If I didn't love to write, I'd give up now.

ACEnders · Jan 29, 2008

I'm frustrated and getting depressed. I have sent out 10 queries (via email) so far. I know to some of you, that's nothing. As you can see from my signature, I've received 5 rejection letters - all form, one from the agent's assistant. There are 5 who haven't responded, and it's been a month, so I think it's safe to say those are the ones who don't respond unless they want to see more. And I have 1 I just sent out yesterday, so I'm waiting to see if I get another response. I'm sure if they bother with a response, it'll be a rejection.

First of all, why is it with emails, a lot of agents don't bother with you unless they want more? It's like you aren't even worth a quick click of the mouse. I would think it's a lot easier to hit "reply" and shoot off a few quick sentences in an email than to take the time to print out a peice of paper, stuff an envelope, and send it off in the mail. Yet, snail mail queries are responded to no matter what. Rejection or not.

Second of all, I'm just beginning to feel worthless. My query letter got notes of praise here and in my writing group. I haven't written to anyone yet who wants a synopsis, (though I'm snail mailing one today). I know I'm not going to ever be a classic author like Jane Austen or a commercially successful (and rich) writer like Nora Roberts. But I know I'm decent. I know I'm better than some published books I've read, and yet...nothing.

Guess I just wanted to vent. Thanks for listening.

Feel free to share your feelings of woe, if for no other reason than to reassure me that I'm not the only one...

Calla Lily · Jan 29, 2008

Get up, go outside, breathe some fresh air.

Then raid the fridge for wine and the pantry for chocolate.

Then reread your favorite author--the one who made you want to pick up a pen yourself.

Then research a few more agents and send one more query out there.

<---Read my "location" line. We all get this way! It will pass.

funidream · Jan 29, 2008

ACEnders said:
First of all, why is it with emails, a lot of agents don't bother with you unless they want more? It's like you aren't even worth a quick click of the mouse.

The problem with email queries is that is so easy for the agent to make your query disappear - click!

My experience showed that there is something about the effort and investment shown in a snail query/SASE that compels them to at least respond. During my gargantuan query extravaganza I had way more luck with snail queries. Actually, unless I had evidence (like on a website or such) that no response equalled a rejection, I would wait a month and then send a snail - and I always included the first five pages in a snail query and in this way several e-query non-responses turned into requests for additional material.

I know snail is slower and costlier, but I found most agents who end up requesting additional material would do so via email, so the process speeds up at that point.

I also want to point out that due to the ease in sending e-queries, agents who do accept them tend to get three times as many - more competition for the agent's limited time equals less attention for your query.

Don't get depressed, get determined. Send out a few snails and see what happens.

Twizzle · Jan 29, 2008

You've gotten some good advice already. Vent. Go eat chocolate. Take a walk.

Please don't let those rejections make you feel worthless. You're not.

My first question reading your post was- did you send any pages with your queries? Or are these form rejections just based on your query?

ACEnders · Jan 29, 2008

Twizzle said:
You've gotten some good advice already. Vent. Go eat chocolate. Take a walk.

Please don't let those rejections make you feel worthless. You're not.

My first question reading your post was- did you send any pages with your queries? Or are these form rejections just based on your query?

I forget about all of them, but the one I sent yesterday, I included the first 5 pages as requested.

Wine...going home and having some :hooray:

(after I go to the grocery store. I hate grocery shopping! :rant:

) Walk...well I just got back from a hard 90 minutes at the gym. :snoopy:

Snail mail queries - that's good advice. And I guess it makes sense. I'm sending off one today where the agent requested the synopsis as well as the first chapter. So...we'll see. :Shrug:

donut · Jan 29, 2008

The advice above is good, but it might not kill you to look at that query again. I had a query that got a fairly positive response when I showed it to friends and posted it on Evil Editor's blog... nevertheless, it got me essentially NO interest from agents.

After a few months of failure, I went back to the query and approached it from a completely different angle. After that, I got a lot more requests. (I should note that I also completely overhauled my first chapter, since clearly it wasn't grabbing people.)

dawinsor · Jan 29, 2008

Rejection is so much a part of the writer's life, and it sucks like a hoover, like a gaping chest wound, like a kid with a straw and an extra thick shake. Someone I read says we start with rejection, we live with it, we die with it.

