Snail Mail Rejection

I've often had requests for partials and fulls come to me via my snail mailed SASEs. So don't assume the SASEs in your mailbox are rejections. Requests come that way, too. Good luck!

You will find the rejections will alway outweigh the requests for partials and fulls.

Your possitive response from a snail mail query could come in any of three ways, normally by SASE, occasionally by e-mail, and if they are real excited by phone.

A rejection can occur for a number of reasons.
a) They don't handle your specific genre.
b) They have met their quota.
c) Grammar. Any grammar errors in your query kill the query.
d) Too verbose, a query must be concise.
e) The query does not show a unique captivating story.

You could post your query to Share Your Work, Queries and Synopsis.

Smiles
Bob

I've had email requests to snailed queries. Still waiting for my SASE to bring positive news.

More likely to reply by snail mail than email, although nothing is set in stone. If they are very anxious to discuss possible representation and/or need they may telephone you

An SASE could contain anything, but in my experience most likely a rejection or request for additional material.

Most requests for partials from snail mails usually came via email, and most SASEs would contain rejection notices.

BUT... every once in a while, the dreaded SASE would be the conveyor of good news. The agent I ended up signing with, who ended up getting me a 2-book deal with Berkley/Penguin, requested a full using my SASE. She is a Luddite, and prefers to do most of her communication via the telephone machine, and has only recently begun using email.

I was in a particularly crummy mood the day her request for a full arrived (she went right to a full request based on first five pages I included with every snail query) and so I didn't even open it, figuring it for another rejection. I actually let it sit an entire weekend, unopened.

The moral to the story - open those SASEs, 'cause you never know!

In my experience, requests through the mail happen, but not often. Most come via email. I got my first request for a partial through my SASE last month, and I've been querying for over a year.