Obsessive/compulsive paranoiac seeks advice

brutus said:

I recently received a nice rejection from an agent I had queried. His/her submissions policy asked for sample chapters so I sent a couple along.

In the rejection email, she/he said "I enjoyed reading the sample chapters but this book is not a good fit for us."

I've been trying to figure out what that means, because their guidelines say they are interested in books of the genre I queried for.

Now, I am the kind of person who prefers to "measure a thousand times, cut once." I don't want to query dozens of agents only to discover my writing or story still isn't strong enough. That kind of strategy seems to drastically limit the number of agents still standing (un-queried) when the book finally achieves publishable quality.

I am in a writing group and have had plenty of knowledgeable eyes (including a very good professional editor) on my book, but I still suffer from the insecurity of knowing when I have achieved a level that will produce a result (agent). Because all agents are different, I'm unsure whether I just haven't reached the right agent yet, or whether there is no right agent.

I wish agents would be more brutal (in those instances when they make any kind of comment) and just say what the holdup is: The writing isn't strong, or there's no market for this, or I'm not sure who would want to publish this, or the story sucks or...? I'm not sensitive to criticism, in fact, I welcome it as an opportunity to improve.

I realize my book(s) will never be finished until they're published. I can always find something that could be better expressed, in my book(s) as well as many others currently on bookshelves everywhere.

But, how do you know when to start querying? No one reacts the same to what I have written, or indeed, to what anyone has written.

It has been almost five years since I began work on the books I am querying for, so I am not being too hasty, I hope.

How do you know when you're done?

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Pretty sure that was a form rejection, so you really can't read anything into it except the chapters didn't catch their attention.

But, FWIW:

If your writing group is credible - Good writers themselves? Fervent readers? Knowledgeable about your genre? Give crits of others' works that you agree with (for the most part)? etc., so that you trust their crits - and you have the book as good as you can make it, all you can do is query away and keep trying.

Now, if there are significant doubts? You know your group members are not the most astute critters? They often gently crit things you think are not as good as the crits make them seem? Etc. then you still have work to do, and maybe you need to post the beginning of the book in SYW forum or look for some more knowledgeable beta readers.

Many of us have doubts, but in my (even limited experience) I think you start to develope a real sense of when you know, deep down, the book needs more work, or when it is ready to go. But if you need a second opinion, post the first 1,500 word in SYW.

good luck.

~suki

brutus said:

I wish agents would be more brutal (in those instances when they make any kind of comment) and just say what the holdup is: The writing isn't strong, or there's no market for this, or I'm not sure who would want to publish this, or the story sucks or...? I'm not sensitive to criticism, in fact, I welcome it as an opportunity to improve.

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Unfortunately, not every author querying a project is open to critique. Can you imagine the reactions agents would get if they started being brutally honest? Or, for that matter, how much longer it would take to get responses if they felt the need to crit every piece that crossed their desk?

Like Suki said, that is a generic response. All it means is "No, thanks" so I wouldn't read into it. Just keep sending out queries.

I would recommend posting your query, and maybe the first chapter, in the Share Your Work forum here. If you want brutal but honest, that's the place.

I recently received a nice rejection from an agent I had queried. His/her submissions policy asked for sample chapters so I sent a couple along.

In the rejection email, she/he said "I enjoyed reading the sample chapters but this book is not a good fit for us."

I've been trying to figure out what that means, because their guidelines say they are interested in books of the genre I queried for.

Click to expand...

This is most likely a form rejection that doesn't mean anything other than it wasn't exactly what that particular agent was looking for at that particular time. If I told you to walk into a bookstore and choose your ten favorite books, would that mean that there was something drastically wrong with all the books you didn't choose (even the ones in the same genres)? No.

Now, I am the kind of person who prefers to "measure a thousand times, cut once." I don't want to query dozens of agents only to discover my writing or story still isn't strong enough. That kind of strategy seems to drastically limit the number of agents still standing (un-queried) when the book finally achieves publishable quality.

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That's a perfectly fine strategy, but how many agents have you queried? Many people have to query 50-100 agents (in groups of ten or so, which allows them to tweak their query/sample materials if necessary in between) before they find representation. One rejection is statistically meaningless.

I am in a writing group and have had plenty of knowledgeable eyes (including a very good professional editor) on my book, but I still suffer from the insecurity of knowing when I have achieved a level that will produce a result (agent). Because all agents are different, I'm unsure whether I just haven't reached the right agent yet, or whether there is no right agent.

