Should I be encouraged?

I don't know. Personally, whether one rejects you in the nicest way possible, or in an absolutely horrible way (even for other areas of life other than writing - job interviews, applications etc), a rejection is still a rejection. You've still fallen short of the mark, whether you're within a few inches or a few hundred feet. Maybe that's just me, but some of those statements seem like they could just be a polite way of turning you down while offering some form of "encouragement" just to appease you. To me, it's the same end result and isn't really like some scale you move along. A slightly more encouraging comment this time doesn't mean that the next agent would feel more passionate about one's work than the last one who turned it down even though that agent was more interested than most.

Hi Laurie.

Here are my answers to your questions:

Yes.
No.
Yes.
Huh?
Probably.
Or at least fifteen more.

Clear as mud?

Depending on the agent, getting a personal rejection can be quite flattering, especially if they say they don't normally give them. I've gotten three rejections back so far since February. Two were form letters (one even said so), and the other was quite personal. I appreciated the personal rejection and took the advice to heart.

But that's only three. Out of ten sent out, and many more ready to go. There are hundreds of agents out there. Discovering the one who will be excited about your novel is a crapshoot. Some people roll sevens on the first cast. Others crap out for years before coming up a winner.

Hang in there.

Hey, just getting a rejection is good! There are many times the agent or editor won't even email or snail mail a rejection. You just won't hear from them if they're not interested. Ever.

And remember--what one agent thinks won't sell, or isn't for him/her, another might think is terrific. And yes, it could take dozens of queries. Don't give up!

Stormie is right--you are on the rungs of the ladder and have just begun your climb. Don't look down, the way is up. You'll get many more notes and pleasantries in your journey.

I, hereby, with the power invested in me, award you the great beating heart, because you've earned it, by just your determination to send your baby out there in the world.

Welcome to the land of OZ. Now follow that road, and you know which one it is.

Tri

encouraged

You may as well be encouraged. The alternative sucks.

Laurie said:

Should I be encouraged I received a personal rejection to an unsolicited query from an agent who lists she doesn't respond to queries unless she is interested?

Should I be worried that she isn't the first to find "interesting ideas" or a "intriguing story" and yet not be passionate enough about the project to sell it?

Should I be encouraged she said she could be passing up a good thing, wished me luck and success with this novel?

Or are those 'let's do lunch' statements?

Does an agent ever come out and tell you this ain't gonna sell?

Or, as was said in another thread, I shouldn't even be thinking these things until I've racked up 50 rejections?

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I'd suspect that these are polite platitudes, unless the agent said something specific to let you know he/she has looked at your stuff. But that's beside the point as far as encouragement, and in any case it's nothing you should be discouraged about.

Getting a good agent is basically a numbers game. You have to hit the agent with something that strikes home to him or her personally. Especially if it's fiction, an agent has to be psyched by what he or she is offering to a publisher -- as my own agent told me, otherwise it's just not worth it.

Even the timing often has to be right -- that the agent has been told by a publisher or two to keep an eye out for this or that.

This means that you have to be willing to go out to a couple of hundred agents if you need to. Hopefully you won't have to do that -- in my case it was about eighty all told -- but it may take that long before you hit the right agent with the right stuff at the right time.

It would be an inexperienced or incompetent agent that would tell you something wasn't going to sell. Every good agent has passed on stuff that later sold well via another agent. A good agent might tell you that the writing style wasn't up to snuff, or that your premise wasn't original enough to warrant more attention.