So Close. . .AAAAHHHHHHH!

Lindzy1954 · May 13, 2010

So, before I launch into my sob story from yesterday, let me say that everyone on this board has helped through every other low point and cheered every other high point in this process so far, so I hope that someone has a "light at the end of the tunnel' story or some words of encouragement they can share. Yesterday almost killed me.

I have had my MS in the hands of an extremely capable and brilliant newer agent (I will refer to her from here on out as "super-awesome agent" for two months. She informed me that the MS was being passed around her office for a second read about three weeks ago. Needless to say, my hopes were up. She has a very quick turnaround on works she has no interest - sometimes as fast as a couple of days on a full ms so I knew that my timeframe was unusual and that she was giving the book very careful consideration.

Finally, after three weeks of sitting on pins and needles, super-awesome agent rejected me. She gave me two paragraphs of very encouraging compliments and said essentially that my book was, in the end, very close but not quite the right fit. She also gave me specific bulletpointed ways to improve it and asked me to stay in touch, as she felt the book would likely get picked up very soon. I know I should probably take all of these things as a positive sign that the book has merit, but for now I am simply heartbroken.

Any of you that have experienced getting so close and then ending up so far away, I would love to hear how you handled it. Did you take some time off and regroup? Did you get right back at it and leap into the querying trenches with new vigor?

Thanks everyone,

-Weepy in Chicago

JamieB · May 13, 2010

Get back up on that horse and use the feedback she gave you to make it perfect! If she thought it was almost there, but not quite, make sure you understand the feedback and take your time figuring out how to implement her suggestions, then revise and get it back out there! You could ask her if she'd take another look after you use her suggestions. The worst she can say is no.

The best is yes, and she ends up liking what you've done.

Plus, there are LOTS of fish in the sea of agents and not just one perfect one for anyone...many, many wonderful agents who will potentially love your work.

Keep at it!

E. S. Lark · May 13, 2010

I've not gotten so close yet. I have had fulls out and then been rejected, so I can answer based off that. If you got feedback, I'd read it over and see if you agree to any of the points she made. If you do agree, edit/revise and then go back out onto the field. Remember that it has a lot to do with agent tastes and while it was close for one agency, it may be just right for another.

I wouldn't put it to the side. If you do, you'll never know what could have happened. Just start querying, start a new project and keep plugging away. It's the best advice I've gotten here when it comes to being in limbo, be it queries or on submission.

Doh, Jamie beat me to it

kaitlin008 · May 13, 2010

I don't have much for advice, because really, I don't think my words can lessen the sting right now. BUT it is definitely an encouraging sign that your ms made it so far, and it means that you're on the right track!

*hugs*

Have some chocolate (and some wine? I don't know how old you are haha) and then get back out there and find The One

CheyElizabeth · May 13, 2010

I agree with Kaitlin, I don't have much advice (exept you should definitely take the agent's revision advice!) but maybe it will lessen the heartbreak to tell yourself that you at least made it this far! Not many people do.

And one day, when your MS is published, you can look back on this and laugh

Just keep swimming!

dichucks · May 13, 2010

I had some close calls. One was direct to a publisher who asked for changes and then rejected it. One was an agent who said 'I can sell this as your second book, not your first.' So, I wrote a different book which I believed could fall into the 'first book' category. But I didn't sign with the agent who said that. Instead, I was referred to an agent through a friend of a friend. I sent her my latest manuscript and she made an offer within days. I met her, adored her, and soon signed. (I did have to respectfully pull my fulls from a few agents, which felt strange and great at the same time!) Oh yeah, and when I described the book the other agent had said she couldn't sell as my first book, my agent said to me 'That'll be your seventh book.' SEVENTH?!! Now, my advice - It sounds to me like the book you have actually IS in the first book category. And you're going to sell it. And whoever represents it will be lucky to have it. So think about the request for changes and if you agree with them - address them, but don't stop there. Query more agents. And if you can go to a conference and meet agents that's a great way for them to get to know you and for you to jump to the front of the query line. Go down every path that is in front of you. And also, as in my case, go down any path that pops up you weren't even expecting. It WILL happen when you find the right agent. And when you do, you'll know it. Good luck!!! -di

Dot Hutchison · May 13, 2010

The close call is a VERY good sign; it means you're on the right track!

I had a full out for almost seven months with someone, who kept asking for patience because she really liked it and was having someone else in her office read it (same boat!). She ultimately passed, but gave it great feedback, and when I do ultimately get published, she's one I'm sending a sincere thank you note to, simply because I was grateful for how well thought out her comments were.

Just keep querying, and keep in mind that a professional- someone who makes their living off of judging books- thought yours had a lot of potential.

elissa · May 13, 2010

for me, close calls preceded my eventual offer, but yes, I had to take a close look at the reasons for the rejections and the feedback that I received. in my case, I very reluctantly changed my POV based on close-but-not-quite feedback from agents, and in the end it made my book SO MUCH STRONGER. and eventually, I got a lot of interest and an offer!

