This is fine, there's no rush other than my own impatence to collect another rejection letter, but at some point if they don't reply I plan to send a poliet query and SASE to see what happend (Still thinking? Reply lost in mail? Never saw the story?). But how long after the stated reading period is it good form to wait?

There have been times I've even picked up the phone and made a call to ask about the status of a proposal. Sometimes I get no further than a receptionist saying they don't take calls about submissions, and other times I've actually talked to an editor and a good give-and-take conversation ensued.

Again, writing (to be published) is a business and we writers must treat it as such. In the corporate world, if we sent someone a proposal we'd follow up on that project, managing it from the creative beginning to the negotiating end.

So, I always keep reminding myself that what we writers offer the publishing world is a huge part of what publishers need to keep churning out their own payrolls. You've worked hard on your proposal, you've studied their market and you've made a pitch. A professional follow-up is very much A-OK in my opinion.