The Daily Rejection

rosiecotton said:

Fingers crossed for all the material out there!

Got my contract through today, so I guess it's officially official. Still daren't go to the next circle; it's like I'm cursing myself that something will go wrong. We're gonna do line edits before we sub, so there's still a way to go before I'm officially 'out there'.

Good luck, everyone.

Click to expand...

We'll miss you.

Phaeal said:

Good Lord, this is going to be one of those days. Friday: Query day! Sent out the usual five, all by email. Everything's all sparkly and hopeful!

Damn. Mailer daemons for one. Okay, sending to that agent by snail mail.

Double damn. Two rejections already, one in under ten minutes, one in under an hour.

Click to expand...

Now that's more like it. Let's all get in the spirit heah!

Unfortunately, I have nothing to report, but tomorrow I'll be dumping a goodly number into the Expired folder.

*peeks in*

Uh hi, I'm also rejected a lot, so I thought I would join this thread. Btw, Miss Plum, who is THAT in your icon?

android415 said:

*peeks in*

Uh hi, I'm also rejected a lot, so I thought I would join this thread. Btw, Miss Plum, who is THAT in your icon?

Click to expand...

Why hello, android! Read back a few, get acquainted. And belly up -- we have gall and bile on tap. Nice to see you!

That's a Korean actor/model named Oh Ji-ho. Divine, isn't he? I thought he would be a great face for one of my characters, but after I put him in my avatar I discovered that his acting is about as wooden as it comes! I have since found another actor who would be great, but I figure I'll wait a decent interval before changing my avatar.

Miss Plum said:

Well. Back to normal life, I suppose.

I shoveled a few into the Expired folder and got this very disheartening request for the partial: "There aren't many outlets for graphic novelists, unfortunately, but at the very least I can consider it."

I sent it. Looking for the R in 3, 2, 1 . . .

Click to expand...

Erp. She requested the full. And she asked me for a phone call appointment. I told her this Wednesday morning is the soonest I can make it -- so she said let's talk this Wednesday morning.

How do I feel about this? Queasy, and . . . evul. This agent has never sold my genre and she might be in for a shock when I tell her what I'm looking for in a deal. I'm getting way ahead of myself, but I see this agent as mostly a nudging tool for Dream Agent. Is that evil or what? And then she may make a fool of me in the end if she makes an offer and Dream Agent chooses to step back!

And then it could also come to nothing. Hold my hand, Rejecterinos!

Miss Plum said:

Erp. She requested the full. And she asked me for a phone call appointment. I told her this Wednesday morning is the soonest I can make it -- so she said let's talk this Wednesday morning.

How do I feel about this? Queasy, and . . . evul. This agent has never sold my genre and she might be in for a shock when I tell her what I'm looking for in a deal. I'm getting way ahead of myself, but I see this agent as mostly a nudging tool for Dream Agent. Is that evil or what? And then she may make a fool of me in the end if she makes an offer and Dream Agent chooses to step back!

And then it could also come to nothing. Hold my hand, Rejecterinos!

Click to expand...

AAAAAHHHHHHH. Holding hand, Miss Plum. Here we go... So excited for ya!!!!

Can't wait for Wednesday!!!!

Miss Plum, here's hoping for good things on Wednesday.

Miss Plum, I'm praying for you and your book. But I'll miss you when you're gone.

Thanks, guys. I really could use some opinions because this situation is a bit odd.

This agent is new. She has the usual sterling background of internships and assistantships with publishers and other agencies and was recently promoted with some fanfare to associate at a small but legit outfit with some huge clients. I read an interview with her and it hits all the right notes -- looking for passion, subject matter not so important as quality, loved books since she was a kid, wants to launch careers, all the things we like to see.

It's also kind of reassuring to me that she's rejected a few queries.

But this process has been kind of weird. Here's the sequence:

1. I query on Aug 5.
2. The same day, she responds with that oddly unenthusiastic request for my proposal.
3. I send it to her.
4. On Aug 6 she sends two e-mails: 1 - phone call request, and 2 - "Oh, and please send the full ms, too."

Hm. A request for a phone call before she's even seen the full manuscript? That's the first thing that unsettles me.

The other, as I said above, is that she's probably in for a shock when she hears what kind of deal I have in mind. The terms I need are actually rather modest for fiction, but they're unheard of for graphic novels. It's going to require an agent with ground-breaking ambitions and abilities. And that takes me to . . . you guessed it, Mirage.* That's exactly the kind of creative, aggressive dealmaker he is and exactly why I want him so much.

I guess all I can do with Ms Newbie is tell her what I need, and if we can't work together, we can't. If she wants to dive in, however, and she makes me an offer, then I -- what? Tell her I need a week to think it over, then run to that bastard Mirage and poleaxe nudge him?

