The Daily Rejection

sorry to hear that Carleree maybe you just haven't got that right person yet? the one for you and your book? never give up, never surrender!

well i rec'd one of those nice replies (sense the sarcasm) "not for me thx

Uggh, I wrote this long post to answer you, and somehow it ended up going as a reporting a post. Now MacAllister is going to get this report that is actually a reply to your post.

Off to PM my apology.

Hi, guys. Only me. Just popping in to say I just got a big fat R on a query from June 10th. Yayyyy!!

Stick at it, guys. It's worth getting an agent just so you can do this when outstanding Rs trickle in.

Good luck for everything out there!

Carleree said:

I've pretty much given up on my first completed MS. The new one is shaping up, almost half way done. Hopefully that one will garner some success. Right now I'm sitting at 100% rejection.

Try to turn that one into a positive, Hathor!

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Uh, let's see:
1. It will make success that much sweeter when it comes.
2. It will teach you how to improve your writing (and your queries).
3. It gives you cameraderie with your fellow writers. (There may be a few who didn't have a 100% rejection rate before their ultimate acceptance, but I don't know if we would like them )
4. It gives you our friendship on this thread and our hugs
5. It will make you a stronger, more determined person.
6. Your perseverance will be a good role model for your children.
7. It gives you a ready-made excuse to treat yourself whenever you want.

Now I could come up with a list for why rejection sucks, but I don't think anyone needs help with that. I sure don't

OK, Miss Plum, I won't start with the S's. Maybe I should start with the P's in honor of your success. Then the Q's so I can say I'm minding my P's and Q's ...

Hathor, you are one inspirational goddess. You may need to change your tag under your name. I thank you, from the deepest part of my heart.

Rosie, You crack me up. "It's only me." It's only you, little old you, that remind of us of the prize. It's good to see you here, out of sight but neverout of our minds.

OK, Carleree, I've changed my info. I didn't want to go so far as to say I was "goddess of inspiration," because I want to be free to bitch and moan when I need to.

My positives for the day -- 8 requeries and 2 new queries (so far), no rejections today (yet), a trip to the hair salon where I ended up happy -- and my daughter finally has her first TA assignment so she won't be calling every day expressing her anxiety of not knowing, classes starting next week, etc., etc.

Hathor said:

OK, Carleree, I've changed my info. I didn't want to go so far as to say I was "goddess of inspiration," because I want to be free to bitch and moan when I need to.

My positives for the day -- 8 requeries and 2 new queries (so far), no rejections today (yet), a trip to the hair salon where I ended up happy -- and my daughter finally has her first TA assignment so she won't be calling every day expressing her anxiety of not knowing, classes starting next week, etc., etc.

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I like the new info. And you're right, if you changed to Goddess of Inspiration you wouldn't be able to bitch and moan as freely. We all need the freedom to do that once and a while. Take it from me, I do it all the time. It's a miracle I'm still married.

Looks like you got a lot done today. Me? I ran the dishwasher, picked up the hundred elastics my daughter decorated her room with, changed one pair of clothes from an accident (my kid's not mine), and wrote 1000 words. My inbox has been silent, so I am avoiding further rejections rather successfully. I have not, however, managed to find the time to brush my hair yet. With a bit of luck no neighbour's will call as I look like I was dragged through a hedge backwards. AND...I have also managed not to eat my daughter's candy bar stash.

Carlelee,

Not eating a candy bar stash is a major accomplishment as far as I'm concerned

Think of your hair as "punk" ...

Excuse me, everyone, as I interrupt you by crawling in here for the first time. I need a place to sulk.

Just got an R on my first partial, and I have to admit, that stung a bit. A personalized rejection complete with in-story details and a "you are a good writer" is good for an R, right? Right? Even if it is an R....

Eiro said:

Excuse me, everyone, as I interrupt you by crawling in here for the first time. I need a place to sulk.

Just got an R on my first partial, and I have to admit, that stung a bit. A personalized rejection complete with in-story details and a "you are a good writer" is good for an R, right? Right? Even if it is an R....

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Welcome to the Daily Rejection, Eiro!

I would say a personalized R with details and a compliment thrown in is a very good rejection. Take it from me, I get rejected a lot! It's a positive sign that should tell you that you have something there, but the agent in question just wasn't the one.

Hang in there, keep trying, you'll get there. In since I'm busy keeping the slush pile slushy, your work is more likely to shine!

definitely Eiro! You made enough of an impression, for one, that they personalized the rejection to include story details?! excellent. And then to add you are a good writer?! the only reason you got an "R" is probably because their publishers aren't looking for that story right now chin up!

