if they haven't heard from me and this is because of two things: I may have forgotten I had your book or I may have noted something wrong with the file format that made it difficult to open the file or transfer it and hadn't gotten around to asking for a new file.

Not every agent invites a potential author to follow up with them and certainly their response time varies. But if 8-12 weeks have passed, I think a quick email to ask if the agent has had a chance to read the material works. And in your notes, even if you're irritated with the agent for taking so long, don't let it come through in the text. It's just not professional; I wouldn't write an editor an email demanding a status update on a project I sent (that's the quickest way to get a letter saying it wasn't for them so they're passing, but they look forward to seeing projects in the future). I'd ask if they had a chance to look at the project sent and give them the date range it was sent. That leaves the door open for them to either say they got to it and want to get second reads (get their colleagues to read and lend them support in acquisitions meetings) or that they haven't gotten a chance to read it and will get to it that weekend (most of the reading is done after hours so it makes it harder to schedule it in) or they read it and didn't connect with it enough to champion it if presenting to their colleagues. Use this same rule of thumb for your own submission. Ask if I had the chance to read and then wait for a response.

Last point when following up with an agent: be gracious. Don't berate them for having made a mistake for rejecting your work. It's really not personal. I reject plenty of good books because I can't sell them (because I don't know the market as well as I should) or because I already have an author who has a similar style or story. No to one story doesn't mean no to every story.