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Global Lion Intellectual Pty. Mgmt. (formerly PMA Literary & Film Management)

jkorzenko

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I finally got my response. It was a very nice and polite R. LOL.
 

aruna

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Never mind, out it goes again. I find it a great thing that in the literary world even these very top agencies respond and give us a chance - unlike in the movie world.
 

Patty Collier

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My story is similar.

This weekend, I sent an unsolicited query on a fiction novel to PMA. The next morning I received an email from Mr. Miller advising he was in receipt, excited and passing to his assistant.

There was bulk advertising and my name was in a different font than the body of the email. I wasn't offended or overly excited. My guess was that Mr. Miller sees response emails to all types of unsolicited queries and questions as an avenue as a tremendous means of advertising and he uses it. Novel concept but an A for effort. Maybe someday Operation Armageddon (my baby) will be plastered there with the others.

With the font, the speed, and the generic accolade, I assumed this was more of a form acknowledgment/receipt letter, and I appreciated that the agency let me know that my query was received and would be routed. I also appreciated a blurb on the holidays and the expected delay in response.

Again, I am a novice but I now have 6 rejections under my belt, 3 partials pending and 8 never acknowledged queries floating in cyber space.... the floaters bother me. Did the agency actually receive them, even with research I don't know if they are receiving new queries and I really don't know if the agency has folded and filed chapter 11???? A receipt is a comfort.

So for me, I certainly appreciated any acknowledgment.

The 20%.. now that bothers me.

All of you that contribute, may I say thanks for all the info. I scour these threads and learn so much. A great service is done by all-
 

icerose

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With those who never respond, just brush them off as rejections and continue on. If you get a response in a few months from now, great, if not, don't sweat it. No use letting it agitate you for something that will probably never come.

It is becoming more and more standard for the non-response, especially with e-queries. I don't find it rather kind, but they didn't ask for the query, it's the lowest priority on their list and some people are just that way. Don't let it get under your skin.
 

Julie Worth

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Patty Collier said:
This weekend, I sent an unsolicited query on a fiction novel to PMA. The next morning I received an email from Mr. Miller advising he was in receipt, excited and passing to his assistant.

I've had that experience twice with Mr. Miller. He's so excitable that his assistants seem dour by comparison.

Patty Collier said:
Again, I am a novice but I now have 6 rejections under my belt, 3 partials pending and 8 never acknowledged queries floating in cyber space.... the floaters bother me. Did the agency actually receive them, even with research I don't know if they are receiving new queries and I really don't know if the agency has folded and filed chapter 11???? A receipt is a comfort.

You're doing great with those three partials. As for email queries, I've noticed that many agencies have stopped responding if they're not interested. And/or new spam software is nuking them. Give it a couple of months, then assume they got nuked. Send out paper queries to those that didn't respond, and this time include sample material. You've nothing to lose.
 

Patty Collier

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Sweet Messenger- Sour Message

My waiting was short lived. I received the nicest note from Ms. Rosado. She graciously encouraged me but did decline representation. What a tough job that must be.

I sent her a thank you for her answer and her time. I also wished her a Happy Thanksgiving. She responded with another gracious note. I did not find her dour, I actually found her delightful, well not as delightful as she would have been if she had said "I want your MS!" but alas...

Question, how do we know why they declined our manuscript. I know they say it isn't right for their particular agency but what makes it "not right"? How can you remediate without a diagnosis?
 

jkorzenko

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Patty,

A no is a no. You can't dissect the reasons. It's just a no. And you shouldn't want to attempt to change your ms because a few agents are sending you r's. It'll find a home. And if not, move on to the next project. Sorry about the rejection. ((()))'s.

J.
 

priceless1

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Patty Collier said:
Question, how do we know why they declined our manuscript. I know they say it isn't right for their particular agency but what makes it "not right"? How can you remediate without a diagnosis?
Writers always want to know why they were rejected so they can determine if their work needs revising. The reason you aren't given a critique can be two-fold.

The first reason is time allowance. There are a ton of submissions to review, and time simply doesn't allow for each writer to receive a personalized reason why they're being rejected. Critiques take a lot of time to write. As an example, we're a small, indie press, and we receive well over 300 submissions a month. I only offer critiques when I've read and rejected a full manuscript. Out of those 300 submissions, I may ask for a full on only one or two. The rest are rejections.

The other reason you receive a from rejection letter is the number of writers who don't accept rejection well and feel compelled to send a nasty gram back to the editor. It becomes a matter of deciding whether offering critiques is worth having one's inbox filled with invitations to self multiply while standing on the long end of a short pier.

In the long run, a no is still a no, regardless of how it's communicated.
 

Patty Collier

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Jkorzenko and priceless, thanks for the insight. I really hate when I have to face logic... You are absolutely right, I know. I will tell you I would not want to have to deal with irate emails either, especially when the agents intent is to help.

