The Daily Rejection, Vol. 2

Jeneral · Oct 19, 2015

MC, that is like a DREAM CALL. He GOT your book, understood the subtlety and everything. And he called without even waiting for you to get back to him!! What an AWESOME DAY!!! :snoopy:

Isn't that hard to tell? Whether it's good to go with a small press or questioning whether you just don't like to wait on agents? I will say, after a year of querying this novel in its old and now new form and many years between this novel and the first, I do understand better how some writers on query tracker close out queries in a shorter time span than I normally do. This experience is certainly having me rethink this whole waiting thing and what's in my comfort zone.

Well, yeah, I mean, that's exactly what I'm thinking about. How I want to operate as a writer. My main CP has an agent, and she wants me to have one too so my book can have the largest possible chance, but then tonight she said "you know, there's something to be said for going in with an editor who really loves your stuff." So yeah. Decisions are hard, basically.

Funaek · Oct 19, 2015

Nova - I second what krash said (or maybe it's third or fourth by this point) and consider ways of requerying it. If not to the same agents, maybe to other agents at the same agency? Like with Writ3r's Hou$e there are so many agents to pick from. And I remember seeing on the N3w L3af blog that if you make substantial revisions they're open to you requerying. So if you're not comfortable repackaging your ms as a new work, maybe do another round to a strategic group of agents? It sounds like you've got a really excellent revised ms based on what you said! This R&R agent will regret having passed you off so rudely!

Moonchild - I'm so happy and excited for you!!! That's the best feeling when you talk to an agent who gets everything you were trying to do and really just gets the MS. It sounds like the agent would be a great fit, but I'm glad to hear that you asked for 2 weeks and sent out your notifications. That's the best part. Even the agents who pass at this point send kind notes. And after such a long period of silence, it's gratifying to see all the responses roll in. Keep us updated!!

Sorry for all the Rs rolling in today. :Hug2:

No news here. Just been busy with the day job and house stuff. I'm no longer checking my email compulsively (or maybe less compulsively) so I'm glad to have the crazy fade down a bit.

Emermouse · Oct 19, 2015

angeliz2k said:
And wet gangrene is, uh, just a specific type of gangrene. It's bacterial and juicier than dry gangrene.

Don't feel bad: I have a link on Civil War medicine in my reading list. I know how you find yourself googling all sorts of information, most of which you won't use, in order to make your fiction ring as true as possible. I just keep wondering what I'm going to do when the FBI/NSA/Whatever knocks on my door. Will they really buy my, "I swear I'm not a possible terrorist/serial killer; I'm just a writer whose research takes her into dark places sometimes." :O Granted since I'm White, I'm not part of the demographic that has a lot to fear from law enforcement but still.

For the record, the most recent disturbing thing I googled involved stab wounds. I had heard somewhere that you can tell, just by looking at the placement of wounds on a murder victim, whether the perp was right or left-handed. So I googled to check. Again, I feel a need to swear up and down that while I'm weird, I'm one of those weirdos generally contempt to take it out on themselves and leave other people out of it.

I did also do some googling yesterday trying to find someone whose physical shape is similar to a character I am writing. Said character is Black and tall (never use exact height but she is described as being close to six feet and only a few inches shorter than her brother) but physically she's built more like a wall or a tank than one of those wispy thin supermodels. She's freakishly strong, described as the type that if you punch her in the stomach, you'll hurt your hand more than you'll hurt her. I tried searching on My Body Gallery, but didn't have too much luck. Couldn't figure out how to specify that this is someone who is basically mostly muscle. But maybe someone else's Google-Fu is better than mine and will be able to help me out.

For those morbidly curious, here's the link on Civil War medicine:
http://www.civilwarmedicalbooks.com/hospital_gangrene_civil_war.html

Again, I swear I'm a normal, boring person.

Tamlyn · Oct 19, 2015

Yay, Moonchild! Congrats

(I don't do mass emoticons or gifs, but you have plenty above ;p)

Nova, that sucks.

This thread went from a couple of posts a day to three pages. So I'm a little late.

Moonchild · Oct 19, 2015

lianna, sorry about the double Rs. I had a day like that once, too. Though my "favourite" R story is about the one that came in within 18 MINUTES of me hitting 'send' on the query.

**

I have a question... What do I do about the R&R agent now that I've confirmed the R&R issue is a non-issue from Offering Agent's perspective? I feel funny about sending them a notice of offer of rep, considering that technically, they'd already rejected the MS in its current incarnation. Thoughts/advice/words of wisdom, anyone?

Antonin · Oct 19, 2015

Hi, anyone remember lil ol' me? I feel like I've been avoiding the entire internet except for reading articles.

