Ha!

Now that IS strange! Like the editor couldn't be bothered writing a note, or maybe even forgot, then wrote on the back of the envelope. Or maybe they are saving on paper???

Or maybe the envelope was subjected to excessive humidity and was already sealed when they wanted to reply.

Maprilynne said:

I got a rejection for a query I sent like five months ago and it was written on my SASE. Like the envelope was sealed and there was nothing in it, but in the back someone had written "Thanks, not for us."

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My gosh. That beats all I've ever heard. Well, at least you don't have to deal with them further.

I think that's rude. Even if the humidity sealed it shut, they could have pried it open, stuck a piece of paper in it and taped it closed.

That's positively weird. I've gotten rejections (and a couple of acceptances, come to think of it) written on the bottom of my own returned query letter, but the envelope? What was the editorial assistant smoking that day?

how lazy.

Aren't you glad they rejected you? If they took you on as a client they'd probably charge you for everything.

Maybe they have trouble putting their thoughts on paper, so they decided to send "air" mail.

Weird strange behavior.

Rejection

Interesting. Some agents and editors write "No," or "Not for us" on the first page of a query, or on the fist page of a manuscript, but I've never seen one use the outside of an envelope.

Guess it doesn't matter. A no is a no, wherever it's written.

That's a new one on me. I've gotten the "Thanks, but not for me" written ON my query, but never just the envelope.

Oh well. You have an agent now who believes in you and that's what matters.

You should assume that your original query letter is in their pile marked "reconsider this if that Cornwell woman fails to submit on time:"

But you could query someone else, just in case....

She must be cleaning up the clutter on the ol' desk 'cause I just got the same exact thing - blue ballpoint scribbling on the back of my barely sealed SASE - from a query I mailed out last May! Lazy, sloppy and very tardy!

funidream

WTF, that is lazy and unprofessional... You deserve better!

Yep - the same one.

I never minded handwritten notes returned on the query letter - sometimes those can be quite nice. And any response is better than nothing, I guess.

The agent I signed with requested a full manuscript by scribbling on my query and sending it back via snail mail. Actually, all my correspondence with her is on the phone or by snail mail. She is old school, and has no email.

If I didn't already land a wonderful agent, I would have probably been miffed by the writing on the envelope technique, but as it was, I only laughed while chucking Damaris Rowland's response into the round file.

fd

That is just plain unprofessional!

I got the same one, last week! Yup, from the same agency. The difference is my envelope was the kind you have to peel off and seal. I thought it was pretty tacky.

Ha Ha, tacky... I made a funny.

LOL! That really IS lazy. Amusing, though. Beats my best "lazy agent" rejection-- once, an agent simply wrote a big red letter "R" on the top of my query and sent it back. I assume it meant "rejection" or "reject," but to this day, I still wonder sometimes.

Rosebud, maybe?

Maybe folks should just start writing their queries on the back of the SASE when they submit to this agent.

In really tiny handwriting. Like 2.5 helvetica or something.

FloVoyager said:

My gosh. That beats all I've ever heard. Well, at least you don't have to deal with them further.

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Totally off topic.

But where are you from, FloVoyager? I've never heard anyone say "That beats all" except in the American South.