What Are Agents Really Looking For?

I think the "it's not what I'm looking for" response might just be that the book didn't wow them enough or they didn't connect with it. I'm guessing they were really intrigued by the query but subjectively didn't like the execution once they read the MS. I've had the same experience when reading blurbs on a book, getting excited about the story, and then I opened it up and the tone was entirely different from what I expected.

There are any number of reasons.

Sometimes it's because the agent already has too many books of that type on their list.

Sometimes it's because they are unsure what will make the book stand out in the current market.

In other words, competition is a major factor.

Sometimes it's because they're unsure how to sell it/who to sell it to.

Sometimes it's because they love what's in the query but the manuscript doesn't deliver/needs more work than they're willing to deal with/doesn't turn out to be what they thought it was.

A query only gives you so much information. Not enough for you to tell what the manuscript is really like.

From agent Suzie Townsend's blog:

I can't take on everything I love and I can't take on everything that I think I can sell. I have to take on manuscripts that I love, that I think I can sell, that don't compete with books already on my list, that are unique enough to stand out in the marketplace, etc.

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Undercover said:

Thanks, I suppose you're right. It really can be any number of reasons. I just hate the vague ones, which I'm referring to. If it was any of those reasons, why not just say that? I just hate it when the agent doesn't really tell you exactly why.

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Right. Well, that's understandable. But keep in mind that a) agents really don't have a lot of time to write personalized rejections--I think it's quite a nice vote of confidence that she bothered to tell you your execution was great, and really sweet of her to take the time to do that; and b) if it was for some businessy reason that has nothing to do with your ms, that's her business that doesn't need to be disclosed, particularly as it makes no real difference to you the author. Perhaps the reason she passed was for a (b)-like reason, or perhaps there was something in the ms (besides the execution) she didn't click with that would have taken too much time to elaborate upon. It's really very nice when they give you critiques and specifics, but they're not required to do that.

Agents rely on stock phrases when they're rejecting -- they simply do not have enough time to give a personalized rejection letter to everyone, even if they would like to. You are so lucky to get a full request -- that means that you are doing something right with your query. And the comment that the execution was good means that you're doing something right with your manuscript too. It just may not be enough to make the agent want to work with the project and once that decision is made, they really need to move on to the next possibility (or work for their current clients).

Keep submitting. You're almost there!

I can think something is well-written or well-executed, and not love it. I can like something, but not love it. I can KNOW that something will sell, but still not want to represent it.

Think about it this way: You're out dancing. There are LOTS of fairly attractive, cool people at this club. Most of them are pretty good dancers. You dance with several that strike your fancy for some reason or another. This one is tall and goodlooking. This one has great style. That one is super graceful on the dancefloor.

But just because you've danced with a bunch of people, doesn't mean you want to MARRY AND START A SMALL BUSINESS with all of them. Chances are good you won't really fall for ANY of them, no matter how cool they seem at first glance. Because they can't just be goodlooking or stylish or graceful - they have to be a personality and taste match. You have to want to introduce them to your family and friends. You have to be potentially willing to link your name with this person, in some ways at least, including financially, possibly *forever* - and trust them to be sane and stable and whatever else you want in a partner.

Now I don't REALLY think the agent/author relationship is like a marriage except in the most superficial ways - it's a business relationship and there are ways to dissolve it easily (particularly if there are no books sold together). But it is an easy analogy because there is a grain of truth there.

In my opinion, it almost always comes down to this: they don't love it enough (or at all).

It's as simple and as complicated as that.

Of course, it's confusing to get complimented and rejected all in the span of a few sentences. But no matter what words are being used, the meaning is almost always the same: I'm not taking this on, because I'm not in love with it.

A rejection, however it's phrased, always means, "I don't think I can sell this particular novel to a top publisher."

Reading anything else into it just causes frustration.

I love when I'm looking for a product that I get to try it first. I try on a certain dress because I think I might look good in it. Nah, it's a beautiful color (MY color in fact), but it does not flatter my figure at all. It makes me look shorter too! The clerk has no idea why I don't buy it, because it's her goal to sell it.