That being the case, your thread title is a great one. We have to write because spinning worlds is satisfying. Then we have to learn to control the things we can (ie our writing) and let the rest go.

Of course, that's easy for me to say. I haven't picked up today's mail yet!

blacbird · Jan 29, 2008

ACEnders said:
I'm frustrated and getting depressed. I have sent out 10 queries (via email) so far. I know to some of you, that's nothing. As you can see from my signature, I've received 5 rejection letters - all form, one from the agent's assistant. There are 5 who haven't responded, and it's been a month, so I think it's safe to say those are the ones who don't respond unless they want to see more.

A month is nothing. You have no complaint until it gets past two months, at a minimum.

caw

Twizzle · Jan 29, 2008

ACEnders said:
I forget about all of them, but the one I sent yesterday, I included the first 5 pages as requested.

Listen to donut then.

Consider a tweak.

Glad you're feeling better.

Shweta · Jan 29, 2008

Also, while you're venting and getting it out of your system, have you seen this rejection letter before? If you know any science fiction, it's good for a giggle

Nari · Jan 29, 2008

Quote: Second of all, I'm just beginning to feel worthless.

Oh, do not ever feel this way! Remember, all is perspective. Trick is, to find a perspective that comes close to your own vision with your writing. The advice here is good, and I cannot add to it, save to say take a deep breath and keep to your vision.

GJB · Jan 29, 2008

If I didn't Love to Write

Early in my journey I thought the same as some of your AW advisors. Five years into my query journey (all by snail mail or face-to-face at conferences for the first four years), last summer I sent out about 15 by e-mail only. It seemed so easy and faster that way. The results: 12 responses, 2 requests for full manuscripts, 5 for partials. The last request for a partial took about six weeks. Of the partials, two more wanted to see the whole manuscript--and at the end of October, I got a wonderful offer call from a NYC agent, the one who took the longest to get back on the partial. And then I got another offer on one of the fulls.

My data point of one is this: If the agent is good, if the agent asks for e-mail pitches only, then that agent is set up to read each e-mail as carefully as hard copy in an envelope. For them the writing matters as much as any hard copy. On average, the responses to my to e-mail queries were so much faster than for the snail mail, so I could plan my life--and they can't steam your stamps off to use on their regular business mail.

One month? You've only just begun. Keep at it and good luck. g.

arkady · Jan 30, 2008

funidream said:
The problem with email queries is that is so easy for the agent to make your query disappear - click!

My experience showed that there is something about the effort and investment shown in a snail query/SASE that compels them to at least respond. During my gargantuan query extravaganza I had way more luck with snail queries. Actually, unless I had evidence (like on a website or such) that no response equalled a rejection, I would wait a month and then send a snail - and I always included the first five pages in a snail query and in this way several e-query non-responses turned into requests for additional material.

I know snail is slower and costlier, but I found most agents who end up requesting additional material would do so via email, so the process speeds up at that point.

I also want to point out that due to the ease in sending e-queries, agents who do accept them tend to get three times as many - more competition for the agent's limited time equals less attention for your query.

Don't get depressed, get determined. Send out a few snails and see what happens.

This has been exactly my experience, as well. That's why I don't use e-queries unless I'm querying one of the few agents who won't accept queries any other way (and they often fail to respond anyway).

Will Lavender · Jan 30, 2008

10 queries and one month?

Really, that's nothing, ACEnders. Chin up!

ink wench · Jan 30, 2008

I know that feeling. Remember, so far they're just rejecting your query. It gets worse when you realize that the only agents requesting partials are those who haven't seen sample pages; then it becomes clear they're rejecting your writing. But that hasn't happened to you. So chin up!

Maybe you need a fresh pair of eyes on your query letter? I'm no expert but I'm happy to take a look if you re-post it.

ACEnders · Jan 30, 2008

Will Lavender said:
10 queries and one month?

Really, that's nothing, ACEnders. Chin up!

Really? How many is average? How many before I give up on this book? I feel my heart jump whenever I send another. Just mailed my first snail mail one today. I included my synopsis and the first chapter. I am going to be on pins and needles for the next couple weeks everytime I check my mail! Yikes!

I'm planning on sending out more next week.