Julie Worth, I see your point and do agree with you. The poor individual that must deal with a writer who has just received Mr. Millers' praise and then explain, that although my boss said your book is hot- hot- we don't want it. Anyone would seem dour. Now that would generate some unhappy responses.

I will not dissect the rejections any further. Thanks for the guidance.....
 

jkorzenko

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Good girl, Patty. :)

A funny thing happened to me the other day. I received 2 Rs which were pesonalized and I emailed a thanks for the quick responses and closed the thank you with a "happy turkey day." Both emailed back (I was soooo shocked) wishing me a happy turkey day. One had a funny joke in the email which of course I had to respond to with my own joke. We swapped several emails over the day trying to one-up each other in the joke department. Have you ANY idea how hard it was for me to refrain from saying "why did you reject me?" LOLOL. But I just took it for what it was -- 2 women being silly and escaping work. :)
 

blackbird

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Patty Collier said:
Jkorzenko and priceless, thanks for the insight. I really hate when I have to face logic... You are absolutely right, I know. I will tell you I would not want to have to deal with irate emails either, especially when the agents intent is to help.

Julie Worth, I see your point and do agree with you. The poor individual that must deal with a writer who has just received Mr. Millers' praise and then explain, that although my boss said your book is hot- hot- we don't want it. Anyone would seem dour. Now that would generate some unhappy responses.

I will not dissect the rejections any further. Thanks for the guidance.....

The problem with PMA--as per my understanding of how things work there--is that the "assistants" are actually agents in their own right, which means they have final say as to whether they will take on a project or not. I think that Peter actually does pass most queries onto them, from which point it is their perogative to say yes or no.
 

LikeInZorro

That's not really a problem with PMA or other agencies. It's the same thing at publishing houses. Most Editors hand over submissions to their Assistant Editors. Which is why when you call an agency (I don't think it's good to call in the first place), it's good to be nice to the "assistants."
 

blackbird

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Merely a matter of phrasing.;) I agree; "problem" was a poor word choice in this instance. I really meant it more in the sense that this is how the procedure generally operates.
 

Kama

College student interns read 99% of the queries and manuscripts that pass through there. I know this for a fact. Whether its good or bad, I dont know.
 

LikeInZorro

Most agents don't read what they request. It goes through someone else first. It's just an easier system.
 

karo.ambrose

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Still waiting on my partial. I sent it on October 23rd and no response as of yet. I checked on their website and it said I should've heard back by now. Is the delay because of some kind of restructuring, the holiday seasons, or is it because they all got the plague?

I'm expecting a 'no' from them. My partial wasn't ready and I just want closure.

And now we play the waiting game... The waiting game sucks. Lets play Hungry Hungry Hippos.
 

Tanama

karo.ambrose said:
Still waiting on my partial. I sent it on October 23rd and no response as of yet. I checked on their website and it said I should've heard back by now. Is the delay because of some kind of restructuring, the holiday seasons, or is it because they all got the plague?

I'm expecting a 'no' from them. My partial wasn't ready and I just want closure.

And now we play the waiting game... The waiting game sucks. Lets play Hungry Hungry Hippos.
It's never a good idea to submit something that isn't ready. It's a waste of your time and energy and the agent's as well. You're wasting the submission to someone that may be a good fit for the manuscript by not sending it in its best condition.
 

karo.ambrose

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Tanama said:
It's never a good idea to submit something that isn't ready. It's a waste of your time and energy and the agent's as well. You're wasting the submission to someone that may be a good fit for the manuscript by not sending it in its best condition.

I know and I am learning my lesson as I try and venture into the publishing biz. Nothing like good real world experience to set someone straight. But hey, at least I will never do that again (maybe).
 

janetbellinger

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I'd rather have a non-response from an email query than the sight of my own SASE (rejection) in the mailbox. At least with the e-query you get a chance to know whether the ag ent is interest ed in receiving your submission. I am doing my bit to cut down on the number of unsolicited manuscripts on editors' desks and am helping to conserve trees. It saves time, too. Why send it if they're not interested in reading it?

icerose said:
With those who never respond, just brush them off as rejections and continue on. If you get a response in a few months from now, great, if not, don't sweat it. No use letting it agitate you for something that will probably never come.

It is becoming more and more standard for the non-response, especially with e-queries. I don't find it rather kind, but they didn't ask for the query, it's the lowest priority on their list and some people are just that way. Don't let it get under your skin.
 

Repunzel

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Anybody know why Kelly Skillen left PMA and then returned? I hope she's still there since she requested a full from me back in March.
 

Repunzel

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Kelly Skillen

Anybody know why Kelly Skillen left and then returned to PMA? I've read the comments on PMA, but can't find much on her.