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And, to be honest, you probably won't know until you've sent out the standard 50-100 queries. It's really, really hard to be objective about your own writing. Most writers question whether their novel is saleable at some point in the query process. If you think it's as good as you can make it and you are getting positive feedback from beta readers, then it's probably as good as it is going to get. Of course, you could always try posting your query and first chapter in SYW. And while you are waiting, start working on another novel.

It has been almost five years since I began work on the books I am querying for, so I am not being too hasty, I hope. How do you know when you're done?

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Well, it takes some people ten years and others six months to write a novel and find representation (it took me about a year and a half to write, edit, polish, and find an agent for my novel). You can never be truly sure that it is ready, but at some point you just have to trust that it's the best you can make it. If you never query (and by that I mean sending out more than one query), you will never be published.

ditto.
A form rejection. Keep in mind an agent has to LOVE your book to sell it.
Really and truly.
Read it as 'she's just not that into you' and find someone who is...
BTW.
I have over 70 paper rejections (can't even total the email ones...)

Sounds like a form rejection. It means nothing except they didn't like the book enough to represent it. That makes no judgment on the quality of the book, it's just a no thanks. I got form rejections on a book that got me an agent and then sold. Everyone has their own tastes.

Generally, "a good fit" can be anything. They might represent, say, romance, but if all their romance clients are modern day light happy romance, and yours is a hot spicy dark romance, then you're not a good fit, even though it's still romance. Your book could be too similar to another client's, and there'd be competition for editors. Not a good fit. Everything they represent is third person distance narrator, you wrote a first person. Not a good fit. It could even be a nice way of saying "egads, this sucks. Go away." (though if she said she enjoyed reading the pages, I don't think this is the case here)

One rejection is nothing. I know it's hard, but you have to find a way to let this roll off you or you're going to make yourself crazy. Even when you're query is successful and you get multiple offers from agents, there will STILL be those who say no. Unless they tell your specifically what they didn't like, it's just "no thanks" and nothing more than that. The book can be 100% publishable quality and still get rejections. Think about all the books you pick up in the bookstore, read the back and set back down. That's a "not a good fit for me" rejection. You just weren't hooked enough to buy it.

You're ready when you feel like you're ready. Because here's the trick...YOU being ready means nothing. The BOOK has to be ready. And if it isn't and you are, you'll still get rejections. And you don't really know if it is ready or not. If you think it can be made better, it's not ready. (And I'm talking big edits, not tweak a words here and there edits) All you can do is make the book the best you feel it can be and send it out there.

A general rule of thumb is:

If you get no page requests from your query, it's either a bad query or an overdone idea. (usually a bad query.)

If you get pages requests, but no full requests, it's the pages. Either the writing isn't there yet, or the story isn't grabbing.

If you get full requests, but no offers, it's the book. The writing is there, but the story isn't grabbing.

After one rejection, you don't have a wide enough sampling to make any assumptions yet. Send out those dozen queries, see what happens, and then decide what to do (if you don't get an offer that is)

Brutus, the line about "not a good fit" is standard, just a way of saying "no, thanks," without explaining why. Agents rarely explain, which is frustrating but understandable if you see it from the agent's POV. When I ran my own agency, I started out intending to respond in detail to every ms., even those I rejected, to help the writer. Nine times out of ten, the result was that the writer got back in touch, and one of two things happened: either he reprimanded me for being so stupid as to misunderstand his work, or he resubmitted the work with a few lines changed in response to my letter...as if that would make a difference! It quickly reached the point where I started responding with stock phrases like the one you received.

As others have pointed out, one rejection means nothing. Agents have so little time to spare that they often pass on books that are publishable but not personally overwhelming. Most of the agents I know will take on a new work only if they love it AND they've got a good idea of how to sell it. That's a high bar to meet.

If you get 15 or 20 rejections, then you need to start thinking about another edit of your book. If you're not getting requests for partials or a full ms., you should have a second look at your query letter. If you check out my website, there are a couple of articles in the Writers' Lounge about query letters and finding agents that may be of some use. Good luck!

Lots of good advice here, Brutus. How many agents have you approached? I wouldn't let one form rejection put you off if you're worked on it for five years and other people like it. Agents, like all readers, have their own personal taste and you might not have found the one who loves your writing yet.

You could consider a professional critique but I believe they are expensive. Don't expect feedback from an agent. Usually you only get a form rejection unless they see something they like. If you've only just started subbing I'd keep at it a while longer. Finding an agent is a bit like finding a spouse; you have to date a lot to find the right fit!

brutus said:

Thanks for the advice, all. I've gotten around ten or twelve rejections so far, which I realize is just a drop in the bucket. Back to the drawing board...

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That doesn't mean much. I've gotten many rejections on the same query letter that also made one agent want a partial and two agents a full. I also think you should post it on here.