*hugs* and hope for you! think carefully about the feedback once the pain of the rejection has faded, and you may find something that will make your ms even better! and then next time it won't be so close--it will be all the way there!

AngelicaRJackson · May 13, 2010

I had 2 that I would consider strong interest, but no real helpful feedback other than "it's not quite there yet." So that's a really good sign that you got detailed suggestions, you just need to give yourself some time for the mental adjustment--to grieve for that dream of getting the "I LOVE your book, don't change a thing!" phone call.

Since my rejections, I started a writing group with other local SCBWI members, and it's been so helpful to get that really focused criticism. The beginning and ending of my book is really polished, so at first I was hearing, "I don't know why this hasn't been picked up yet." But then as we progressed, they found plot holes, characters that were 2-dimensional, a detached MC (that part was deliberate but obviously wasn't working), and so on. It made me realize that although I had learned a lot about revising, I was essentially putting a nice polished veneer over a warped storyboard---exactly what the agents were seeing. These agents just weren't as good as articulating as the one you found!

Good luck, and I hope the revisions go well.

shaldna · May 13, 2010

That sucks. but it happens. The good news is that your work is obviously good if she spent so much time and energy on it.

Persevere. You'll get there.

Rebecca_Rogers · May 13, 2010

I've had a couple of close ones. While the first one was devastating, surprisingly the second wasn't. I've grown used to rejections. So getting one isn't a surprise anymore. But I will say that it makes me work that much harder on the next book.

Lindzy1954 · May 13, 2010

THank you so much everyone for your comments. It's always nice to hear when others have been in the same boat (you know, the one that feels like it's sinking while you frantically shovel water out with a small, cracked bucket?) and how everyone else dealt with it. Actually, the rejection aspect aside, her comments were fantastic. She did identify two characters that were just not multi-layered enough and one storyline twist that could really be amped up. Honestly, I hadn't gone the route she suggested because I thought it might be a little too edgy, but apparently not. I actually had sections of the ms that were cut originally that fall in line with what super-amazing agent said, so those are obviously going back in asap. So, now to continue making her revisions and look for some beta testers for another round of "find the problems"
:Hug2:

Hugs to all of you by the way, I feel the love right through the screen.

thmafi · May 13, 2010

aw hun, don't worry. we've all been there. i know it hurts REAL BIG sometimes, but in the end you just have to hang on and hold fast to the positive comments. the fact that she took the time to give your book an extra once-over and was really undecided about it? that speaks VOLUMES.

you are WELL on your way, love.
hang in there.

we're all cheering for you!

<333

paralus · May 13, 2010

Lindsay,

Sorry to hear that. I was pulling for you!

(Elizabeth here, by the way.

)

bobcat22 · May 14, 2010

Lindsay....

I feel for you...rejection sucks....big time! Blah!

But...Listen to what other people are saying and hold on to hope. I found a similar experience to many of these other people. I thought I was going to sign twice by awesome agents and instead received lots of feedback and an invitation to submit again if I decided to revise. I looked at their advice and chose what I thought would help my novel and by golly (ha!) it did help...big time and suddenly after revising I had seven fulls out and when I got offered representation in the end, I had to make some pretty exciting choices. I didn't end up signing with those agents, but I love who I did sign with and more importantly...I love what my novel is now.

It might help to take a step back from your novel for about a month, think about the advice your received and what you might want to change and then reapproach it with a fresh eye.

Good luck! The world works in crazy ways and I'm sure you'll end up with an awesome agent!

Southern Girl · May 14, 2010

Lindzy1954 said:
So, before I launch into my sob story from yesterday, let me say that everyone on this board has helped through every other low point and cheered every other high point in this process so far, so I hope that someone has a "light at the end of the tunnel' story or some words of encouragement they can share. Yesterday almost killed me.

I have had my MS in the hands of an extremely capable and brilliant newer agent (I will refer to her from here on out as "super-awesome agent" for two months. She informed me that the MS was being passed around her office for a second read about three weeks ago. Needless to say, my hopes were up. She has a very quick turnaround on works she has no interest - sometimes as fast as a couple of days on a full ms so I knew that my timeframe was unusual and that she was giving the book very careful consideration.

Finally, after three weeks of sitting on pins and needles, super-awesome agent rejected me. She gave me two paragraphs of very encouraging compliments and said essentially that my book was, in the end, very close but not quite the right fit. She also gave me specific bulletpointed ways to improve it and asked me to stay in touch, as she felt the book would likely get picked up very soon. I know I should probably take all of these things as a positive sign that the book has merit, but for now I am simply heartbroken.

