Is this snotty?

Would you rather get We are no longer seeking applicants. We found a bunch of really great writers who could probably write circles around you, and quite frankly, we don't need you, or your sort, anymore. You can check back, but really, what's the point?

See? That would be snotty.

thistle said:

I submitted a query to Writer-Base.com two weeks ago and received an encouragement to re-apply. I had other projects I was working on, so I didn't re-apply until today.

Here's what I received in reply:

We are no longer seeking applicants. Two weeks, you will concede, is quite a long time in the business world, and I regret to inform you that we have moved on. Consult writer-base.com for future updates.

Click to expand...

I think that second sentence is snotty. Maybe I'm just sensitive, but I feel like I've been dumped before the first date! Moved on...honestly.

Click to expand...

Yep, that was snotty...testy even. I think would have said it differently because I'm interested in leaving a good impression. That said, I don't do what that respondent does for a living. I work for a company that bonuses it's employees very nicely for high customer satisfaction scores. So I would have said:

"Thank you for your correspondence. We are not seeking further applicants at this time. Two weeks is quite a long time in our fast-paced online world, and we have all the material needed for now. Please consult writer-base.com for future updates." I think the bit about 2 weeks is ok to keep in as it lets you know what to expect in the future...anyway, my 2 cents...

You think I'm scary now, wait until I have real power....BWAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Hey Thistle -

I think that just falls into the category of...Why? Why? As in, why does someone feel the need to ADD a phrase like that? I'm sorry - yes, it's their perogative to use whatever rejection language they want, but Why? Who is it serving? What do they accomplish by doing that? Honestly - I'm sorry, but I just think such language speaks poorly about the market, about the individual representing the market in whatever capacity they occupy and frankly, it means that their parents never taught them that someday it could be them on the end of that rejection.

Really now - why? why do people need to word things that way? Silly, silly, silly.

One thing I have learned in reading AW (especially the Learn Writing thread) and going to other sites that posts here reference, is that rejection letters run the gamut from impersonal form letters to hand written notes of encouragement on impersonal form letters to snark like you got. I'm learning that writers need to be a bit thick skinned.

What I'm trying to say is that this note was snarky and mean and others probably will be too...just don't let it discourage you. I believe in the long run success is the best revenge.

We are no longer seeking applicants. Two weeks, you will concede, is quite a long time in the business world, and I regret to inform you that we have moved on. Consult writer-base.com for future updates.

I think the word "concede" is the problem. It suggests a battle or at least a chess game: some adversarial encounter. Maybe the note came from a person who doesn't use words precisely and thinks "concede" means agree or acknowledge.

"Snotty" is the right word. There's an airy, supercilious tone to it that is completely unnecessary...

Yes, this seems cold. But I would save it. One day you could turn it around and use it on agents. Like,



I am no longer seeking representation. Two years, you will concede, is quite a long time in the business world, and I regret to inform you that I have moved on. Consult the New York Times bestseller list for future updates.

Dawno said:

What I'm trying to say is that this note was snarky and mean and others probably will be too...just don't let it discourage you. I believe in the long run success is the best revenge.

Click to expand...

This point is well-taken - more snotty, snarky rejections are bound to be in the mail or e-mail. And we do have to just toss them aside and forget them or, as someone else said, wait until we can use them. BUT...I have to say (sorry to be so mommie-ish here) that I really think we don't need to lower ourselves to such tactics. Yeah, it feels good - but again, does it really DO anything for us? Just knowing that what someone else said to us didn't deter us from attaining a goal is adequate (yes, really - it is!!! Come on!)

mommie4a said:

Yeah, it feels good - but again, does it really DO anything for us?

Click to expand...

Bitching is one of the great pleasures of life. Of course, back in the old country, we could do so much more. We’d be talking and drinking at a sidewalk café, and someone would cry out: LITERARY AGENT! A moment later the agent would go down under a barrage of cobblestones. But this country is so civilized. No stoning allowed, just the bitching.

From Lord Abinger's judicial summing-up in Fraser v. Berkeley, 1836: `I really think that this assault was carried to a very inconsiderate length, and that if an author is to go and give a beating to a publisher who has offended him, two or three blows with a horsewhip ought to be quite enough to satisfy his irritated feelings.'

Julie Worth said:

Yes, this seems cold. But I would save it. One day you could turn it around and use it on agents. Like,



I am no longer seeking representation. Two years, you will concede, is quite a long time in the business world, and I regret to inform you that I have moved on. Consult the New York Times bestseller list for future updates.

Click to expand...

thistle said:

I submitted a query to Writer-Base.com two weeks ago and received an encouragement to re-apply. I had other projects I was working on, so I didn't re-apply until today.

Here's what I received in reply:



I think that second sentence is snotty. Maybe I'm just sensitive, but I feel like I've been dumped before the first date! Moved on...honestly.

Click to expand...

I received a similar reply (I can't access the email right now or I'd quote it); but the difference was that I had applied three weeks ago and never heard anything; so I sent an email asking if they'd received my application. I included my original application attached to the end of my email. The response I received made it sound like mine was a new application and not one they'd had for three weeks. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think they should have responded to the original application.

reph said:

I think the word "concede" is the problem. It suggests a battle or at least a chess game: some adversarial encounter. Maybe the note came from a person who doesn't use words precisely and thinks "concede" means agree or acknowledge.

Click to expand...

Concede does mean to agree or acknowledge, albeit reluctantly or unwillingly. I concede, though, that it does have adversarial connotations.

The letter sounded pretty snippy to me, unless the person included a two week deadline in the original "please re-apply" note.