Soooo a few days ago I posted something somewhere else in the forum, kinda asking people for advice on how to fit some more writing time in. My intent was this half-joking "lol, anyone have tips for how to get up early and write?"

But instead, of course, I got some serious responses and got a little upset. Not that it was anyone's fault. It was advice I needed to hear. It was just a little rough on the pride, ya know?

But I've been forcefully fitting in what little writing I can and not getting too upset about it. Which is nice.

Antonin · Oct 19, 2015

Moonchild said:
I have a question... What do I do about the R&R agent now that I've confirmed the R&R issue is a non-issue from Offering Agent's perspective? I feel funny about sending them a notice of offer of rep, considering that technically, they'd already rejected the MS in its current incarnation. Thoughts/advice/words of wisdom, anyone?

How could sending them a notice of rep hurt? I don't see it being a bad thing.

Nova Odyssey · Oct 19, 2015

Moonchild said:
lianna, sorry about the double Rs. I had a day like that once, too. Though my "favourite" R story is about the one that came in within 18 MINUTES of me hitting 'send' on the query.

**

I have a question... What do I do about the R&R agent now that I've confirmed the R&R issue is a non-issue from Offering Agent's perspective? I feel funny about sending them a notice of offer of rep, considering that technically, they'd already rejected the MS in its current incarnation. Thoughts/advice/words of wisdom, anyone?

Personally if the offering agent is someone you would go with rather than taking your chances with a R&R I don't think anything is wrong with sending them a FYI personalized " I got an offer, and it's something I'm likely to accept, if not another offer "- and the rest depends on what you want. Would you sign with this agent if they said "if you are committed to doing those changes, we will sign you now" ? Not sure if that ever happens.

Nova Odyssey · Oct 19, 2015

Antonin said:
Hi, anyone remember lil ol' me? I feel like I've been avoiding the entire internet except for reading articles.

Soooo a few days ago I posted something somewhere else in the forum, kinda asking people for advice on how to fit some more writing time in. My intent was this half-joking "lol, anyone have tips for how to get up early and write?"

But instead, of course, I got some serious responses and got a little upset. Not that it was anyone's fault. It was advice I needed to hear. It was just a little rough on the pride, ya know?

But I've been forcefully fitting in what little writing I can and not getting too upset about it. Which is nice.

nice to see ya again, Antonin! a lot of people have writing advice, I'm one of those go-with-life's-flow types, recognizing when you might need a kick here and there if it's been too long. From what I remember you have a busy new schedule.

noranne · Oct 19, 2015

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I do appreciate having a place where people know what the hell I'm on about.

Editing is going pretty well. Have a few actual revisions to make, but at this point I am mostly focusing on the nitty gritty (word choice, the perfect turn of phrase, eliminating adverbs, etc.). Going faster than I expected, but I won't get cocky. I expect I'll be floundering in a few more days.

I also changed the title, which feels WEIRD. I had the old title for a long time, though I wasn't particularly attached to it and only came up with it because I had to title it *something* for querying.

Nova, I can't believe that response for an R&R. Sending a lot of booze and chocolate your direction! And kleenex--cry away!

:snoopy:

for Moonchild! How exciting, keep us posted on the deets!!!!! :partyguy:

Treehouseman · Oct 20, 2015

Moonchild said:
I have a question... What do I do about the R&R agent now that I've confirmed the R&R issue is a non-issue from Offering Agent's perspective? I feel funny about sending them a notice of offer of rep, considering that technically, they'd already rejected the MS in its current incarnation. Thoughts/advice/words of wisdom, anyone?

A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush...

That R/R can still turn into a rejection. Most of them do.

Unless there are red flags or the R/R Agent is some kind of superstar, send a "Thanks but I've Found Rep Elsewhere" to R/R Agent. And quickly. Don't waste their time!

Jeneral · Oct 20, 2015

Treehouseman said:
That R/R can still turn into a rejection. Most of them do.

*Sobs*

Nova Odyssey · Oct 20, 2015

Jeneral said:
*Sobs*

Jeneral- you can avoid looking at that... let's think I absorbed this possibility so that the next boardling may be the exception, if indeed this is the case. Look at Hathor!

Ellielle · Oct 20, 2015

Moonchild said:
lianna, sorry about the double Rs. I had a day like that once, too. Though my "favourite" R story is about the one that came in within 18 MINUTES of me hitting 'send' on the query.

**

I have a question... What do I do about the R&R agent now that I've confirmed the R&R issue is a non-issue from Offering Agent's perspective? I feel funny about sending them a notice of offer of rep, considering that technically, they'd already rejected the MS in its current incarnation. Thoughts/advice/words of wisdom, anyone?