Any of you that have experienced getting so close and then ending up so far away, I would love to hear how you handled it. Did you take some time off and regroup? Did you get right back at it and leap into the querying trenches with new vigor?

Thanks everyone,

-Weepy in Chicago

Hehehehe - same here. An agent I completely adored did all of the above but tell me how to improve it. How I handled it was I bucked up, made a promise to myself not to cut any corners, to learn the ropes, do the work, and pour my soul into my writing.

Focus on the close, not the far away.

Marzipan · May 14, 2010

*hug*

Hang in there.

-Kidd

inkspatters · May 14, 2010

Yep, I've totally been there. I had a lot of those I-like-this-but-I'm-not-head-over-heels-in-love rejections on my manuscript. I also had a lot of revision requests and a couple of requests to send my next novel as soon as it was done. While the feedback was positive, it kinda sorta broke my heart a little.

But I still used the advice I received to make my novel that much stronger and two of the revision requests turned into offers. It will eventually happen if you're getting such positive feedback. See what you can use of the feedback, polish your novel up and get it out there again.

I'm sending good luck vibes your way right now

Lindzy1954 · May 14, 2010

Well, you guys have kept me from going crazy

Since my heartbreaking day, I have gotten back on the horse and continued writing the YA novel I am co-authoring with a friend of mine (Julie Loden

The writing is therapeutic and I am simultaneously making the revisions that "super awesome agent" suggested. Thank you all so much for your hugs, positive stories and and fantastically-optimistic vibes. What a wonderful writing community - seriously.

Cyia · May 14, 2010

Oh yeah, I've been there. Enough times that I know if I try to pull my hair out again I'll have a bald spot. I've gotten the "positive" rejections, the "helpful" rejections and even one agent who said they were certain it would get placed somewhere else and to let them know where I landed.

The tough one is when something gets that treatment from an editor at a major house. You get through that first brick wall, they're excited, and then..... it fizzles.

After you've pounded your desk and wall to dust using only your cranium for a battering ram, you do the only thing you can - which is to pick up and go again.

x_Kathy_x · May 15, 2010

Don't lose hope! I echo everyone else when I say -- to be that close is a GREAT sign and it's only a matter of time before someone else snaps you up!

Lindzy1954 · May 16, 2010

where to go from here?

Well, the shock has finally worn off entirely. Yes, I will undoubtedly still stalk super awesome agent's blog daily, but at least I won't be as hyper, trying to decode everything she says!

Back on the query-go-round as I once heard someone say. On a side note, I took a very different query approach to this novel than I ever did on my children's books. I only queried about 5 people and then decided to wait and see if I got any valuable feedback before querying further. So now I am back on the agent search. Doesn't it seem like there needs to be one common location where all of the YA agents are listed so we could just scroll through, pick up their name and then do our research on them? I guess AgentQuery is about as close as possible, but it doesn't do it for me. Anyone else in the research phase have a better suggestion for how to pinpoint your next querying targets?

jscribbles · May 16, 2010

Lindzy1954 said:
Well, the shock has finally worn off entirely. Yes, I will undoubtedly still stalk super awesome agent's blog daily, but at least I won't be as hyper, trying to decode everything she says!

Back on the query-go-round as I once heard someone say. On a side note, I took a very different query approach to this novel than I ever did on my children's books. I only queried about 5 people and then decided to wait and see if I got any valuable feedback before querying further. So now I am back on the agent search. Doesn't it seem like there needs to be one common location where all of the YA agents are listed so we could just scroll through, pick up their name and then do our research on them? I guess AgentQuery is about as close as possible, but it doesn't do it for me. Anyone else in the research phase have a better suggestion for how to pinpoint your next querying targets?

I'm glad you're back on track! I did some google searches to find agents who rep the kind of YA I'm writing. That yielded some good results.

dichucks, how does an agent determine what will be your second or seventh book??? So curious!

C.T. Richmond · May 16, 2010

Doesn't it seem like there needs to be one common location where all of the YA agents are listed so we could just scroll through, pick up their name and then do our research on them? I guess AgentQuery is about as close as possible, but it doesn't do it for me. Anyone else in the research phase have a better suggestion for how to pinpoint your next querying targets?

Hi Lindsay!

I'm really happy to hear that you're back on the query-go-round. Best of luck on your new submissions!

To answer your question about finding agents, have you tried QueryTracker? I relied on this site quite a bit when I was researching agents, and I loved how it included stats on query response times and rejection rates.

You should also check out YALitChat if you haven't already. They have a big list of YA agents in their "Agent Insider" group.

And feel free to PM me if you'd like to see my list of agents! I compiled a big list of YA/MG agents during my own agent search.

Tuuli · May 16, 2010

Yep, been there. Even had a request for revisions. But fortunately by the time the agent got back to me, I'd already moved onto a story I liked a lot better.

So Close. . .AAAAHHHHHHH!

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