Unique excuse for a rejection

Not to burst any bubbles, but to me this reads like a gentle-but-standard form rejection. It is encouraging that she didn't list any flaws, though. I like to think that if a project just doesn't click they send something like this, but if there are specific reasons/weaknesses in the writing then they'll do the courtesy of telling you what those are.

Just my opinion though.

"Can't place this in a competitive market" sounds like a form letter to me--I've seen versions of that over the years. Personalized letters will usually mention specifics of plot or character.

I am not sure. I've received plenty of rejections that mention a book's marketability (or perceived lack of thereof), and this seems to be similar.

Did the letter include any specific mentions to your work? Was it addressed to you? (Or just to "Dear author"?)

If you're unsure, maybe you can ask the agent themselves if that was a boilerplate rejection or not?

Literary Supernatural Suspense sounds fun, by the way.

I agree with the others that this looks like a form. She's telling you she can't sell the book. That could be for any number of reasons - yes, including marketability - but there's nothing really specific enough for you to know for sure.

I'd say don't assume anything bad about your MS from this, and move on to the next agent. (And no, don't write her back and ask if it's a form R.)

My bet is on form letter too. Don't let a form rejection mess up your flow, ignore it and keep moving forward.

(There are a *lot* of really weirdly-worded form rejections out there!)

Yep, I agree with the others.
I had few rejections that sounded quite similar. They had different wording but the context was pretty much the same.

It's quite annoying as it clearly shows they didn't even take the time to look at it.
I work in a very busy environment and receive really a lot if enquiries a day but still answer them personally each time so the person can appreciate that I took the time to actually give a thought about it even if I can't help them.
At least people don't feel like they are communicating with a machine.

Still, don't give up. Get your book published and then they will be regretting not having given you a chance!

It's a form. When she talks about "marketing prospects" she means her chances of selling it to an acquisitions editor, not marketing it to the public. All it really means is "I don't know an editor who's currently looking for something like this". Another agent may well do.

PeteMC said:

It's a form. When she talks about "marketing prospects" she means her chances of selling it to an acquisitions editor, not marketing it to the public. All it really means is "I don't know an editor who's currently looking for something like this". Another agent may well do.

Click to expand...

That's how I read it, too.

Ditto. It's just a form letter. It's like "didn't connect with the voice". It just means she didn't like it enough to take it on. A bummer, but not a thoughtful comment on your book.

RJDrake said:

It's quite annoying as it clearly shows they didn't even take the time to look at it.

Click to expand...

No, it quite clearly shows they took the time to look at it, evaluate it, and decide that it wasn't for them. You can't ask for much more than that.

I don't read that as marketing at all, but as a blanket statement meant to cover a bunch of things. I think you're focusing kind of on the wrong sentence in what I agree is a form R; the marketing with this agency thing hinges on this:

"I don't feel confident in my ability to place this work..."

Which can mean doesn't connect with the voice, thinks it's overdone at the moment, doesn't love it, doesn't think editors are in the market for it right now... etc., a dozen more things.

Night_Writer said:

I've gotten tons of rejections, but as far as I can tell, all of them have been form letters. But I got one the other day that actually did not sound like a form. The reason the agent gave for the rejection was one I hadn't heard before, so that made it sound like it was unique to my particular project. But I'm not sure, so I wanted to get some opinions on it. It said this:

Thank you for allowing me to consider your work. I wish I could send encouraging word as to the marketing prospects for (title of book) through this agency. Regretfully, I just don’t feel confident in my ability to place this work with a publisher in this competitive market. Of course this is just one opinion in a dependably subjective business. Another reader may see immediate possibilities. Please accept my best wishes for success with your writing.

So she's saying she can't figure out a way to market the book. So if she had been able to think of a marketing plan, would she have taken on the book? Do books really get turned down for marketing reasons? It wasn't even a weird genre or anything. I had it labeled Literary Supernatural Suspense. That's not too weird, is it?

Amy comments on this would be great.

Click to expand...

She means she can't place the book. She can't see how she could pitch it to editors effectively. It's a form rejection.

