The Daily Rejection, Vol. 2

sockycat · Oct 24, 2017

Good luck Diana, and congrats amillimiles!!!! :partyguy:

It's always so wonderful to hear good news from the AW fam!!!

Shoeless said:
There are agents out there that make the phone call with the full intention of offering representation, but will "hide it" behind a request and revision. Mostly because they want to see how you react to this. If you blow up on them and start screaming about the sanctity of your precious words, that's already a big red flag and they'll be glad they didn't make the offer. If you agree to it, go back, look at your words, decide "Nope, still too precious," then hand it back in without making any of the suggested changes at all, that's also a big red flag. If you hear the changes, think some make sense, others don't, discuss it rationally, both come to an agreement about what changes to make, then go off, make them, and submit it back in a reasonable period of time, there will probably be a new phone call request, this time to actually offer representation.
.

Bingo. One of the agents whose podcast I listen to regularly says she only hands out R & R's when she's like 99.99 percent sure she wants to rep someone, but she wants to see if they're willing to put in the work. Given how much time agents invest in authors before they ever make a dime I think this is completely fair, even though the waiting game can be frustrating from the perspective of the writer at times.

diana86 · Oct 24, 2017

It was an offer of rep you guys ahhhhhh. :hooray:

Thanks so much for all the reassuring words last night, everyone! I was definitely unsure what to expect. I hope everyone else gets happy news in their inbox soon! You really never know when it's going to happen.

Shoeless · Oct 24, 2017

Congrats on the offer! Enjoy the buzz, it's great! It also doesn't last, once anxiety and imposter syndrome kick in, so... yeah... BUT CONGRATS!

diana86 · Oct 24, 2017

Shoeless said:
Congrats on the offer! Enjoy the buzz, it's great! It also doesn't last, once anxiety and imposter syndrome kick in, so... yeah... BUT CONGRATS!

Oh trust me, I know. This is going to be my third agent. Still no book deal to speak of. Hopefully the third agent is the charm. ;-) Thanks for the congrats!!!

Shoeless · Oct 24, 2017

diana86 said:
Oh trust me, I know. This is going to be my third agent. Still no book deal to speak of. Hopefully the third agent is the charm. ;-) Thanks for the congrats!!!

Oh, okay, clearly you're an old hand at this, then. I'm also on my second agent right now, so yeah, I know how it goes... Third time's a charm, and all that stuff!

Marlys · Oct 24, 2017

diana86 said:
Oh trust me, I know. This is going to be my third agent. Still no book deal to speak of. Hopefully the third agent is the charm. ;-) Thanks for the congrats!!!

Good luck!

diana86 · Oct 24, 2017

Shoeless said:
Oh, okay, clearly you're an old hand at this, then. I'm also on my second agent right now, so yeah, I know how it goes... Third time's a charm, and all that stuff!

Old hand in some ways, not in others. This was my first time diving into the query trenches without participating in a pitch contest. But I know that once you sign in the dotted line, it can be a loooooooooooooooooooooooong wait indeed.

Obi-Wan Nobody · Oct 24, 2017

Congrats, Diana! This must be the right one. Good luck on finding a great book deal! :e2cheer:

Tamlyn · Oct 24, 2017

Congrats, Diana!

Shoeless · Oct 24, 2017

diana86 said:
Old hand in some ways, not in others. This was my first time diving into the query trenches without participating in a pitch contest. But I know that once you sign in the dotted line, it can be a loooooooooooooooooooooooong wait indeed.

I'm the opposite. I've always been in the query trenches and never took part in a pitch contest, so I've never known whether that's an easier or more nerve wracking way to get your book noticed.

CJSimone · Oct 24, 2017

Congrats diana86 and amillimiles! :Clap:

Lots of good news around here lately!

amillimiles · Oct 24, 2017

Congrats, Diana!!!!! So happy to hear!!! :hooray:

Ahh maybe we can go on tour together if our books come out around the same time, hah! I kid. (I've definitely heard enough horror stories around the AW fam to know that first manuscripts often don't sell, and I have set my expectations.)

But thank you to the AW community! I guess my secret's out, so I wanted to let you know that I now have two offers of rep, and 11 more agents considering my full. I chose not to nudge the other agents who have not yet responded (despite Jeneral's amazing advice, to which I owe a rep point), as all of my "top wishlist" agents requested. I also have an unbelievable positive response rate from my queries, so I think if I nudge 15 more agents and most of them request materials, it may be a bit overwhelming.