I feel a bit evil and scared. I want an offer from Ms. Newbie for one reason only: the power of the nudge. At the same time, I have this funny feeling that at some point her thin experience is going to look mighty tempting if these other more experienced agents (there are a few others besides Mirage with the full) step back.

I'm right where I thought I wanted to be, but I have this sensation of jumping off a cliff.





* For newcomers to this thread, "Mirage" is the name I've given this dream agent who's had my full forever and who keeps stringing me along with assurances that it's still in play and we'll talk "soon."

I'm insanely curious, Miss Plum, as to what your graphic novel is about!

Miss Plum said:

Erp. She requested the full. And she asked me for a phone call appointment. I told her this Wednesday morning is the soonest I can make it -- so she said let's talk this Wednesday morning.

How do I feel about this? Queasy, and . . . evul. This agent has never sold my genre and she might be in for a shock when I tell her what I'm looking for in a deal. I'm getting way ahead of myself, but I see this agent as mostly a nudging tool for Dream Agent. Is that evil or what? And then she may make a fool of me in the end if she makes an offer and Dream Agent chooses to step back!

And then it could also come to nothing. Hold my hand, Rejecterinos!

Click to expand...

Wow!! Good luck. We're here for you!

If Newbie offers, it's definitely a good tool to nudge Mirage. But you may like what you hear from Newbie and she may have the same dreams as you do for your graphic novels, with the same ability to find and negotiate that deal you're looking for as Mirage. Talk long and hard with her on Wednesday and ask lots of questions.

I find it exciting for you that she's not into graphic novels yet, but YOUR novel seems to be the one that got her interested. Pat yourself on the back!!

Oh...nice...I just got a partial request from a 6/19 query. On a Saturday, too!

Loquacis said:

I'm insanely curious, Miss Plum, as to what your graphic novel is about!

Click to expand...

Hee hee, I'll tell you if I get a deal. I'm being superstitious in the meantime.

Erin said:

Oh...nice...I just got a partial request from a 6/19 query. On a Saturday, too!

Click to expand...

YAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! Cool!

Miss Plum,

I recently faced a similar sort of experience, not identical but presenting the situation of interest from someone while I was waiting on a preferred agent (actually any one of several agents I would prefer that have my proposal ... still waiting on them).

I asked for advice. Everyone told me that a nudge should not cause an agent to step back from a project, but will make him/her read it sooner. (It then ended up that further communication with the interested agent made him change his mind. Which was probably for the best.)

If you do get an offer, you can ask for a week or two to consider, and then mention to other agents that have expressed an interest that you have an offer and you want to hear what they have to say. Presumably this agent will want to read your book first, so that gives Mirage more time.

I had another agent want to talk to me before he even requested my proposal. He seemed enthusiastic, and then changed his mind once he saw it (because it contained what the query said it contained ). Maybe this agent of yours is one that likes to talk to everyone? Or might she be wanting to see if you are willing to make certain changes in your book?

Anyway, my advice would be not to worry too much at this point. You may be worrying about problems you won't face. Prepare for the conversation and leave it at that.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just expeditiously go down our list of agents and get quick responses?

Good luck

Erin said:

Oh...nice...I just got a partial request from a 6/19 query. On a Saturday, too!

Click to expand...

Congrats! I guess I won't write off a couple outstanding queries I have from June, yet.

Hathor,

Thanks so much for the thoughts. You're exactly right; what I want is for Mirage to PICK UP THE DAMN MANUSCRIPT ALREADY after I gently poleaxe nudge him.

Nevertheless, I intend to have this conversation with Ms Newbie in full good faith. She and I might or might not turn out to be right for each other, but I want the outcome to be determined honestly.

Maybe this agent of yours is one that likes to talk to everyone? Or might she be wanting to see if you are willing to make certain changes in your book?

Click to expand...

No idea. Maybe I'll find out on Wednesday.

Thanks Miss Plum and Hathor. It's always a nice surprise to get a request off a slightly older query.

Hi, I'm new here, but not to rejections.

One of my goals was to have a book published by my 40th birthday this year. That didn't work, so I've modified it to getting an agent before the year is over.

I started out in April, sending ten query letters to handpicked agents. I spent about a year on the query letter. Those ten went out with a missing word typo in the first sentence.

9 rejections. But one of them asked for a partial and then the full.

Since then I've sent out 30 more queries (typo corrected. Query modified) I got two more partial requests and 18 rejections/no responses.

So I've got 10 queries out in the wind. Two partials out. And that damned full.

I'm posting here to keep my mind off the full because I've convinced myself that it got lost in cyber space (I have to wait until 8/15/10 to nudge.) So I'm terrified that I've stressed for three months for nothing. Is that dumb? I mean the query went through fine. The partial went through fine. There's no reason the full would have gotten lost . . .