Thanks for the welcome, guys. I'm guessing that I'll be around here quite a bit. -.0;

Thanks for the encouragement, too. (It's much more believable coming from other writers than it is, say, coming from my parents. -.-) I've still got one other partial out, plus a handful of queries, plus a list of other agents to try... I think I can, I think I can!

Eiro said:

Excuse me, everyone, as I interrupt you by crawling in here for the first time. I need a place to sulk.

Just got an R on my first partial, and I have to admit, that stung a bit. A personalized rejection complete with in-story details and a "you are a good writer" is good for an R, right? Right? Even if it is an R....

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welcome! the motto around here seems to be... keep going! that is great you got that type of feedback on a partial.

Very positive sign, Eiro.

Eiro said:

Excuse me, everyone, as I interrupt you by crawling in here for the first time. I need a place to sulk.

Just got an R on my first partial, and I have to admit, that stung a bit. A personalized rejection complete with in-story details and a "you are a good writer" is good for an R, right? Right? Even if it is an R....

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The in-story details are the critical mark of a nonform R. So CGs are in order for inspiring the agent to take time to comment on the rejected script -- that's a gift to you, earning him or her nothing.

Except agenting karma points, of course. Collect one thousand, and you can turn them in for a bestselling client!

It's been 5 days since my last reject. So crickets for me. Again.

Still waiting on agent's confirmation that we've had three more rejects from the big houses. She's not answering right now, and I don't know if that's good or bad. I'll wait it out--I'm way too busy on other stuff to fret about it.

tri

Welcome, Eiro!!! Sorry about the R....but it was a good comment, and don't let the rejection get you down!

The R's are rolling in this week. After my partial rejection on Monday, I got a 2nd partial R yesterday and a query R today. This book is definitely tumbling into the trunk...I've pretty much exhausted my list...just a handful more agents to query. Hopefully, I'll get better results on the new book I'm querying.

Sorry to hear about the Rs, Erin. But you show the importance of having another book in line to query -- nothing takes away the sting like a second (or third, or fourth, or fifth...) chance!

Oh, and got a Clarkesworld form R. It might be a "good" form R -- not sure if this market has multiple forms.

Anyhow, that story's already out the door again -- instant resubbing, the other sovereign cure for rejection blues.

so today i started my querying and immediately got a no from one place. may get another by tomorrow from an agent who responds everyday. i feel really down about this. i only queried 8 agents just in case. my genre, horror, is hard to break into. anyone know of a good horror agent?

elindson said:

so today i started my querying and immediately got a no from one place. may get another by tomorrow from an agent who responds everyday. i feel really down about this. i only queried 8 agents just in case. my genre, horror, is hard to break into. anyone know of a good horror agent?

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have u tried the list in the horror section here in AW? it's pretty comprehensive.

welcome, eiro! this thread is really a happy thread, in spite of its title. feel free to share your Rs. were always ready to commiserate.

ive received a couple of Rs since my last post, but im not letting it bother me since im way into my new wip! heres to hoping we all get agented soon, esp. our goddess! haha

mairi said:

have u tried the list in the horror section here in AW? it's pretty comprehensive.

welcome, eiro! this thread is really a happy thread, in spite of its title. feel free to share your Rs. were always ready to commiserate.

ive received a couple of Rs since my last post, but im not letting it bother me since im way into my new wip! heres to hoping we all get agented soon, esp. our goddess! haha

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Oooo, ooo, is that me

elindson, have you tried the usual places where you can find agents for particular genres, like querytracker, agentquery, etc.? On querytracker you can see some clients and have good links (plus info on response patterns). I'll post some more tomorrow if no one beats me to it. But now my husband and I are going out for our anniversary. (We are such geeks, our first stop is a favorite bookstore that handles remaindered books. That should build up some karma, right?)

Only 8 agents "just in case" -- just in case of what? Eight isn't enough to get upset about. Miss Plum here got her dream agent after 380 queries!

Good advice, Hathor. Miss Plum is an excellent example, one I use regularly to keep attempting this incredibly difficult dream

Hang in there, elindson. We'll all get there together.

Got a rejection from my dream agent

elindson said:

Got a rejection from my dream agent

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That sucks, Elindson. I feel for you. We all feel for you. Now pick yourself up and find a new agent to dream about and then query them. I also look for ways to cyber stalk my dream agent, and I pick new ones all the time.