The Empty Inbox

bclement412 · Jan 9, 2010

So this thread is basically to share your frustration about an empty inbox, whether because of agents or pubs not responding.

It drives me crazy just waiting for that one little agent to send me a message. I'm addicted to refreshing my inbox. I bring my phone to class, which we are so not allowed to have, just to hope and pray that someone-- anyone-- will email me. Sounds a little crazy, but I doubt I'm the only one who stares at an empty inbox minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day. It's a bit unhealthy, but I think it's a typical aspiring-author disease. Or maybe published authors go through the same thing.

So you can use this thread for whatever you want, whether it be sharing how crazy you're going, or posting here every time to refresh your email, or telling us how you feel when you finally do get that one email. This thread may be the most boring one ever created, but I think it might be helpful to share and tell someone else about the anxiety refreshing your email brings you

Maryn · Jan 9, 2010

Amen to that. I'm fairly frustrated that the "new no" seems to be no response of any kind. That's happened to me too many times.

Maryn, frustrated

inkspatters · Jan 9, 2010

B, I can't believe you actually started this thread. You're officially awesome

.

And...if I see Inbox (0) one more time, my head is going to explode.

bclement412 · Jan 9, 2010

I know, it really bothers me when the "no response=rejection" agents don't give an specific amount of time before we can assume rejection.

PoppysInARow · Jan 9, 2010

-Steps onto her soapbox-

Hello, my name is Katie and I am an obsessie email checker.

I've tried to change but... it's just... I can't stop checking my email! I'm not wrong here! The man is for trying to convince me I'm weird for checking my email every 2.34 minutes.

Speaking of which...

I'm in this boat too. I know agents are busy, but not even a form rejection? I prefer a form rejection to having an empty inbox.

bclement412 · Jan 9, 2010

Haha yeah this can be like Alcoholics Anonymous, only for obsessive email checkers, lol. And you are most definitely not weird for doing that Poppys. I do. And I know a lot of other people who do. We're all in the same boat here

Gemnyc · Jan 9, 2010

I have this little blackberry.
It’s red - a colour that makes me smile
When it buzzes my heart races
Excited to read tales from loved ones or friends.
Now I have this little blackberry.
It’s red - a colour that makes me frown
When it buzzes my heart races
Excited to read praise or rejection.
It is always spam. :rant:

Ok, so my inbox isn’t truly empty. I set up a new email account for book stuff, but am still setting up spam filters – frustrating. But actual real life emails from agents – Inbox (0)

bclement412 · Jan 9, 2010

The sad thing is, I don't even get spam. It's depressing. I actually want spam, as pathetic as that may sound, just so I can see the little (1) in my email. *sighs*.

triceretops · Jan 9, 2010

Oh, I sooooo belong here. Terminated with my agent over five months ago. Knew I had to get a new one before I made a cross-country move, so I sent out over 425 agent packages--queries, synops, sample pages and chapters--all of them personalized and researched. Then the wait began. As of today, I've received about 145 rejection responses, most of them from the query. But I did pull 13 fulls and twelve partials. But here's the kicker...280 agents have not responded to me at all, even with dozens of followups. Now that's a lot to go missing in cyberspace. So, more than ever, it appears (to me at least) that the new "no" is no answer.

Oh, the good news is, I pulled three offers out of the mess.

half.jaded · Jan 9, 2010

....I hate having no (1) in my inbox. T.T

I wish I had a response. It just freaks me out when there's no new mail.

inkspatters · Jan 9, 2010

Tri you give me hope to keep on querying...But at the same time you terrify me because what if I query 280 agents who don't respond first? I would NOT be able to take Inbox (0) for that long.

And I'm adding to the votes for form rejections over no response = no.

dgrintalis · Jan 9, 2010

I check my email every few minutes. It's definitely an obsession.

triceretops · Jan 10, 2010

inkspatters said:
Tri you give me hope to keep on querying...But at the same time you terrify me because what if I query 280 agents who don't respond first? I would NOT be able to take Inbox (0) for that long.

And I'm adding to the votes for form rejections over no response = no.

Well, don't let that stop you. Your query will probably pull responses from those MIA agents, since mine, even after several rewrites, pulled nothing but air. Depends are your genre too, I would imagine. Straight thrillers, like mine, are just not leading the pack for interest right now. YA fantasy and paranormal romance are by far the most popular. I'm seeing more debut authors pulling contracts/sales via their agents from those genres than any other. It doesn't mean the rest of us are hopeless cases.

