Not the worst rejection ever...I guess

Does she know you're in high school? And even if she did, there are high schoolers repped by agents. What I'm thinking is that the writing is not mature enough yet, not you.

That is ALMOST not a rejection.
It's quite positive I would say.

Sorry about the rejection, Madison. At least it was very positive.

That is very encouraging and I wouldn't take such encouragement lightly. I don't think a busy agent would go out of her way to give you positive feedback if she didn't mean it. The form rejection is always available.

Congrats and good luck!

You should definitely take this as good sign, and keep submitting!

Might be a newbie question, but why would you let them know that you're in H.S? Couldn't that possibly turn off an agent? Sounds to me (coming from complete lack of any experience in this situation) that she was scared to handle such a youthful client, but liked your stuff enough to leave the door open for when your older.

That was a great rejection letter. You're only in high school and you've gotten a response like THAT?

Wow.

Keep at it and you're going to get published. You've plenty of time to hone your craft.

Definitely promising. Agents are rarely "nice" in their rejections, so take it as a compliment. Keep at it!

That's an awesome rejection! All mine have been form, so the personalization on that one was awesome!

I've had many a rejection, mostly form, but some personal, and not once has an agent ever used the word yet. That is a wonderful and positive word in the writing world! Congratulations.

I agree - VERY encouraging. Good job!

I love these kind of rejections. I've had a few. It's like you ALMOST didn't get rejected. I'd keep this agents address and when the time comes that you feel confident your writing HAS matured, he/she would be the first one I queried.

Madison said:

yay

but it's the yet that has me. what does that mean?! can i edit and resubmit? or just cheer and move on?

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I'd put the ms you queried on hold for a while. You'll be able to fix it later. Read three or four books in your genre, good ones. Then work out a new idea and go for it. When you've finished, query....this agent first. It may be that, since the agent liked your ideas and saw potential, that the next book fulfills that potential. It may be the third one that does the trick, but you obviously have something this agent likes.

It's a terrific rejection letter. However, in the future I'd suggest leaving out the fact that you are a high schooler - unless it's crucial to your story. This way you can eliminate the possibility of a response that in someway may be generated by an agent who doesn't want to douse your early love for writing, although I'm in no way saying that is the case.

Captshady said:

Might be a newbie question, but why would you let them know that you're in H.S? Couldn't that possibly turn off an agent? Sounds to me (coming from complete lack of any experience in this situation) that she was scared to handle such a youthful client, but liked your stuff enough to leave the door open for when your older.

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scope said:

It's a terrific rejection letter. However, in the future I'd suggest leaving out the fact that you are a high schooler - unless it's crucial to your story. This way you can eliminate the possibility of a response that in someway may be generated by an agent who doesn't want to douse your early love for writing, although I'm in no way saying that is the case.

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Couldn't disagree more, as to the "Not mentioning you're in H.S."

Seems to me, being in high school is a fantastic selling point: "Can you believe it? Something this brilliant was written by someone in high school?"

The writing needs to stand for itself, absolutely. But once you've perfected your craft, pull out the arsenal of selling points--to me, your age is a huge one.

Lyx

Lyxdeslic said:

Couldn't disagree more, as to the "Not mentioning you're in H.S."

Seems to me, being in high school is a fantastic selling point: "Can you believe it? Something this brilliant was written by someone in high school?"

The writing needs to stand for itself, absolutely. But once you've perfected your craft, pull out the arsenal of selling points--to me, your age is a huge one.

Lyx

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I agree. That "yet" means she thinks in a little while, you'll be awesome. If she thought your writing needed to "mature" but thought you were 40, the answer might not have been the same!

Congratulations on a near miss...hang in there, sweetie!

I think that by saying you're in high school you are more likely to get an agent who will take the time to really read your pages and give you as much feedback as possible.

This was a very encouraging turn-down, and you should certainly keep this agent in mind for the future.

I would also suggest getting a critique partner or two--people who will give you honest feedback-- and having them read your ms. Take any suggestions into consideration, but don't make changes unless you are comfortable with them. It's always a good idea to have someone else read your work, because a fresh pair of eyes can be a huge asset to really making your book shine.

If you make significant changes, I would say you could query that agent again, making sure to remind him/her of your previous submission and the response.