This is the rejection I received on my latest full:
"Thank you for the opportunity to review BETRAYAL’S HARVEST- I found myself involved in the storyline immediately- I really wanted to love this one! Unfortunately, despite my initial interest, I am going to pass on representing the work. Although the plot was intriguing, I couldn’t get the overall narrative style to resonate with me as strongly as I would have liked, and I began to feel as if there wasn’t enough uniqueness within the storyline to sustain the work as a true commercial competitor. In an already crowded genre, material must have a unique premise and a strong execution in order to become a stand-out, and this one just didn’t leap out at me as much as I had hoped.
Given today’s competitive market your writing deserves to be represented by someone who can be wholeheartedly enthusiastic about it. I appreciate the hard work and since this is a highly subjective business, you may well find success elsewhere. I wish you all the best with your writing."
This was clearly a personal response and yet...I didn't really get more out of it than if it had been a form rejection! I appreciate the time the agent took to say all that - she was very gracious- but honestly, I thought my premise was unique! I thought that was one of the more compelling aspects of my book! So, now I'm more perplexed than ever.
The rejections I used to get said they didn't love the MC. And it was true - she was unloveable. I had tried to make her "flawed" and ended up making her annoyingly prickly. So, I learned from that and made the changes. And I don't get those comments any more. But this? I don't know what to do with it.
My point: if you believe in your work, if it's been read by enough people whose opinions you trust, if it's been thoroughly edited, then keep on going with the queries and don't worry about the form rejection!
Best of luck.
