The Daily Rejection

Gah! The agent isn't connecting with the work yet, and she's pretty much its last chance.

On the good side, at least I've got two chapters written in the contracted erotic romance sequel.

Filigree--has said agent commented on what didn't work, and is there still a chance for revision?

All is not lost. Agent sent me some notes on my QL. He said I have a talent for voice, loved my title and thinks an agent is going to sign me soon. But, if that doesn't happen and I was willing to rewrite my first chapter to suit him, he'd take a look at the full in a couple months. *shrugs* at least it wasn't an outright no.

I'm on antibiotics now. My catastrophes never end. At least this time it comes with fun painkillers. With a drink from Hathor I could have a hoary night.

Hathor--ugh on the R. And, yes please, on the carrot cake.

Filigree--yay for the new writing...fingers crossed for the agent.

Carleree--right, still not a no!

Speaking of no, I got a very kind and helpful personalized R on a partial today...it's the first constructive feedback I've gotten from an agent, although they've all been kind. I don't recall the exact wording...basically the pacing seemed off in spots. So I'll take a fresh look at it this week...maybe do a new chapter outline or flow chart.

Ugh. An r from the epublisher. I thought I was close, but I didn't even get a full request. They provided their reasons why, though, and said I could resubmit. Not sure if I will. I need to ponder it. Other agents who requested partials or fulls didn't have the issues that worried this epub. Shrug. Probably chalk it to a no and move on.

Kmarshall said:

Ugh. An r from the epublisher. I thought I was close, but I didn't even get a full request. They provided their reasons why, though, and said I could resubmit. Not sure if I will. I need to ponder it. Other agents who requested partials or fulls didn't have the issues that worried this epub. Shrug. Probably chalk it to a no and move on.

Click to expand...

Save the email and let it sit for a while. You could change your mind in a couple months.

Filigree - that is awesome that you are plugging away at your next book. Sorry your agent is not connecting.

Carleree - that sounded much more positive than a flat out no. Plus, there is that option to re-write and resubmit, but he seems to feel you will be snatched up before then!

gdsb - sorry you got a reject, but nice that it was a helpful one. Much better than wondering what it is they did not like.

Kmarshall - even if you decide not to edit it, it's nice that the offer is there for you to go ahead and resubmit should you ever choose to.

D.Owczarek said:

Filigree - that is awesome that you are plugging away at your next book. Sorry your agent is not connecting.

Carleree - that sounded much more positive than a flat out no. Plus, there is that option to re-write and resubmit, but he seems to feel you will be snatched up before then!

gdsb - sorry you got a reject, but nice that it was a helpful one. Much better than wondering what it is they did not like.

Kmarshall - even if you decide not to edit it, it's nice that the offer is there for you to go ahead and resubmit should you ever choose to.

Click to expand...

It was very positive. If my dream agent across the pond doesn't make a move before October, then I'll do the rewrite and see if he's still interested. I've made a note on my calendar so I won't forget.

Well, I went back and asked if another imprint might be more appropriate. The editor informed me that she forwarded it on to that imprint. I choose to see that as a positive. If the query had BIG problems, I think she would have found a polite way to decline.

So I follow on twitter an agent that I queried. She tweets while she read queries. Anyway, she's almost up-to-date. So of course I knew she responded to mine. So I chickened out for almost 30 minutes before I checked my email. Since all I've been getting are rejections, I just knew this one would be one too. So when my email loaded, there was a rejection letter, but not from her. I was so glad that it wasn't from her, I was unfazed by the letter.

Gahhhh. I could use some good news on the writing front today. It's only noon and I've already reached my limit at work.

Got another r today. Just from a query, so no major disappointment. Guess the agents are catching up to my mid-July submissions. I'd better brace myself; I sent many during that time. I'm noticing a nice trend with those r's, though. Instead of the usual 'didn't connect', they're saying I'm not the right agent. It's a subtle difference, but the wording doesn't elicit the same soul searching. I'm not going crazy wondering what to change--it's just not for that agent. The end.

K--sorry about the ePub R, but the fact that they're open to your revision is great! Definitely something to consider down the road. I'm with you on the query Rs..."not the right fit" works for me too.

D--thanks! Yes, I much prefer getting a response I can work with. But then I tend to like harsh critiques...if stuff doesn't work, just tell me...don't let me believe it's good if it's not.

Carleree--right this minute, I'm feeling like an outright R&R would be SWEET! It's certainly good to keep that one in your pocket in case you want it later.

Muna--lol! Shows what perspective can do for you. Twitter is such a mixed blessing. I sometimes wonder if i'd be quite this obsessive back in the snailmail days. Sure, I'd be impatient for the mail, but I wouldn't be checking the mailbox (and twitter and querytracker) every 3 minutes...I might actually get other things done.

Beckstah--hope you got some good news.

More crickets here today. I'm not sending out new queries, even if I get Rs so it's just the waiting (well, and pondering more revisions and the next MS...oh, and life stuff).

So you know what that means? Time for more earworms! http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q3YqaIxDp_0

Oh, but I like that song.

I heard this at a store a couple days ago. It won't go away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkLp9d7HKuA&feature=related

I was rejected because I submitted an essay on parenting.

I'm not a parent.

Good God, you guys -- those earworms are PAINFUL! I didn't even have to click on the B52 one to have the torture of listening to it in my head (thank you memories from the 80s), and that Donovan one - never heard of it before and hope never to again! I knew I shouldn't have turned on the volume, but curiosity got the better of me. I have learned my lesson.