::sigh::

Anyway, I've been lurking for awhile and wanted to delurk to offer congrats to RosieCotton and ILSinTexas! And to share my misery

Muhahahaha, Ms. Noob will give Mirage a crack across the jaw, just like Elastigirl does in the movie! (Sorry, I'll stop geeking out now.)

CGs to Erin on the latest request.

Welcome to Jamie KS and android. Here we don't worry. We're happy! Right? Right???

Ooooh, an evil agent sent me a teeny tiny form rejection in my SASE. What was so evil about that? Evil agent also sent back my whole five page (marked as disposable) sample, hence making the SASE fat. Like, WOW! Evil agent was so impressed evil agent has just gone ahead and sent me a contract to sign!!! Um, no.

Oooh, but wait. A form rejection from Black Warrior Review, but it's the GOOD one! They were interested! They want more! All right!

I think I've had quite enough sugar today, thank you all very much.

I think I recently received a teeny tiny rejection (with a return of my query) from the same agent. Phaeal, was yours on colored paper? If so, it is the same agent. I read the thread about her on AW and she is known for doing this.

I hate all this waiting. So I am concentrating on doing nonwriting things for a bit (other than commiserating with people here).

Thanks for the welcome, Phaeal!

And Hathor, I can't stand waiting either. I've got a total of 18 queries out right now (as of a month ago), and I haven't gotten any news either way. Just crickets :[ CRICKETS.

I think I'm going to go work out. I can at least be thin and rejected, right? That counts for something.

Phaeal said:

Ooooh, an evil agent sent me a teeny tiny form rejection in my SASE. What was so evil about that? Evil agent also sent back my whole five page (marked as disposable) sample, hence making the SASE fat. Like, WOW! Evil agent was so impressed evil agent has just gone ahead and sent me a contract to sign!!! Um, no.

Click to expand...

Oh that's evul. You need to fill a box with styrofoam peanuts and send it to them in some Godiva Chocolates gift packaging.

Jamiekswriter said:

Hi, I'm new here, but not to rejections.

I started out in April, sending ten query letters to handpicked agents. I spent about a year on the query letter. Those ten went out with a missing word typo in the first sentence.

Click to expand...

Oh dear.

9 rejections. But one of them asked for a partial and then the full.

Click to expand...

Hah!

So I've got 10 queries out in the wind. Two partials out. And that damned full.

Click to expand...

Not bad stats!

I'm posting here to keep my mind off the full because I've convinced myself that it got lost in cyber space (I have to wait until 8/15/10 to nudge.) So I'm terrified that I've stressed for three months for nothing. Is that dumb? I mean the query went through fine. The partial went through fine. There's no reason the full would have gotten lost . . .

Click to expand...

I've read several stories on these boards about this very situation. Writer has several fulls out, someone offers rep, writer nudges the agents with the remaining fulls, at least one of them says, "Uh, I have no record of ever receiving your ms, pls send immediately and I will read it in the next 24 hours." One of the reasons I hope I get an offer of rep is so I can nudge some of the people who requested my stuff just to see if they ever frakking GOT it, hello?

I know what you mean about crickets. I have 19 queries where I'm waiting for a response (and 32 that have timed out where theoretically I might hear something ). Then there are 6 partials or proposals out (why some ask for partials for nonfiction I don't know; the proposal contains a sample plus other information that an agent would want to know, like competing books, etc.). I don't want to say how many initial or ultimate rejects I've received, at least until I get an offer. I'll just say that I think I have you all beat by far. So don't feel bad; you might be super rejected like me.

I should work out ... but it is so damn hot and I have been running errands all day. Now I just want to curl up in the air conditioning and read. Maybe later today

Yeah, I think the frakkin' Cylons use my subs to line the resurrection vats.

(Damn, geeking out again. And I swear, I've laid off the sugar. It must be the green tea.)

Welcome, JamesKS...I think we all go thru that stage wondering if our material was received. Only one of my requested subs didn't make it (out of over 20), and that was because the agent was changing agencies. Of course, I didn't find this out until the 3 month nudge mark. It's unfortunate, but it happens....you just have to put the time in and wait. Spend time here and we'll wait together! Keep writing that next book.

Hathor said:

I know what you mean about crickets. I have 19 queries where I'm waiting for a response (and 32 that have timed out where theoretically I might hear something ). Then there are 6 partials or proposals out (why some ask for partials for nonfiction I don't know; the proposal contains a sample plus other information that an agent would want to know, like competing books, etc.). I don't want to say how many initial or ultimate rejects I've received, at least until I get an offer. I'll just say that I think I have you all beat by far. So don't feel bad; you might be super rejected like me.

I should work out ... but it is so damn hot and I have been running errands all day. Now I just want to curl up in the air conditioning and read. Maybe later today

Click to expand...

Dude, if you really want to work out, try to lift the accordion folder where I store my rejections. I will not surrender my title of super reject to any of youse amateurs!

:

Aw, man. Now I've got gore on my best Blahniks....