The Daily Rejection

Hathor said:

And an "oovil snetch" right back at ya.

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This new agent has emailed me four times today. I'm going to pretend she's really interested and not just really nosey.

One of her clients messaged me to say she reads super fast, too. At least I won't be waiting long. Anywhere from 4 days to 3 weeks. Good thing I have a boring school assembly to attend tomorrow. I won't be able to check my email every thirty seconds for at least two hours tomorrow. How will I survive?

so. I've gotten a......Tetanus Booster! WOOT!

Anyway. Just sent of material to agent's asst. and now am sitting around feeling all nervous because I hate not being able to control anything. I can't make them like it. Grrrr.

Best of luck to Carleree, pollymilton, and everyone else with material out!

Woo, carleree and polly!!! Good luck!!


Just one more comment on the "include or don't include unrequested sample pages in query":

Two of the three partial requests I received (out of five query attempts) were from just the query letter, as directed. I'm not policing anyone else or criticizing anyone else's way of doing things--everyone is entitled to their own process--but, FOR ME, following the rules doesn't seem to be doing me any harm either.

And this is one of the reasons sites like AW are so valuable...we each get to share our experiences.

Two more rejections...

Stop complaining Polly. It's worse when you don't get requests. I sat through 5 books without a single request. This kind of waiting is much better. Trust me.

BTW, this new agent just wrote to say she's hoping she "falls in love with Everly". I heart her.

I queried an agency that is full of younger "aspiring" agents, I guess, most of them not out of University yet. They're young, and probably don't have the contacts that a major publisher has... but their site was really well done, they gave their clients a really good bio on their site, and I feel like a smaller, more personal agency might be the one for me. Now I'll wait the two weeks until they reject me to call them kids who don't know better

* is sorry * *rubs sore arm*

Polly, it's going to hurt. But it's way better than lockjaw.

My, we are a quiet bunch today.

Has anyone heard from DJ? I haven't seen him around here lately.

Saving my noise for the baseball game tonight. We have a newfound rivalry. Apparently, catching them cheating two days ago makes us the bad guys because "everyone does it." Their manager called ours "cowardly" and said no one would ever want to be on our team. Our manager called him a "wuss" and a few other things. The fans of both teams have been sniping at each other online for a couple days. Should be interesting...

My only news is that one of my NF betas emailed to ask how the book was going. I told her I've rewritten it, so she wants to see the new version.

No, I haven't heard from DJ.

I'm around. No news of significance here, given up on agents and trying a few direct subs to appropriate-looking publishers.

No news here, just rejections slowly trickling in (better than silence, I guess).

I always hated that philosophy of "Expect nothing" because it seemed so hopeless and dreary. But honestly, the hope hurts worse. So, I'm back to expecting nothing. I've even gone so far as to pretend that all these pending submissions will all end up being "no's," so that I can figure out another plan of action (finish WIP, wait awhile, submit to agents/pubs next summer).

Plus, if anything does come of the current submissions, I'll be absolutely shocked. lol

Hathor said:

I'm sure there are some who've made initial contact with agents that way and ended up with representation.

Welcome, Jerrygg. Four weeks to a novel? I'm impressed. I've had quick drafts, but they've been crap. I so enjoy not being the oldest one here now.

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Thanks. I have been writing different things for 60 years ever since I was 13. Mostly I write scientific works or philosophical works. I self published 4 books. It was more of a hobby and not a money making enterprise.
However my books could never approach a wide audience. Mostly nerds. More from European nerds than US nerds.
My effort at a novel surprised me. My daughter liked it. I sent it out to several friends and am awaiting their response.
I am learning about agent rejection and query letters. Yet I bought the book "2012 Guide to Literary Agents". At least the lists of sci-fi agents are up to date (hopefully). The internet always gives agents from 2007. So now at least I have some possibilities.
To me this is a fun adventure.

I'm hanging around, waiting for an R & R from an agent subbed full. So it could be good news. Medium-sized house though. Did two interviews in a row on separate books. Newest book will breakout in about a week.

tri

Wow. I think my new query's working. I just got a request for a two-week exclusive. Can't grant it because I've got a full out, but still, it's great to be loved. Why can't every day be like this?

Tri, that all sounds really encouraging. Chelsea, stay positive. I'm near 100 rejections and non-responses, I think, over the 2.5 years I've been querying various versions of this novel. DJ, good luck with the publishers!

Quickbread said:

Wow. I think my new query's working. I just got a request for a two-week exclusive. Can't grant it because I've got a full out, but still, it's great to be loved. Why can't every day be like this?

Tri, that all sounds really encouraging. Chelsea, stay positive. I'm near 100 rejections and non-responses, I think, over the 2.5 years I've been querying various versions of this novel. DJ, good luck with the publishers!

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I doff my fedora to such relentlessness! You're not a quitter. With you, it's only a matter of time. And good luck with that full request.

tri

Quickbread said:

Wow. I think my new query's working. I just got a request for a two-week exclusive. Can't grant it because I've got a full out, but still, it's great to be loved. Why can't every day be like this?

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Congratulations! I'm happy the new QL is working well. Best of luck, my friend.

Congrats, Quickbread - great news!

Jerrygg said:

Thanks. I have been writing different things for 60 years ever since I was 13. Mostly I write scientific works or philosophical works. I self published 4 books. It was more of a hobby and not a money making enterprise.
However my books could never approach a wide audience. Mostly nerds. More from European nerds than US nerds.
My effort at a novel surprised me. My daughter liked it. I sent it out to several friends and am awaiting their response.
I am learning about agent rejection and query letters. Yet I bought the book "2012 Guide to Literary Agents". At least the lists of sci-fi agents are up to date (hopefully). The internet always gives agents from 2007. So now at least I have some possibilities.
To me this is a fun adventure.

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Do take a look at agentquery.com and querytracker.net if you haven't already. Those lists are fairly current (writers or the agents themselves report changes).

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I've got many more rejections or nonresponses than Quickbread. I'm not sure if that warrants a fedora doffing or an intervention. Now that I've rewritten, these people can reject or ignore me all over again!

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Carleree, there is something to this karma thing. The relief pitcher caught cheating (or about to cheat) two days ago was the losing pitcher tonight. I was expecting fireworks among the fans, but the supporters of the other side were keeping a very low, quiet profile.

Since you are so popular now, perhaps your bad karma has now been satisfied, assuaged, fulfilled, or whatever happens to bad karma before it goes away.

Quickbread--good for you! Best of luck!




What's that song say? "The waiting is the hardest part..."

Thanks, guys!

Here's hoping for some more good news on this thread before the weekend.

Hathor said:

Carleree, there is something to this karma thing. The relief pitcher caught cheating (or about to cheat) two days ago was the losing pitcher tonight. I was expecting fireworks among the fans, but the supporters of the other side were keeping a very low, quiet profile.

Since you are so popular now, perhaps your bad karma has now been satisfied, assuaged, fulfilled, or whatever happens to bad karma before it goes away.

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I don't think bad karma ever goes away. I think it hides and strikes again at the most inopportune moment. Now, I'm hoping I'm wrong here and that your theory is about to really come into play.

Beta number two loved the changes to the MS. Only errors she found were optional commas, so I feel pretty good about my chances with the two super agents. Fingers and toes are crossed. Which makes it difficult to type. Please forgive my silence from here, I'm busy wishing, hoping, and praying.