It doesn't matter how weird the genre is that you chose to label it with. If she thought she could place it, she wouldn't have rejected it. (Note that you're better off not referring to weird genres in your query: it limits a book's potential market.)

RJDrake said:

Yep, I agree with the others.
I had few rejections that sounded quite similar. They had different wording but the context was pretty much the same.

It's quite annoying as it clearly shows they didn't even take the time to look at it.

Click to expand...

No, it really doesn't. It shows that they have looked at the book and decided they can't sell it. That's all.

I work in a very busy environment and receive really a lot if enquiries a day but still answer them personally each time so the person can appreciate that I took the time to actually give a thought about it even if I can't help them.
At least people don't feel like they are communicating with a machine.

Click to expand...

I'm glad you are able to respond to all the queries you receive. But I have to ask: would you do this if it meant having to give up your free time to do so? Because that's what agents and editors are doing when they send personalised feedback to the queries they reject.

Still, don't give up. Get your book published and then they will be regretting not having given you a chance!

Click to expand...

I know you're being positive and motivational here, and I'm sorry to stomp on that: but first off, they DID give you a chance by opening to queries, and reading yours; and second, they won't be sorry if you publish it elsewhere as they only rejected it because they were certain they weren't the agent or editor for you.

Night_Writer said:

Thanks everybody, for your answers.

I thought it was a form too, except that I'd never seen that particular reason given before. At the same time, I could actually see my book as being hard to market because it's kind of a weird genre. It's kind of in-between genres.

As an excuse to give an author though, I find it weak. Because it makes it sound as though the book is good but the agent isn't. Something is wrong when the pros don't know how to pitch a book to the editor at Knopf. Marketing is what these people do. That's their business.

Strange form letter. It makes more sense when they say they can't connect with the characters, or it's not a good fit for the agency, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Click to expand...

The agent isn't saying she doesn't know how to pitch a book to the editor at Knopf. She's saying she doesn't know how to pitch your book well enough in order to sell it. It's not admitting to or revealing any weakness on her part.

Something which is often not appreciated: agencies spend a lot of time and effort writing their form letters in order to make them as innocuous and non-specific as possible, in order to avoid offending rejected writers; and many agencies have a library of form letters which they send out in turn, just in case the writers who have submitted to them are difficult types who would go off on one if they got the same rejection twice.

Night_Writer said:

But that's the same thing. A pro should be able to pitch any book to the editor at Knopf. Because that's what they do. They're salespeople. And a good salesperson can come up with a way to pitch anything. Even my book.

If the agent doesn't care for the book, I'd rather they just said so..

Click to expand...

Perhaps you would be fine with a different kind of rejection - but the agent can't tailor a rejection to suit what you'd be fine with without knowing you. So they have form rejections which is just a polite 'Not for us, thanks. But thanks.'

And still people moan.

Night_Writer said:

Thank you for allowing me to consider your work. I wish I could send encouraging word as to the marketing prospects for (title of book) through this agency. Regretfully, I just don’t feel confident in my ability to place this work with a publisher in this competitive market. Of course this is just one opinion in a dependably subjective business. Another reader may see immediate possibilities. Please accept my best wishes for success with your writing.

Click to expand...

I've gotten similar rejections, so I would say yeah, it's a form.

So she's saying she can't figure out a way to market the book. So if she had been able to think of a marketing plan, would she have taken on the book? Do books really get turned down for marketing reasons? It wasn't even a weird genre or anything. I had it labeled Literary Supernatural Suspense. That's not too weird, is it?

Amy comments on this would be great.

Click to expand...

Night_Writer said:

As an excuse to give an author though, I find it weak. Because it makes it sound as though the book is good but the agent isn't. Something is wrong when the pros don't know how to pitch a book to the editor at Knopf. Marketing is what these people do. That's their business.

Strange form letter. It makes more sense when they say they can't connect with the characters, or it's not a good fit for the agency, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Click to expand...

Ehh, not really...? I mean, when I got similar rejections, I just dismissed them as form rejections and the reasons stated for rejecting may or may not apply to my work specifically.