An agent asks for your full to "try on" your book. Said agent can see many good things in your book but return it because it does not fit her well. Her primary goal is to sell the book to a publisher.

The glass is half full. Keep trying.

The more I see online, the more I realize the process is absolutely like dating. How many second dates didn't happen for reasons you'll never know? Even when all signs pointed toward wow, we really got along...

If you want to be published, if it matters to you, you'll keep putting the best work you can out there and hope the magic happens.

Undercover said:

Thanks for all the analogies guys. I can understand it now. I actually emailed her back asking what it was she was looking for. Funny thing is, she told me that's a vague question! Ha! Then she went into the "spark" idea. She just didn't feel it I guess. That I can completely understand and wished she'd just have said that in the first place. Then she went into telling me to watch my passive voice (which I didn't get cause my novel is in the present tense) and also told me I had too many "had" words which became too distracting for her. I was a little miffed by that and even did a search, counted 80 "had" words in the 55K word novel. I really don't think that's much, I'm sorry. It just seemed like she was reaching for a reason.

I do appreciate all the feedback though!

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Passive voice has nothing to do with past or present, though.

"The foreskin was cut off by the mohel" is as passive as "the foreskin is cut off by the mohel."

I doubt she had a problem with the sheer number of hads, so much as how they were used, or where they were used, or that they generally made the sentences weaker, or something. And I doubt that's the reason for rejection.

If the spark was there, if she really wanted it, she could have taken it on and told you to edit it. It's not the number of "had"s. It's that it didn't click with her. But you asked for concrete reasons, so she gave you some--hence the reaching. To her, it probably seemed like you weren't satisfied with "not for me" or "not what I'm looking for"--the truth--so she gave you something solid to sate you.

But she gave you decent critiques, so--I'd at least take that into account. You're lucky, believe it or not.

Undercover said:

I don't understand why these agents can't just come out and say I didn't like it, sorry. Or something to that effect.

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You're kidding, right? With all the stories around about how an author had an epic emotional meltdown at an agent for rejecting their ms?

I can completely understand why they would want to stick to stock phrases and hope the author will move on.

I just got done doing the "Agent meet Query Letter. Query Letter meet Agent." Speed Dating cycle myself. For me - I didn't mind it. I knew that my stuff was going to need to find the right person. I took the form rejections in stride and looked for any nuance that might indicate they actually typed it.

And I saved every one I got.

Pot of gold at end of rainbow. Just like the rest of us.

caw

Honestly, that's one of the "pat" answers that get used when agents are too busy (or too lazy) to give at least one or two sentences why they REALLY didn't warm to the project. It stinks, but there you have it. If it makes you feel any better, agents get the same terse rejection one-liners from editors

Sort of a side topic, but you will want to make sure you send work that both matches the query as well as what the agent is looking for. I had a conversation a while back with a very nice lady who reps Christian fiction. She said something like 80% of queries were for other than Christian fiction, and of the queries that matched a Christian fiction genre, about half the manuscripts really weren't anything that she would consider as Christian fiction.

As she put it, a story doesn't become Christian fiction because the vampires are okay with crosses.

I did find out that writing Christian fiction, or probably any spiritual fiction, is a lot more detailed than I imagined.

Jeff

Lazy. Yea. That's it.

J.Reid said:

Lazy. Yea. That's it.

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Oh come on, we all know you spend your days sipping them margaritas and stomping writer's dreams under the heel of your Jimmy Choos, laughing maniacally as you send another form that is carefully crafted to play with the minds of us poor, poor writers.



Just in case it's not totally clear:

Undercover said:

Here's my question. I sent my query to an agent that accepts all genres except exotica and she liked the query and requested the full. She got back to me saying she was very impressed with how I executed the story but unfortunately it isn't what she's looking for at the moment. I don't understand why she would ask for the full in the first place then. I mean, why would she?

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_ _ _ maybe b/c they didn't want to take a chance of passing up something that was right for them. So they asked for the full, b/c there was that chance. I kinda think you should be glad of that, even though it ended in a pass. They gave yours a chance. They could've simply said "no dice," right from the get go. Would you really have wanted that?

G'luck to you.