No news from agent on the secondary-world fantasy. Last I heard, she was stuck on page 16 because she couldn't visualize the characters, which either means I need to describe them more clearly, or she's been reading too much Terran-based Urban Fantasy lately. They're valid points no matter what, but I won't address anything until she's read more or quits.

Sequel chugging along. Now I'm committed to it, and it scares and exhilarates me. How many other projects require research into current cosmology/multiverse theories, urban planning, *and* BDSM painplay?

Still no word from the magazine. They should have rejected me by now, I'd think. I kinda want to pull this story and self-pub it if no one wants it in a pro paying market.

c.e.lawson said:

Good God, you guys -- those earworms are PAINFUL! I didn't even have to click on the B52 one to have the torture of listening to it in my head (thank you memories from the 80s), and that Donovan one - never heard of it before and hope never to again! I knew I shouldn't have turned on the volume, but curiosity got the better of me. I have learned my lesson.

Click to expand...

Hey, Q started it (this time). Forty years later, Donovan is still singing the same damn song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ob2lp3Pb9A

I would have happily forgotten all about it if I hadn't gone into that organic grocery store. That'll teach me.

Filigree, I've tried to come up with a comment about your research, but words escape me. Perhaps that is for the best

I guess my ear worm was prophetic. My first version of the NF was, I was told, too general. Just tell my story and let the readers draw the conclusions. Make it a straight memoir...

Now I have. And I'm told my memoir is too specific (based upon my short, hooky query and the first three pages). What's the general significance? What are the solutions? Well, I had explained that up front before and no one seemed to like it. (I think it's clear if one reads, say, more than three pages of the book.)

First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is. Repeat.

I'm not quite sure if this agent is telling me to get lost or wants my explanation of the significance. I've done that before, but came to the conclusion I was being too preachy and scaring agents off.

I suppose I could send the blurbs of the three professors who read the earlier version and explained how they saw the significance. Or dig up my book proposal from when it wasn't a straight memoir and I explained the potential audience(s), etc.

Or I could just give up.

Maybe I'll figure something out tomorrow once the kraken is leashed again.

I am taking a break from writing for a few days. I actually have something going on my real life for a change. Who would've thought?

I need a break anyway. I've had a ton of form rejects this week.

Yes! An alumnus of my college just won gold in wrestling (a big sport in my former state). Well, he won earlier, but it was just televised now.

I've decided to look on the bright side. The agent originally said my book sounded interesting, but wanted the start rewritten. She said the changes I made were a vast improvement. She didn't reject the book but asked five questions. That shows interest, right? I suppose it's acceptable to answer them without being considered argumentative. Unless they were intended to be rhetorical... But she didn't bow out, step aside, or complain about my narrative voice.

I might as well view this as a chance to sell my book. I've nothing to lose.

Congrats on having a real life, Carleree. I'm going to have to try that.

I was about to post that I guess I should stop the earworms, but then 1) I put on the Olympic closing ceremony, and it's ALL earworms...and 2) Hathor's follow-up about the agent response really doesn't sound so bad...it's not a no...it does convey interest...and the agent said the changes were good!

Oh, my...here come the Spice Girls...

Hi everyone. Catching up around here after a hiatus. I've been mostly licking my wounds over getting form rejections and lots of silence. I try to stay positive or at least neutral, but the often unrewarding nature of this part of the writing journey gets to me once in a while.

Finally pulled myself out of it and sent a new batch of queries over the weekend, and I got a full request. That helped my mood.

Congrats on the requests, you guys. Yay for positive agent feedback. Boo for rejections and stressful job interviews. Yikes for earworms. Banana bread all around!

Oh, banana bread! Much needed here.

I had an acceptance for my light verse about a few months ago. Was waiting for the check. Then got a letter in the mail stating that they were very sorry but the magazine was folding as of the issue my poem was to be published.

This type of thing has been happening since 2008, whether a print mag or an ezine.

Oooh, banana bread. But I shouldn't. Last night for attitude-readjustment reasons, we went out to my favorite restaurant. I had mac and cheese, wine, and chocolate lava cake. Bad Hathor.

(I was upset about the Nats losing. I was fearful the Braves, playing the hapless Mets later, would gain a game on us. But it turns out the Braves later lost, after a ninth inning rally fell just short. Schadenfreude isn't nice, but it's so enjoyable. Their fans have been talking such trash to us...)

During the commercials for the closing ceremony, my husband kept switching to a music channel doing the 100 best music hooks (or songs that get stuck in your head). Just what I needed. However, I'm such an old fart the likelihood that any of the many rap songs selected will get stuck in my head is faint.

Right now, Gnarles Barkley's Crazy is fighting it out with Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Perhaps I should replace the latter with Patsy Cline's Crazy. That would be, er...crazy.

I'm trying not to get too exciting about expression of interest in the NF (or what I'm reading it as). I've been optimistic before. Right now, I'm hoping to get a request to send more pages. (I guess the agent went beyond the "sounds like an interesting story" to "how the hell would I sell this?" The questions were all about do others face the same problems, are there solutions, why would anyone else want to read my book, etc. Fair enough. I eliminated all the significance parts in my new query in an effort to have a pithy hook and not sound so preachy I scared agents off.)

I sent a number of queries on the fiction at the end of last week. I'm hoping for my first request on that. It would make me feel like a real writer.

Congrats QB. And sorry stormie. That's got to hurt.