I think you're taking her words too literally. I feel like agents sometimes place the blame on themselves to, you know, be courteous and spare us querying writers our feelings. It could very well be that their honest reason for rejecting my work was, "Holy shit batman, stop writing immediately, this is f*ckin terrible." It could also be that they just don't think they can sell the book because none of their editor contacts is looking for this kind of book, or they think it's too quiet, or whatever. It could also be, like you suggested, that perhaps they didn't connect with the characters or it's not a good fit for whatever reason. And they may think, welp, we're gonna let writers down easy with the literary version of "It's not you, it's me". (But really it *could* be you. Or not. You just never know.)

Unless it's a personalized rejection, try not to dwell on it. Querying is hard enough without second-guessing every response you get. This is a good habit to learn for later, if/when you're in submissions hell, and your agent forwards you rejections from editors.

Me: Try not to dwell.
Also Me: "WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE MEANT BY 'I'M NOT SURE HOW TO MARKET THIS TO THE INTENDED AUDIENCE'???"

Night_Writer said:

But that's the same thing. A pro should be able to pitch any book to the editor at Knopf.

Click to expand...

Even if, say, the book is a romance and the editor doesn't take romance or read romance?

I'm not sure why an agent would pitch "any" book to an editor. If the editor isn't interested in that sort of book, it's a waste of time. And if the agent is such a great salesperson that she makes the editor agree to taking a book in a genre the editor is unfamiliar with/uninterested in, would this editor really be the best person to work on the book?

I'm sure a good salesperson can come up with a way to pitch air. The question for me is, would this be a productive use of the salesperson's time, especially if they have other products to sell?

Night_Writer said:

But that's the same thing. A pro should be able to pitch any book to the editor at Knopf. Because that's what they do. They're salespeople. And a good salesperson can come up with a way to pitch anything. Even my book.

If the agent doesn't care for the book, I'd rather they just said so.



Well, not intentionally.

Click to expand...

Well, no.

My agent isn't a saleswoman; she's an agent. She doesn't rep sci-fi and she would do a disservice to an author if she took on his sci-fi to sell, for several reasons:
1. She doesn't read sci-fi so she has no idea what's marketable in the genre.
2. For the same reason, she won't be able to give useful editorial feedback to maximise the manuscript's potential of being bought.
3. She doesn't enjoy sci-fi books, which reduces her ability to make a convincing pitch and get editors interested to read the MS.
4. She hasn't cultivated relationships with editors at sci-fi imprints.

I'm not sure why you think this is a weakness. She has finite time and spends it becoming a very good agent in select genres rather than an inadequate agent in all genres.

Night_Writer said:

But that's the same thing. A pro should be able to pitch any book to the editor at Knopf. Because that's what they do. They're salespeople. And a good salesperson can come up with a way to pitch anything. Even my book.

If the agent doesn't care for the book, I'd rather they just said so.

Click to expand...

We all have bugbears about the querying process and things we think could be done better (and it would be so simple, too!), but here's the thing -- we are not entitled to our ideal process. We're not entitled to personalised rejections, or even form rejections.

A lot of agencies are moving to a 'no response means no' method, so at this point we're lucky to get any rejections at all.

A form rejection is a courtesy. I know it doesn't feel like it, but believe me: an overly wordy and confusing form rejection is better than radio silence. You can make this easier for yourself by framing it as a good thing and moving forward.

Calla Lily said:

Sorry. I've gotten the exact same R, word for word.

Click to expand...

Same here.

At the query stage, agents get to say no. They get to say no because their plates are full, our manuscripts are terrible, or for any other reason. Jobs where strangers ask for help are difficult (I long had such a job) because some people react negatively to a no, no matter how it's phrased. At times, women get harassed (or worse) with particular viciousness for saying no. I mean, look at this 20+ post thread. Some of us are picking at one, fairly innocuous sentence in a form letter.

I have read agents explicitly explain that they are vague, or even adopt "no response = no" policies because they've received so much negative treatment for politely saying no. Agents don't owe us exposing themselves to extra vitriol, and agents don't owe us particular phrasings in form letters.

Dude, she's just not that into you. That form letter is the agent equivalent of "it's not you, it's me"-- an attempt to soften the blow of rejection by shifting part of the blame to herself. You are still taking it way too literally and reading way too much into it.