When I started writing this book I had an ace in the hole. My friend and colleague Wendy Webb, author of the brilliant new novel, The Tale of Halcyon Crane promised me that once it was finished she would read it; and if she liked it – how could she not -- she’d introduce me and my book to her agent.

This was no minor offer. Having an author introduce you to their agent is like getting back stage passes to a Rolling Stones Concert, or the home phone number of your child’s pediatrician  (Michelle Heimes, you know what I’m talking about). It’s the kind of access you just can’t get in the regular world, no matter how many websites you scour or literary agent guide’s you buy.

An personal introduction to an agent gets you past the query firewall, and puts your work into the hands of a person who has the power to make your dreams come true.

When I finished the book, the first thing I did was send it to Wendy, and she did indeed love it. I believe the phrase “I couldn’t put it down,” came up at least once in our conversation about just how fabulous it was – thank you Wendy. And true to her word she introduced me to her agent Jennifer via email along with glorious praise for my writing and charming personality. In response Jennifer happily agreed to take a look, and suggested I send her the first three chapters.

They were in her in-box in a matter of minutes.

At around this same time I made another delightful discovery. Several years ago I ghost wrote a business book called Built to Learn, which was published by Amacom. On that project I worked with a wonderful editor, named Jacquie, who chaperoned me through the editing and publishing process with grace and humor.

I lost touch with Jacquie over the years, but a few weeks before I was finished writing the book she reached out to me via Linked In – my new favorite social networking tool. It turns out that Jacquie transitioned from editor to agent in the ensuing years, and recently added fiction to the list of books she represents.

Oh glorious fate and the endless wonders of social networking tools, I do know an agent after all.

When I finished my manuscript, I triumphantly declared the accomplishment on my Linked In page. Jacquie read the post and sent me a note suggesting I send it over.

(Imagine a whooshing sound now, as you picture my book hurtling through space from my desktop to her in-box.)

So there I was, a week after finishing my novel, and already two agents had me on their radar. Unwilling to risk toppling this delicate karmic balance, I decided not to query any other agents until I heard back from them. Of course, I also naively thought that I’d probably hear back  by that Friday, or maybe the following Monday if they were having a busy week.

So I busied myself with other work and counted the days as they past.

Alas, the week went by. And then the weekend. And the next week, and that weekend, and another long and silent week after that, but still I heard nothing. I stopped maniacally checking my email for messages around the end of week two, and toward the beginning of week four I began this blog, if only to keep myself from flying out to New York and banging on their office doors.

It’s been more than a month now and still I’ve heard nothing, and I don’t know what to do.

I realize this is not a unique situation. Most agents get hundreds of queries every month and reading actual chapters, much less whole manuscripts, can take a while, especially when you have other job-related tasks on your plate.

I don’t begrudge them their silence. I understand it. But when is it going to end? And more importantly when, if ever, is it okay for me to reach out to them and say “hey, did you ever get a chance to read those chapters I sent?”

Current wisdom in every blog, book, and agent website says the answer is ‘never’. NEVER CALL THE AGENT WHO HAS YOUR QUERY. They hate that, and understandably so. Nobody wants to field calls from hundreds of anxious and hopeful strangers eager to know if you are going to be the one to launch their careers.

But I’m not a stranger. Not really. I’ve connected with these woman and they asked to see my work. We’ve made actual contact. So does that make it okay for me to call them?

My husband yes, but what does he know?

These two agents represent my best bet for getting an honest and careful review of my novel. If it’s good – which, as we know, it is -- they are the ones most likely to notice, and I don’t want to  mess it up.

But it also goes against every fiber of my journalistic being to wait patiently for weeks to hear back from someone. Many of the best interviews I’ve done in my career occurred because of my dogged persistence. If you call people enough times, they eventually give in.

But somehow I feel that bullying an agent into reading my work is not going to produce the desired effect. So instead I sit and wait. And with each passing week I feel more like that sad hopeful girl sitting by the phone wondering if the cute guy she met last week will ever call her.

“Maybe he lost my number,” she thinks as she stares longingly at the phone. “Or maybe he’s waiting for me to call him.”

I’m not fool enough to get sucked into that line of thinking,  and I’ll prevent myself from drunk dialing these agents, at least for the time being. But I’m not sure how long I can hold out.

So Jacquie and Jennifer, if by some miracle of chance you are reading this blog, did you get my book? Have you read the chapters? Did you love it? Please, call me and tell me what you think.