Tri

Bushdoctor · Jan 10, 2010

Its a disease people. The worst thing is when you have been waiting for so long and then you get '1 Message in your Inbox' sign and the message turns out to be a FW chainmail sent by a friend

bclement412 · Jan 10, 2010

Haha Bushdr. that's why I had to create a separate email for agents.

triceretops · Jan 10, 2010

Yep, got the chainmail thing goin' on with a few friends and it throws me off every time my inbox loads up. Don't want to be rude, but some of that stuff is destined for the cornfield.

Tri

Wayne K · Jan 10, 2010

I've gone in the opposite direction. I never check my e-mails anymore. I'm out to 20 editors, expecting to hear soon, and I play games and screw around with my friends first.

If or when it happens, it happens. I've done the checking every five minutes for a year. It doesn't jive with my brains too good.

Maryn · Jan 10, 2010

Wayne, we're delighted to know we're more important. For now, anyway.

Maryn, quite important (in her own mind)

Renee Collins · Jan 10, 2010

I may be weird, but I can't bring myself to obsessively check my email. It's too depressing.

In my mind, it's bad enough to see Inbox (0) only two or three times a day.

bclement412 · Jan 10, 2010

^gah I envy you Renee. I have an obsession to check it every other frickin minute, and once I start checking it, I cannot stop. It's awful.

kaitie · Jan 10, 2010

Wayne K said:
I've gone in the opposite direction. I never check my e-mails anymore. I'm out to 20 editors, expecting to hear soon, and I play games and screw around with my friends first.

If or when it happens, it happens. I've done the checking every five minutes for a year. It doesn't jive with my brains too good.

I've got a different email set up for my queries and queries only, so basically all I have to do is sign back into my normal email--the one I'm more likely to get stuff from anyway, and then I can just check that one a few times a day instead and I actually get interesting things from my mom and important work emails, etc. Point being lol, I can obsessively check that and this site instead and put the rest out of my mind aside from the time or two a day that I switch to the other email addy. Way too stressful otherwise.

wittyusernamehere · Jan 10, 2010

Wayne K said:
I've gone in the opposite direction. I never check my e-mails anymore. I'm out to 20 editors, expecting to hear soon, and I play games and screw around with my friends first.

If or when it happens, it happens. I've done the checking every five minutes for a year. It doesn't jive with my brains too good.

When I read your comment I nearly shouted at the computer screen, "omigodgocheckyouremailrightnow!" I think I might have a problem.

I've noticed lately I feel a lot of peace Friday around 3:00 in the afternoon, and Monday morning, a lot of dread. At least on the weekend I can relax and not expect any messages.

Southern Girl · Jan 11, 2010

For me, it's the mailbox. The actual mailbox - that's where I got my first request. Somedays when my faulty sixth sense is in overdrive, I get in the car and actually drive to the mailbox instead of waiting for hubbie to bring in the mail in the evenings after work. The walk from my open car door to the actual box feels something like what I would expect walking the plank feels like. My heart hammers, my throat turns Sahara desert dry, and I feel like at any moment I'll step off some unseen ledge. It's weirdness, through and through.

I have gotten email req's but it's not the same for me. I don't have any anxiety over checking my email, not sure why. But it is distracting because I get a lot of crap mail, so I keep my mac mail closed, and leave my blackberry mail open.

Mharvey · Jan 11, 2010

Yeah - it's a bit frustrating. I don't quite see why it's hard to hit reply, copy/paste a forum rejection, and hit send. 10 seconds maybe? 15 tops?

Then again, who knows. Maybe some of the big agents get several hundred a week, to the point where spending 15 seconds rejecting them could add up to some serious time.

It's frustrating, but I just pretty much fire and forget. I just keep track of the agents I've queried via spreadsheet, and never query them again. If they get back to me, great. If not, I move on.

bclement412 · Jan 11, 2010

One of these days my refresh button is going to break...

The Empty Inbox

bclement412

Maryn

At Sea

inkspatters

The coordinates keep changing...

bclement412

PoppysInARow

Book Reviewer y'all

bclement412

Gemnyc

reading 24/7

bclement412

triceretops

half.jaded

Gone insane. Be right back.

inkspatters

The coordinates keep changing...

dgrintalis

'Tis true, she is a monstergirl

triceretops

Bushdoctor

bclement412

triceretops

Wayne K

Maryn

At Sea

Renee Collins

Plotting . . .

bclement412

kaitie

With great power comes

wittyusernamehere

Southern Girl

Prayer in a tango

Mharvey

Liker Of Happy Things

bclement412