So what do you do when no one wants to see your book?

Well, a lot depends on how many you've sent out. If you've only sent out a query three or four times, keep going. If you've sent it out a dozen and haven't gotten any responses, then you probably need to consider revamping the query. Something just isn't grabbing the agent/editor. You might consider posting your query here to see if anyone has thoughts.

Okay. From what I understand, you should not re query and agent that has rejected your query UNLESS you do a massive rewrite of the book. They log your name and the name of your manuscript into their systems and don't often LOOK at something that dings the little bell on their mother board. As far as what to do? Post your query here and let others see if they can tweak it for you. Surely, you have not queried every agent in the book and new ones always pop up. John Grisham had over 100 rejections for his first novel and Stephen King said he can't count the nymber he got. SO let AW help and keep plugging.

You know, after reading Stephen King's On Writing... I figured that if a man whose sold millions of copies of his work received enough rejections to wallpaper his bathroom, then there's still hope for little 'ol me. (My rejections could wallpaper a closet, at least) Keep at it. I'm certain someone will want your work.

While your work is out with an agent/editor, you should already be working on your next book.

I have a spin off question on this topic. (Relates very similar, so please don't get mad. ) What if you're not sure your query is eye catching enough and you've completely revamped the book. You see, in my case, I had an agent ask for the full ms., but ultimately reject me for too many POV switches. I've fixed all of that, edited until I can't edit no more (ie. I don't know how else I can make it better) and am ready to show it again. The agent liked the concept of the story before and it's been almost a year since I recieved the rejection, so is it safe to try to query him again or should I cut my losses? Just curious myself.

If you've fixed the item that the agent mentioned, I don't see why it would be a problem to send a follow-up. But don't send a REGULAR query, as though you've never corresponded. Send a pointed letter (or email) to that particular person, and enclose a copy of their rejection. Thank the person for his/her input and ask if they might be willing to take a second look. They'll either say yes or no. It might well be no, if the POV issue was just a convenient excuse. But it might just as easily be yes!

Thanks, Cathy! I really appreciate the advice. Just one more little question. *blushes* What if I no longer have the rejection slip? What I was contemplating doing, was as you said, mentioning that I had submitted to him before, state the dates that I submitted and mention his advice and that I'd fix the issue. Then I would give him a paragraph description of the ms as a refresher. How does that sound? (Other than desperate. )

Rewriting Queries

Actually, if you've given your query a significant reworking, I wouldn't even mention it to the agent who rejected you. Just submit the new query as a new project (provided of course, you've revised it significantly from before). They get so many queries they aren't likely to remember rejecting you.

You might try posting your query draft here for feedback before sending it out, too.

Finally, it is considered normal to query 50-100 agents (or more) before landing one. Granted, romance is the biggest genre out there, so lots of agents will rep it.

Sonarbabe said:

Thanks, Cathy! I really appreciate the advice. Just one more little question. *blushes* What if I no longer have the rejection slip? What I was contemplating doing, was as you said, mentioning that I had submitted to him before, state the dates that I submitted and mention his advice and that I'd fix the issue. Then I would give him a paragraph description of the ms as a refresher. How does that sound? (Other than desperate. )

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Well, that's a little trickier, even though it sounds the same. Without him seeing the actual words he wrote, it's hard for him to know if he really DID make the suggestion of how to fix it. If I were in your place, I'd admit my Oops, and include the *blush* in the letter. It a) implies that you'd hold his rejection letter so highly that you're embarassed to have lost it; and b) tried to make him smile. A smile can make all the difference in a follow-up. Most all of my follow-ups are intended to make the person laugh. Here's a line that I used with an agent that not only got a hand-written reply but a request for a full:

"Although I'm sure that you receive many such letters on a daily basis, I'm certain that not only do you remember the document, but the delay in responding is merely due to your enthusiastic re-reading of my synopsis. (A chuckle is probably appropriate here.)"

I didn't ultimately sign with her, but only because she'd stopped repping the genre.

Good luck!

Cathy C said:

"Although I'm sure that you receive many such letters on a daily basis, I'm certain that not only do you remember the document, but the delay in responding is merely due to your enthusiastic re-reading of my synopsis. (A chuckle is probably appropriate here.)"

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LOL! Oh that's fantastic! And here I thought I was the only one who loved to use humor in correspondence. Thank you again for the advice. I will definitely keep it in mind. Currently, another agent has asked to see the full ms. on another of my novels, so I'm going hang tight until I hear back from her. (And to think! This agent won't go belly up like the last one!)