- Subbed an e-query for my historical fiction 9/29 to Sarah Jane.
- Half an hour later, Jessica requested a full with a synopsis.
- Jessica responded 11/24 with an R. Presume it's a generic that she also sent to those in the thread mentioning receiving her R. Gist of it:
"This is a wonderful concept—and I enjoyed reading this--but, I'm afraid, I just did not
fall in love with this project."
Since it was a full, I tried a bit of polite follow-up if there was anything at all she might have specifically found needing a rewrite, or at least mentioning any particular aspect - plot, character, writing style, etc.
She replied an hour later:
"I'm afraid I don't have more specific criticism--this was one of those cases where I read and was left with the (vague, and not particularly helpful to you) feeling that this wasn't right. Had I thought of a brilliant solution, I would have let you know.
I'm sorry to not have more specific advice--I know it must be hard to not know why these things occur."
Fairly typical of the R's I receive for this novel. Not sure if this agency are among those having a general policy of not delving into the actual reasons for the R (avoiding potential back and forth arguments from some authors) or it's instead simply as she mentioned. I once read an article suggesting if the agency rejects can't find a specific reason and area to work on, that might mean to keep subbing to other agencies. Not sure I buy that for all cases though. But it's mostly the case with my historical that agencies can't seem to give specific reasons.
But this is to also support other posts confirming Jessica being relatively prompt and polite. She didn't have to even answer my follow-up, and though it still didn't provide specifics, it was sympathetic and quick.
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