Agents no longer giving feedback when rejecting fulls??

Transatlantic

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I've received a total of five or six full ms. requests (I forget exactly, as there've also been partials) -- one about 20 months ago, the others over the past six months.

I've received about four or five rejections now. The last two have contained zero information about why the agent passed. The rejections I got in the past did use to include a word of two of explanation (even if it was sometimes vague).

Is this getting more common? I understood you could usually expect a word or two on why they'd rejected a ms. they'd actually seen fit to read.

Can I reply and ask them to be more specific?

Thanks in advance. I was banking on at least a line of feedback as a booby prize; I'm kind of gutted that I don't even get that!
 

Jamiekswriter

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No, please don't -- whatever you do -- reply and ask for more specifics!!

It will mark you as an amateur and a pain in the neck, unfortunately. Most of the time an agent is so busy that they don't have time to write why they rejected a piece and the reason why a lot of them have stopped giving feedback is some authors won't take no for an answer and keep asking them "why" or arguing with their decision.

I completely understand how much it sucks to get so far . . only to get it rejected and you have no idea why. Just chalk it up to subjectivity and move on. I know how that's easier said than done.

The good news, is you're doing something right to get the full requests. So try not to get discouraged. Good luck!
 

Sage

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Some always give feedback on fulls. Some sometimes do, depending on why they rejected. Some don't ever. It depends on the agent and the novel.

It's totally frustrating when you're getting no feedback on multiple fulls. You want to address the problems, but you don't know what they are. It could just be that they weren't the right agents, or there could be something that needs fixing. You just don't know. Unfortunately, short of finding a new batch of betas to tell you what they think is wrong, you're not getting your answers. And betas wouldn't be necessarily able to tell you if it was a marketing-specific issue.

I feel for you.
 

Susan Coffin

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Trans,

I would not ask for feedback about why they rejected your work. It really doesn't matter why, just that you received a rejection. Time to move on to more submissions.

There could be many reasons for not giving feedback, number one being that agents are very busy. Also, I've heard horror stories from agents who have given feedback and were sorry they did.
 

Drachen Jager

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Probably they didn't give feedback because they didn't read very deep. They know that if they provide a little feedback on the first few chapters, then nothing, that you'll be all up in arms and come back to them screaming "You didn't even get to chapter six! That's when it gets good, you have to keep reading!"

I'm not saying you you but writers in general. If even 1 in 10 writers comes back demanding the agent finish the whole manuscript before rejecting it, they're going to learn pretty quickly that the path of least resistance is no comment at all.
 

Drachen Jager

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Oh, and I'd just like to add. It's not that agents 'no longer' give feedback on certain submissions. That's been going on for years.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Some agents and editors always give a sentence or two of feedback when they read a full. This is usually polite and meaningless. Agents and editors pretty much always give feedback, if there's something meaningful to give feedback on. If it's a book that comes close, but just isn't there, you get feedback. If the book isn't right, but the writer shows promise, you get feedback. They do not, and never have, given feedback when they don't read far enough in to matter, when the book is completely hopeless, etc.

There's no point and no time for giving real feedback when you really can't help the novel, and when there's no indication the writer is sure to send you something great with the next book or two. You always have too many manuscripts, and too little time, so you reserve feedback for times when it matters.

And, of course, about as often as not, all any agent or editor could tell you is, "Didn't hold my interest."

When no meaningful, in-depth feedback happens often enough, it is feedback.
 

Undercover

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It's even harder when you get requests and they don't respond at all. Some do that too.

If you notice a pattern of requests then rejections, it might be a good idea to look it over again with betas, but Sage is right, you really don't know for sure.

Just keep submitting, and keep writing. The trick is to never give up.
 

Phaeal

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The only full I got personal feedback on was the one I sent to my agent, his feedback being, "Yes, please."

That was worth sitting through all the form rejected and no-response rejected fulls. :D And, really, if the answer's no, from a business point of view, the agent shouldn't spend any more time on that submission. If he or she does, you're getting a gift, not your due.

If the agent doesn't send feedback with the original rejection, she doesn't want to supply feedback. Want to sub to that agent again (the answer should be yes -- she bit once)? Don't be a pest.
 