I think (and obvs I've never been in this situation, just read etiquette online...), you do need to let them know you have an offer of rep--mostly because they continued a dialogue with you and could be expecting a revised ms in the future. I've seen agents get upset when they're not notified of offers of rep; they like to have a chance to compete or at least be warned the project is off the table so they can stop expecting it--I've never seen an agent be like "I offered an R&R and I wasn't ACTUALLY expecting a revision; how dare the author tell me when she received rep?? practically spam."

Just reply in the email chain you had going with the agent (so that the dialogue you had going is right there in case the agent oddly forgot) to explain that you've received an offer of rep for the ms as is. They'll probably just step down with a congrats, but it's still polite to let them know not to expect revisions from you in the future. Some agents are indeed jerks and forget about requested revisions, but many agents look forward to revisions and will nudge the author if it's been a really long time with no word. So...

Hathor · Oct 20, 2015

Hi, Antonin :hi:

Glad to see you back.

MC -- Definitely tell the R&R agent, especially if a revision is expected. I informed everyone, even those with only pending queries. It doesn't take much time and seems the polite thing to do. Some of those I'd only queried emailed me back with congratulations and thanks for my consideration about their time. (I specifically was withdrawing my MS from consideration, since I decided I would opt for my eventual agent over any of the others so I didn't want to waste anyone's time.)

Nova Odyssey said:
Jeneral- you can avoid looking at that... let's think I absorbed this possibility so that the next boardling may be the exception, if indeed this is the case. Look at Hathor!

Yes, look at me! *twirls*

My goal for the day is to do something constructive. My brain yesterday was all about bemoaning the dental gods. Or maybe they're demons. I didn't write, revise, or research, just read and streamed stuff on my laptop, telling myself I was studying plotting and methods of maintaining tension. Right...

Sorry about the Rs that came in yesterday.

Liz_V · Oct 20, 2015

Moonchild said:
krash and Funaek and everyone else who weighed in re: mentioning the R&R... I didn't. Not directly. When we got to talk about the MS in particular, I asked about the one particular thing the R&R agent had zeroed in on (that the MC didn't evolve enough by the end of the story), and HE TOTALLY GOT THE SUBTLETY IN THE CHARACTER ARC!!! So, I'm not entirely insane. Some people do like subtlety, and this fella totally GOT the story and what I was going for1 He also mentioned he loved a couple other aspects that I worked hard to keep subtle.

That is FABULOUS! Sounds like exactly what you want in an agent -- someone who gets it. And as a fan of subtle character arcs, I'm glad to hear there're agents out there who like that sort of thing. Very excited for you! (And good call on the 2 weeks; gives you time to think of other questions, and so on.)

Re: the R&R agent, I'd say send them the same "Hey, I've got an offer, you wanna outbid?" that you're sending others. Maybe with an extra note that you really appreciate the time they put into revision suggestions, etc. But since it sounds like you're happier about the non-revised MS garnering interest, I don't think you need to bend over backward for them. After all, an R&R isn't a guarantee of anything but that they'll take a look, same as a full request. (IOW, if they can still reject you, you can still reject them, too.

)

Or, if you've really decided against the revision and want to stick with the original (i.e., you'd tell R&R agent "no" regardless), wait until you've signed with Offering Agent and then send R&R agent a "thanks, but no". You owe them a polite notice that you've gone elsewhere; you don't owe them anything more than that.

Jeneral - Does the small press work through the major book distributors? (I'm mind-wiping on names; Ingram's? and what's the other one?) If not, that's really going to limit your book, but if yes, might not be a bad option.

Nova - Chalk up another vote for re-querying, at least to the agents you were especially interested in. If you can legitimately say something like the revised MS is 50% new material, or whatever, I'd think a lot of agents would be open to it. Doubly so if the query's substantially different.

Antonin - :hi:

Funaek · Oct 20, 2015

MC - If you have the R&R done and you really really like that agent you can notify her of the offer and ask if she'd like to see the completed R&R. If it's not done, then I'd probably just move on from the R&R agent. I read, and found in my personal experience, that a notification of an offer pushes agents to read but it often pushes them to a no. They know at this point that you have an offer so they have to really love your ms to throw their hat in. And it sounds like the agent who offered really got your ms and what you were trying to do with it. Unless you think there's a chance where you'd choose the R&R agent over the currently offering agent, I wouldn't pursue the R&R agent. Of course, there's no harm in reaching out to her to notify her of the offer and see what she says.