More soon -- signings and all -- I can't wait to let you guys know! I just wanted to give a sincere thanks to the AW community for whipping me into shape in these three years and helping me find amazing beta readers and CPs. So much talent around here, and such a kind, positive community.

noranne · Oct 24, 2017

Woohoo, super congrats to diana and amilli!!

:snoopy:

JJ Litke · Oct 24, 2017

Congrats, Diana! :partyguy:

CameronJohnston · Oct 25, 2017

Woohoo! That's amazing news Diana and Amilli

I'm so pleased for you both!

Collie · Oct 25, 2017

Congrats Diana & amilli!

polishmuse · Oct 25, 2017

Big congrats!!!! :hooray:

Jeneral · Oct 25, 2017

What great news around here!! Congrats to Diana and Amilli!! :TheWave:

diana86 · Oct 25, 2017

Thanks so much everyone, you're all so sweet.

Amilli, those are some AMAZING stats you have there! I'll be happy to share my stats once this is all said and done if people would find that helpful, but I don't want to jinx anything right now.

EMaree · Oct 25, 2017

Congratulations Amillimiles! So excited for your announcement.

Omg Diana86 CONGRATULATIONS!

So happy that so many of our circle have had good news lately. Looking forward to seeing you both at the Next Circle!

Also, Shoeless and Diana, I'm joining you in the multi-agent club: number 2 over here. Wear that resilience like the badge of honour it is.

Tamlyn · Oct 25, 2017

Congrats, amillimiles! Sounds like you've got a difficult choice coming up

Collie · Oct 25, 2017

A full request yesterday, which was lovely, and then a wholly generic form rejection today on a query I sent out so long ago I'd long since marked it as CNR.

Taylor Harbin · Oct 26, 2017

Short rejection from Escape Pod. They said that the story was well-written, but they wanted some tighter focus on the plot in the beginning. My beta expressed similar reservations, yet I was convinced that the opening was necessary to established the futuristic setting and give insight into the protagonist's career, and why his journey to collect an artifact from Earth would be so important. Word count is 5800...but now I'm starting to wonder if I might need to trim it a little to increase its odds of success?

CJSimone · Oct 26, 2017

amillimiles said:
Congrats, Diana!!!!! So happy to hear!!! Ahh maybe we can go on tour together if our books come out around the same time, hah! I kid. (I've definitely heard enough horror stories around the AW fam to know that first manuscripts often don't sell, and I have set my expectations.)

But thank you to the AW community! I guess my secret's out, so I wanted to let you know that I now have two offers of rep, and 11 more agents considering my full. I chose not to nudge the other agents who have not yet responded (despite Jeneral's amazing advice, to which I owe a rep point), as all of my "top wishlist" agents requested. I also have an unbelievable positive response rate from my queries, so I think if I nudge 15 more agents and most of them request materials, it may be a bit overwhelming.

More soon -- signings and all -- I can't wait to let you guys know! I just wanted to give a sincere thanks to the AW community for whipping me into shape in these three years and helping me find amazing beta readers and CPs. So much talent around here, and such a kind, positive community.

Great stats! Sounds like it should sell.

Yep, so many helpful people at AW. It's been my writing boot camp, and all my beta readers and CPs from AW have been awesome! And it's my year anniversary at AW, woo-hoo!

Liz_V · Oct 26, 2017

diana! And amillimiles! You guys are rocking it!

Collie, cheers on the full!

R cookies as needed.

Taylor - Anything over 5k can be a hard sell, especially for a newer author. If you're tempted to tighten up the beginning anyway, trimming it down to that point... well, there's no guarantees in this life, but it would put the stats a little more on your side.

Happy anniversary, CJSimone!

This was me yesterday: :Hammer:

Updates that fubared the laptop, and then my internet connection went out. Kind of afraid to touch anything today.

The Daily Rejection, Vol. 2

sockycat

diana86

Shoeless

diana86

Shoeless

Marlys

Resist. Love. Go outside.

diana86

Obi-Wan Nobody

Perpetual padawan

Tamlyn

fish skeleton

Shoeless

CJSimone

amillimiles

noranne

the possibilities are endless

JJ Litke

People are not wearing enough hats

CameronJohnston

Great Old One

Collie

polishmuse

I'm a cookie

Jeneral

Cat wrangler

diana86

EMaree

a demon for tea

Tamlyn

fish skeleton

Collie

Taylor Harbin

Power to the pen!

CJSimone

Liz_V

Not my first rodeo.