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rac

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I agree with the others here. Agents are very busy--literally swamped with queries and manuscripts. Unless they really, really like a book, they aren't going to read through to the end (they may only skim two or three chapters). The lack of feedback, which is so frustrating for you, is unkind but feedback nonetheless. Although it hurts, you need to brush off your bruised ego and move on. You've had enough requests for fulls to indicate that your manuscript has merit. Hard as it is, you need to keep persevering.
 

DeleyanLee

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I never presume I'm going to get feedback, regardless of what I've sent them. After seeing the mounds of submissions editors and agents get, I think I'm pretty blessed just getting the rejection letter so I know to mark that one off the list as definite.

And even when there's some commentary, it's always personal to the agent/editor, so it racks up as fairly meaningless in the long run.

Just gotta keep on plugging at the system.
 

James D. Macdonald

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Can I reply and ask them to be more specific?

No.

All they owe you is one word: "Yes" or "No." (And all-too-many have moved to "Silence equals no.")

When you go to the store to buy a shirt do you owe the manufacturers of all the shirts you didn't buy a word of explanation as to why not?

Cross that agent off your list; submit your work to the next. When you have a new book you can submit that work to the agent who said "no" this time. Rejections are forgotten.
 

Transatlantic

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Thanks to everyone who provided info, sympathy, and encouragement!

Drachen Jager makes a good point - this agent probably just didn't read far, and maybe it didn't seem as if it'd be helpful to say so (for her, at least).

I disagree, though, that rejecting a ms. you requested to see all of (in a specifically tailored format) is akin to choosing not to buy a mass-produced shirt on display a shop. It's a little bit more personal than that. (I said a little, not a lot.)
 

Terie

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I disagree, though, that rejecting a ms. you requested to see all of (in a specifically tailored format) is akin to choosing not to buy a mass-produced shirt on display a shop. It's a little bit more personal than that. (I said a little, not a lot.)

It might be a little more personal, but the bottom line is that it's actually business. It takes time to say more than, 'No, thank you,' and time is money. If the agent isn't going to offer representation, it makes no business sense at all to spend more time than it takes to say, 'No, thank you.'

Some agents choose to say more, but they do so at their cost.

It's not really reasonable for writers to expect agents to spend more time (= money) than is strictly necessary on a project that isn't going to make the agent money in the long run.
 

Axordil

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I got extensive personal feedback--on an Revise & Resubmit. Which is why they call them that.

Beyond that I've gotten one or two sentences from rejected partial or fulls, and that maybe one time in four. Sometimes they've told me useful things, sometimes not. The upshot is: an agent isn't a beta reader.

If you've ever been in business--think of a query as a response to an ongoing RFI, and a submission as an RFP. And publishing is a business first and foremost.
 

geminirising

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If you've ever been in business--think of a query as a response to an ongoing RFI, and a submission as an RFP. And publishing is a business first and foremost.

Right, or even just a garden variety online job posting, where an employer receives hundreds, maybe thousands, of resumes/applications/cover letters/writing samples.
 

JanetReid

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Transatlantic, I sympathize with your cri de couer but I'm one of those agents that doesn't write much more than "not for me" when responding to fulls. It's purely time management.

To see this from my point of view, read a book, any book, then write a thoughtful 250 word analysis. Clock how much time you spend reading then writing.

Responding to queries and fulls is a very very small part of my job. It's the R&D division--no more than 10% of my time should go to it on any given week. I'm committed to replying to every query, and trying to read as many fulls as I can manage. NOT writing more than a few words in reply to fulls gives me time to read more.

You're taking one for the writing team with these short replies, sorry.
 

Transatlantic

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Thanks for the insight, J. Reid. I'd just somehow gotten the idea that comments on fulls were the norm. I get where you're coming from. Good to get the view from the other side of the desk.
 

WeaselFire

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The fulls were rejected because they were just too awesome for those agents to adequately represent. The agents were left speechless by your prose and unable to add any comments.

Leave it at that and move on.

Jeff
 

Phaeal

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The fulls were rejected because they were just too awesome for those agents to adequately represent. The agents were left speechless by your prose and unable to add any comments.

Leave it at that and move on.

Jeff

Yeah, that's what I always figured.

:D
 

Takoglint

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Damn...10% of an agent's time goes to queries, that's even less than I thought.