Oh, man...this one hurt...

On Tuesday, I queried Russ Galen. Wednesday morning, he requested the full MS. Thursday I sent it to him. Today he got back to me. I knew as soon as I saw his email it was going to be a No. I was expecting a form letter, but instead he sent me a nice email telling me what didn't work for him and pointing out a few things that weren't his cup of tea.

Now, he DID say that it was "quite well written," and that certain aspects were "very nicely done." He even went on to say, of the aspects that didn't work for him, that "...there's nothing wrong with that, and some people will love it, but it's not what I love."

While the compliments are nice, it's still a no. Like finding out your friend got you a blind date by saying you "have a great personality." I really wanted to work with Russ, too.

Alas.

On to the next one.

Rllgthunder said:

The 'not my cup of tea' tells me you just need to find the right agent, David. What type of books does Russ Galen prefer to represent?

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He's repped Harry Turtledove, James Rollins, Terry Goodkind, Mercedes Lackey, and a buch of others. I had thought my book, which is kind of a paranormal/historical thriller, would be right up his alley. Actually, come to think of it, he called it more of a "fantasy/horror."

Rllgthunder said:

You might want to research agents for those genre's and give them a shot, too. You just never know.....

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I will, now. I would have previously, in fact. I just didn't consider it horror. It's a hard one to classify (for me, anyway).

Rllgthunder said:

I have problems putting mine into a genre slot, too. Having an agent suggest the proper one seems like a good piece of information to get back, even on a rejection.

It could be just what you need to find the right one now. Good luck!

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That's a pretty good point. And as far as rejections go, this ain't a bad one to get. I'm just temporarily whiny from the "It's good, but not for me" rejection. It'll pass.

Thanks!

Thanks, everyone. I know, it's a good rejection...

...but it's still a rejection (yeah, yeah...insert violin music here), and I was dejected (more violins), but I'm better now (cue the inspirational theme).

Really, it was just a rare moment of self pity. I try not to give those voice too often, but I was pretty bummed. Like I said, I'm better now.

Saundra Julian said:

I'm sorry, David. Now get back to quering!

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Already did. Sent 4 more e-queries out today, with 1 snail mail query going out tomorrow.