Antonin - Welcome back :hi:

Jrubas · Oct 20, 2015

I recently had an editor reject a story I sent him but go on to say that he liked my writing style and to send him something else. Hopefully he likes the story I just sent him.

Jeneral · Oct 20, 2015

Good luck, Jrubas!

WendyN · Oct 20, 2015

Hey, all.

Got a slew of short story Rs yesterday (when it rains, it pours, I guess?) Only one of them really bummed me out bc I really love the story but am running out of places to submit it.

Moonchild - Glad to hear the call went well!! PM me the agent name? Pretty please? Because I'm nosy?

Jrubas - Congrats on the personal R. Those ones always feel a little less painful

Consolation cookies to all who need them. I'm thinking chocolate today.

Funaek · Oct 20, 2015

WendyN said:
Moonchild - Glad to hear the call went well!! PM me the agent name? Pretty please? Because I'm nosy?

Me too, if you don't mind!

TalanaRay · Oct 20, 2015

Funaek said:
Me too, if you don't mind!

Ditto! <--Also nosy

Hathor · Oct 20, 2015

I'm curious as well. But maybe I should hold back so MC has someone left to be surprised when she makes her big announcement

Sorry about the slew of Rs yesterday, Wendy. Poo on the slew :rant:

Moonchild · Oct 20, 2015

Well, good day so far for two main reasons:

1) We've got a spanking new prime minister (thank all the gods!)
2) It's been over 24 hours since The Call and I still haven't received a follow-up email from the agent in question, saying that he's changed his mind. (No, I'm serious: this is how my incredibly insecure brain works. This is why these 2 weeks are going to be The Longest in Recorded History).

I know I owe folks responses (and DMs, apparently! :greenie

), but I need to get off my bum and get a couple of things taken care of this morning before I can get to it all.

I'll be back, I promise! In the meantime, many hugs, pastries and booze for those who've received Rs in the last little while. :Hug2:

angeliz2k · Oct 20, 2015

Emermouse said:
Don't feel bad: I have a link on Civil War medicine in my reading list. I know how you find yourself googling all sorts of information, most of which you won't use, in order to make your fiction ring as true as possible. I just keep wondering what I'm going to do when the FBI/NSA/Whatever knocks on my door. Will they really buy my, "I swear I'm not a possible terrorist/serial killer; I'm just a writer whose research takes her into dark places sometimes." :O Granted since I'm White, I'm not part of the demographic that has a lot to fear from law enforcement but still.

For the record, the most recent disturbing thing I googled involved stab wounds. I had heard somewhere that you can tell, just by looking at the placement of wounds on a murder victim, whether the perp was right or left-handed. So I googled to check. Again, I feel a need to swear up and down that while I'm weird, I'm one of those weirdos generally contempt to take it out on themselves and leave other people out of it.

I did also do some googling yesterday trying to find someone whose physical shape is similar to a character I am writing. Said character is Black and tall (never use exact height but she is described as being close to six feet and only a few inches shorter than her brother) but physically she's built more like a wall or a tank than one of those wispy thin supermodels. She's freakishly strong, described as the type that if you punch her in the stomach, you'll hurt your hand more than you'll hurt her. I tried searching on My Body Gallery, but didn't have too much luck. Couldn't figure out how to specify that this is someone who is basically mostly muscle. But maybe someone else's Google-Fu is better than mine and will be able to help me out.

For those morbidly curious, here's the link on Civil War medicine:
http://www.civilwarmedicalbooks.com/hospital_gangrene_civil_war.html

Again, I swear I'm a normal, boring person.

Yeah, I've been to the Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, MD. It was fascinating. I knew a lot of the stuff but picked up even more great facts. It wasn't too gruesome (I do have a fairly high threshold, but still, there were only a few actual specimens, and nothing yucky, mostly bones).

I'm currently writing a story about a doctor circa 1915 who has the ability to heal and never ages and so is conducting experiments on himself and slowly broadens his experimentation . . . as you can imagine, I'm having to look up some peculiar stuff.

Jeneral said:
*Sobs*

Don't worry, they they aren't ALL rejected. I'm a case in point.

The Daily Rejection, Vol. 2

Cat wrangler

fish skeleton

I write fluff and that's OK.

▐п╣�▀╪? ╧ы§�Й!

▐п╣�▀╪? ╧ы§�Й!

Marvelous

Marvelous

the possibilities are endless

Cat wrangler

Marvelous

needs something clever to put here

Goddess of Rationalization

Not my first rodeo.

Frankensteinian patchwork

Cat wrangler

8-armed cyborg tree

Goddess of Rationalization

I write fluff and that's OK.

never mind the shorty