ACEnders · Jan 30, 2008

ink wench said:
I know that feeling. Remember, so far they're just rejecting your query. It gets worse when you realize that the only agents requesting partials are those who haven't seen sample pages; then it becomes clear they're rejecting your writing. But that hasn't happened to you. So chin up!

Maybe you need a fresh pair of eyes on your query letter? I'm no expert but I'm happy to take a look if you re-post it.

I should probably put it out there again. I get nervous doing that too! lol. But...I'll post it now. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks guys!

Meira · Jan 30, 2008

I saw your query in the Query Critique thread. That is a smart idea, even if you've already visited. The feedback can vary greatly. You need to go with your gut instincts and sort it out. (Easier said than done.)

Second, I agree with funidream about the e-mail vs snail mail process. If the agent accepts both, I go with the snail mail.

How many before I give up on this book?

Don't give up! :Lecture:

Start with the highest ranking agents and work your way down. Then look at small (legitimate) publishers that accept queries from authors.

My husband once asked me that same question. "How many?"
My answer: "As many as it takes."

Will Lavender · Jan 31, 2008

ACEnders said:
Really? How many is average?

Hard to say. I've heard of people sending out two or three queries and landing an agent within a week of starting the process. I've heard of people sending out fifty or more and finally getting one more than a year after they began. I probably sent 20 at least.

Ms. Snark said send 100 before you give up, didn't she?

Marian Perera · Feb 6, 2008

I wrote a book in 2002 and sent out about 25 query letters then. Got one rejection of a full. Real life intervened for a while, but I looked at the book again in 2007, reworked the query letter and sent out another 25. Got four requests for partials, one for a full and one offer of representation.

Saundra Julian · Feb 6, 2008

Hang tough, sweetie!

blacbird · Feb 6, 2008

Will Lavender said:
Hard to say. I've heard of people sending out two or three queries and landing an agent within a week of starting the process. I've heard of people sending out fifty or more and finally getting one more than a year after they began.

I've heard of people sending out a hundred or more and never getting an agent. I can provide a testimonial.

caw

windyrdg · Feb 6, 2008

Watch the industry news in Publishers Lunch and see who's new to an agency or setting up shop. They may be a little hungrier. I emailed a query to a new agent (about 6 mos. in agenting...13 years in publishing) and got a request for a partial within two weeks. No guarantee she'll want more, of course, but I'm sure a year or two from now when she's got 30 clients and hundreds of queries coming in it would have been harder.

It also helps to accept that your life is quided by invisible hands. Things happen a certain way for reasons we don't always understand. All we can do is try; if it's meant to happen, it will.

Good Luck.

MsJudy · Feb 6, 2008

There is no average. Because let's be honest, some of us spend a long time querying about books that just aren't as good as they could be. (I'm talking about myself here, not anybody else, don't anybody get insulted!) And some great books get rejected for a while because there's something so fresh or unique or unusual about them that it takes a while to find the right match. Now, figuring out which you have...the trunk novel that could use some time in a dark closet, or the unrecognized gem just waiting to be discovered.... Well, now, that's the trick.

arkady · Feb 7, 2008

blacbird said:
I've heard of people sending out a hundred or more and never getting an agent. I can provide a testimonial.

caw

Maybe I'm just sour -- hell, I am sour -- because I got an e-rejection on an e-request-for-partial for my latest book just this morning, but I'm beginning to think the same way. Uninformative, useless form rejections R Us.

(Standard disclaimer: yes, I've posted to SYW; yes, crit readers have read and loved it; yes, I'm working on my next novel -- though with dwinding hopes.)

It also helps to accept that your life is quided by invisible hands. Things happen a certain way for reasons we don't always understand. All we can do is try; if it's meant to happen, it will.

If that's supposed to be comforting to those for whom it hasn't happened yet, it falls short. The invisible hands still haven't steered me to an agent who'll say "yes."

If I didn't love to write, I'd give up now.

Self-Banned

On hiatus

Cluck that.

Self-Banned

fame-seeking floozy

Dorothy A. Winsor

Cluck that.

Sick and absent

Spinner and Weaver

Oh, what a ride

Everything is what it seems.

ray of motherf#%&ing sunshine

Self-Banned

Self-Banned

Informant X03981

Everything is what it seems.

starting over

A work in progress

New kid, be gentle!