I am a novice, this reply from a lit agent

It's a standard reply. Sorry.

Yep. Just a form letter. It doesn't mean anything other than "no." If you get a lot of form replies, try having your query vetted in Query Letter Hell (SYW forum, the password is 'vista').

Keep at it, Imrod. Several queries isn't enough, no matter your genre. Luck and skill might get you some 'maybes' soon, but be prepared for a few dozen queries at least.

The AW Query Letter Hell forum is invaluable for fine-tuning your approach.

Welcome, Imrod. The good news about form rejections such as you got is that they're nothing personal. The bad news (other than it's a rejections) is that there is very little that can be learned from it. There are 1000 reasons why you might have gotten the same rejection. Seek out other agents and try again. I'm currently submitting to 10 at a time, and when I get more rejections I'll take a look at my query letter, make changes if I see anything amiss, and try with 10 more.

Since you say you're a novice, I want to point something out. I hope you're not being literal when you say you're "selling" to agents. They don't buy manuscripts. You can sell them on your writing, sure, but they're only one step in the sales process.

(I think imrod meant "selling myself" as in "making myself attractive" not literally selling. But important to know the difference.)

imrod, I thought I'd point out that you might also check the comments on querytracker for agents you're querying. Often people post their rejection letters, so it's really easy to find out if you got a form letter. But even if you can't be certain, you can go by the rule that 99% of the time, it will probably be a form R that's just designed to not sound damning. If the feedback to a query letter is personalized, it is usually very evident and makes specific reference to your story.

It's a polite, standardised way of saying "no" - but it also contains a grain of truth. Publishing is highly subjective, and just because one agent thinks your book is "meh" doesn't mean they all will. I got exactly this kind of form rejection from an agent a few months ago, but the next one who responded ended up representing me.

You just have to be persistent, until you find that one agent with whom your work clicks!

The drawback of those form replies is that they don't tell you whether the agent turned down the query because it (or the story) wasn't written well enough, or because it simply wasn't his/her taste (as if, say, you tried selling hamburger to a pizza devotee).

That's true - but agents try not to enter into a dialogue with rejectees because a) they don't have time and b) it encourages the crazies

One form rejection alone is not diagnostic, but if you get nothing but form rejections, it suggests your query is just not enticing enough in general, rather than not appealing to individual taste. If you get nothing but rejections on partials, then you can be certain your writing isn't up to snuff.

It's a form rejection letter, but one of the more nicely worded ones.

Three rejections is nothing, for my first book I clocked up 112. and I kept them all too.

It's staright form, and one I've seen a thousand times, word for word.

When you receive a rejection that isn't a form, you won't have to ask.

As Anne Lyle says, one form means nothing. Neither does two or three. But if you keep getting forms, something is seriously wrong with your query, or with your sample pages/manuscript, depending on what the agents are reading.

imrod said:

"Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I do not think I am the right agent for this project. Please remember that publishing is a highly subjective business, and I wish you success in finding an agent who will have the passion for your work that it deserves."

I want to be optomistic, Is this a standard "Not Interested," or should I take it as promising?

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It's a form rejection. Sorry to disappoint.

Besides, a no is a no is a no. Move on, unless the agent specifically asks for re-submission.

I consider everything a form rejection UNLESS:

It mentions some detail from the query or MS other than its title or my name. Those two specifics are easily inserted in a form.

People have differing standards as to how many rejections to collect before readdressing the query package. Some will pull a query and/or chapters after getting as few as ten rejections with zero interest (that is, requests for more.) Me, I'll go as high as thirty.

I've gotten several form rejection letters with similar wording about this being a subjective business and good luck finding the right agent for you. It's nice when they send a polite R like that, even if they did just cut and paste.

I had a really elaborate form the other day. It was half a page long! With lots of long words!

Hi Imrod,

sent out several queries (including the first several chapters). The responses have been silence and three "No's." The last "No" seemed a little different:

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It's possible that the reason you are getting 'No' or silence is because you are sending several unsolicited chapters along with your query. You are supposed to send the query only, first, unless their website says otherwise. I have yet to see one that says to send several chapters right away. I could be wrong, but I haven't seen any.

Try sending out just the query and see what kind of response you get.

Thanks,
Robin

Sending the first three to five pages of your manuscript is almost always acceptable, and can make all the difference. Sending several chapters is not, unless you first receive prior approval.

I am sending queries out myself. Got a rejection almost identical to yours. I am following the rules set up by each agent as listed on their site, anything from query only, to the first 1, 5, even10 pages and synopsis.

Some form letters are kinder than others, but it's all the same, isn't it? No. It stings more when the rejection was attatched to more than the query. More pages of my writing they didn't love, *sigh*

I won't quit if you don't When I get more points, I'm going to post my query and see why the agents aren't asking for pages. If you write me we could read each other's queries Good luck to you.

Have you workshopped your query? Often queries are not ready for prime time, yet, even if your book is good.

imrod

Have you workshopped your book?

AW has plenty of beta readers who can give your whole MS a look, which is better than doling out a few pages at a time at a writer's group.

Until I got feedback I had no idea what it was about my MS that kept the book from selling. After feedback and yet another rewrite, it sold.

After doing that, target agents who sell similar books. Head for the bookstore, look up titles similar to what you write, and ask those writers if they can recommend an agent. Most are glad to help a neo.

That way you know you're sending work to agents who do specifically sell it. They specialize, and the descriptions in books listing literary agents can be out of date or too vague.

I recieved the exact same letter. Twice. Still, it's a lot nicer than 'No' scribbled on my wrinkled, stained query letter. That one made me feel icky.

Victoria said:

Still, it's a lot nicer than 'No' scribbled on my wrinkled, stained query letter. That one made me feel icky.

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Yeah, those are just awful and I think an agent should be professional enough to send an actual form letter, and not a big "no" on the wrinkly, coffee-stained original.