"It wasn't for me"

As Uncle Jim has said, "A no is still a no."

I used to get form rejections. Then after AW I still got rejections, but they were a bit more specific and encouraging.

I always took forms to mean, "I didn't like it. Keep trying."

I know it is extremely frustrating not to get any feedback, but unfortunately "It's not for me" can mean any number of things. The best meaning can be they personally don't think they can sell the story, given their contacts, but it can also mean the manuscript is a type of story not popular at the moment (cozy mysteries, for example). It could also mean your writing isn't strong enough, or you just need to try more agents. I think more people here at AW would be able to give you a better sense of your chances if you posted the number of queries you've sent out and the number of partial requests you have received.

It's a form rejection. I've received plenty of "It's not for us" letters over the years. Some agents or editors try to personalize it (or make it seem personalized) by inserting your name or the title of the ms. or say something like, "While the writing was good, it doesn't quite suit our needs right now." It's still a form rejection.

ETA: It seems your query is okay since you got two requests for partials out of the twelve. If, say, you get two more partials rejected, you might want to revisit at least the first three pages. Make sure it hooks the reader at the beginning.

I used to get so many "It's not for me" form Rs that I lost count. It means nothing, or it means all the various things Melia said. Make sure you're targeting the right agents, though. It wouldn't hurt to stick your query up at SYW for feedback, just in case. I know with my query, I changed one sentence just slightly and all of a sudden started getting more requests. It could be something that simple.

Here's the thing. Imagine you had to reject someone, you didn't want to get into details as to why because then that engages in a conversation, you just want to politely say, "No thank you." How would you do it?

When I was looking to get new actor headshots I wanted to shop around. I visited with three photographers, and at the end of it all, had to choose one. I sent the other two emails. Now these gentlemen were not my friends, nor did I wish to have a long back and forth why I chose one over them. The fact was it was more of a gut feeling, and little to do with their abilities. So I had to come up with, in effect, a form rejection. Something that I hoped was polite, professional, but still clearly got "no" across. After playing with different phrases I finally found a way to write it that satisfied me.

That's what agents do all the time. They each have their own special form rejection, a polite "no thank you" that they have spent time creating so that it is as kind as possible, while still being very clear. "Not for me" is one of those phrases that has become a popular one so as not offend. It states "no" but also gives the impression that it isn't something personal against the author herself, it is simply a matter of it not being the right fit.

I think it befits us as authors to stop analysing form rejections. Certainly we can double check if a rejection is "form" or not, but once we are assured it is one, there is little more analysis required. Agents are human, they write a form rejection as best they can, it won't be perfect to all people. But all it means is "no". That's it.

I do appreciate how frustrating it is not knowing why one is being rejected, and the fear of then sending stuff out again wondering if what you are sending out is riddled with mistakes. But it isn't really the agent's job to help you with that. If you are concerned about your work, find yourself some beta readers whose opinions you really trust and see if they have anything to say.

12 queries that garnered two requests? That's a pretty good record -- 1/6 of the agents took the hook.

However, I'd strongly suggest you put your query up on the SYW forum devoted to that purpose. If it does have a weakness, better to find out now than to miss with another set of agents.

Here's how to tell a nonform rejection: The agent or editor will not just mention your name or the name of the work -- those are easy to stick into a form. He will make specific reference to characters, setting, plot, dialogue, etc. -- in other words, he'll show he actually read the story or query.

“Not for me” (or us) means only one thing: read no further. Don’t analyze; become desensitized, or it’ll eat you alive. Immediately trash it, the way the agent trashed you. Same with “Dear Writer” (or Author, if Dear Agent happens to have his thesaurus handy). And if your SASE comes back with an obvious little square of toilet paper inside (Dear Agent, remember, is woefully underpaid), don’t even bother opening it. Throw it right in the Dear Garbage.

All I get are form rejections, "It's not for me" too. I received one partial request out of...25. Or more. I forget. I've put it away for now b/c I'm working on another MS. It's frustrating, and I hate it. And it is definitely deflating. I'm not sure my work will ever be strong enough to hook me an agent.

Wow, I didn't realize I was that depressed about it until I wrote this post..

Rejection is rejection. They didn't like it and the dialogue stops there. It's kind of like a "Dear John" breakup letter. If you end the relationship with that letter, there's nothing new to learn.

There are a couple of times, I've followed up rejections that have some glimmer of a door left open and it's provided a modicum of insight. But "not for me" means "don't ask me why it's not for me" IMHO.

In a tough market made even tougher by the downturn in the economy, I'd say two partial requests out of twelve is a pretty good response rate. Don't waste any time dwelling on the "not for me", "not my cup of tea" form rejection verbage.

If you are sending out snail queries, it wouldn't hurt to include sample pages. Quite a few agents will accept the first 50 pages along with a query. Make sure you check on agentquery.com and see if the particular agents you are targeting allow such a thing - if they do, take advantage. I always included 5 pages, no matter what. Having no credentials I was totally dependent on the quality of my writing and story for getting my foot in the door. I had a much bigger response rate from snail queries then I did from e-queries, I think due to the sample pages. Sample pages or any kind of attachment are usually a big no-no when e-querying.

Dump the form responses into the recycle bin, keep your chin up and just focus on sending out queries. Cast a wide net. Be prepared to query over a hundred agents. Good luck!

"it wasn't for me" could mean anything, but more importantly it means "No."

Keep trying other agents.

You can usually tell whether a rejection is a form or not by the feel of it. "It wasn't for me" is a pretty standard line, but like tomothecat says, it could mean anything from "It was terrible" to "It has possibilities but isn't the sort of thing I represent". Trying to read between the lines is no fun, is it?

It means your manuscript didn't work for that particular agent. The reason doesn't matter.

You want an agent who loves your work unequivocally. You want an agent who will breathe your work. You want an agent who sells your work because damn it, that agent believes in that work. It's very subjective, and there's no magic formula.

Don't sweat it. Cross that agent off your list, and send out the query to another agent at another agency. And don't look back.