Hannya - just remember what isn't unique for one market might be perfect for another. If the story is good otherwise, trying to figure out how to make it more unique is just going to send you in circles.
The Daily Rejection, Vol. 3
- Thread starter Calla Lily
- Start date
Some more rejections, yeah! One came a few hours after I submitted 
That was the first time I tried that mag, not sure they like me much lol. Anyway, I finally have 3 stories rolling in submission hell, it's an improvement since I started submitting a few months ago. It does help though, I don't feel that attached to any of them particularly, and I'm sure that when I have a constant pool of 5 to 10 submitted stories, I'll probably never even check the tracking systems. In fact I haven't checked them at all today!
That was the first time I tried that mag, not sure they like me much lol. Anyway, I finally have 3 stories rolling in submission hell, it's an improvement since I started submitting a few months ago. It does help though, I don't feel that attached to any of them particularly, and I'm sure that when I have a constant pool of 5 to 10 submitted stories, I'll probably never even check the tracking systems. In fact I haven't checked them at all today!
Thanks for your wise words. That's true enough, and it's hard to know for sure. I twisted a bit the ending to get rid of death-resurrection trope, which I have to admit seems to me, now, a bit of a déjà-vu. But I agree it's useless to keep on editing stories endlessly, I have a very limited market to submit due to the length of my stories (over 10k in average). As soon as that market is exhausted, straight to self-pub
Currently getting a lot of rejections... from potential house buyers. "Your house is lovely, but unfortunately it's just not what we're looking for at this moment."
Can't escape endless rejection even when I'm not on submission. Hahahaha. Sigh.
Can't escape endless rejection even when I'm not on submission. Hahahaha. Sigh.
Another nice (form) rejection, from another agent who - judging by their MSWL and Twitter - seemed like a great fit. Oh well! Judging by QT they're being very, very selective with the fulls they request. Which I guess I would be too, with limited hours in the day to read.
3 more outstanding submissions to go, and then I'll do the whole "reconsider everything" process for first chapters, query, etc. etc.
3 more outstanding submissions to go, and then I'll do the whole "reconsider everything" process for first chapters, query, etc. etc.
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I understand, of course, why agents use standard form rejections without specific feedback. But man, how I wish I could show my query letter and sample chapters to somebody knowledgeable and just be told what the reason is for it being uniformly rejected. Just, "The prose isn't strong enough," or, "The concept isn't marketable," or, "The blurb isn't clear," etc. Like, at this point I've pretty much given up and I don't even think I'd do anything with that information, but just to satisfy my own curiosity.
You totally can, my friend!
Check out Manuscript Academy. Also look for query critiques on Reedsy.ETA: Don't forget about Query Letter Hell here on AW! (Or maybe you've been through the wringer here already.) QLH + paid critique is a great way to go, in my experience.
IMO, these are some of the best investments a serious writer can make. Just make sure you research the available agents on Manuscript Academy (and look for former agents on Reedsy) so you know you're picking an expert.
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It's incredibly subjective; they already have something like it in their list; they don't have anyone to send it to...and a host of other reasons that have nothing to do with your MS.
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You totally can, my friend!
ETA: Don't forget about Query Letter Hell here on AW! (Or maybe you've been through the wringer here already.) QLH + paid critique is a great way to go, in my experience.
IMO, these are some of the best investments a serious writer can make. Just make sure you research the available agents on Manuscript Academy (and look for former agents on Reedsy) so you know you're picking an expert.
I did already get a lot of good advice in QLH here. I'm curious how much query critiques on Manuscript Academy or Reedsy cost. I've been hesitant to pay for anything, because I really think that ultimately my novel is not publishable, so it feels like throwing money away. Might be worth it just to satisfy my curiosity, though.
Brigid Barry said:
I mean, I know this. But with enough statistics of rejections, in all likelihood there must be commonalities among the reasons for rejection, even if it's "There are a lot of stories featuring [X] being queried right now." That's what I'm curious about. (It seems unlikely that 40+ agents each have their own special snowflake reason for rejecting something that are all completely distinct and unrelated.)
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I feel that. The one thing I would add... it's education. Even if your novel is truly "unpublishable" (which I highly doubt), feedback from a professional could influence future work.
When I went through this process ~18 months ago, I think I paid $75-200 per query critique. The best critiques I got were $150-200 from a former trade editor in SFF and a former highly successful agent in SFF. They're both freelance, not on the sites I mentioned. Happy to PM you with details if you want, although I would get cheaper critiques first so you're putting your very best work in front of the top-tier experts.
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Thanks. Maybe I'll do some research on this tonight. I would be interested to have the contact information of the former editor and former agent you mentioned, if you want to PM me, even though I'm not sure whether I'll get to a point where I'd want to hire them for critique.
Lol, I've already been having a hard time for quite a while now, and then yesterday I got laid off from my job that I'd been with for over a decade. And then, while I'm reeling from my sudden joblessness, I get a form rejection from an agent I queried like nine months ago. Impeccable timing, ma'am. Impeccable.
That seems to be how it goes for me as well, although in my case I'm sure it's cognitive bias.
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I thought the Manuscript Academy was cheaper. Their prices are upfront on the site, you don't have to ask for a quote.
I got curious one day and sent out a few requests for quotes on Reedsy. Keep in mind just because you ask for a quote doesn't mean you have to take it. So, if you're really interested, research a few, and if you find one that might be a good fit, ask for a quote.
Reedsy can get costly, especially if you look for an agent or editor attached to a book you know in your genre. It's not the letter alone that is pricey. It's if you want the whole package letter, synopsis, and first 5k words, then you're talking a lot more money.
I think the fact that Reedsy and Manuscript Academy exist and are packed full of reputable sources speaks to the fact hardly anyone is making enough money in this industry, and many professionals have a side hustle.
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Thanks for the information. I did look at Manuscript Academy a bit, and there are a couple of agents who look like they'd be good choices for a query review. But I'm still not sure whether I want to do it; I'm pretty sure their critique will boil down to "Your book is not marketable because of [X]." I just don't know what [X] is.
So I said I queried that agent "like nine months ago," before I got that form rejection, but I logged into QueryTracker and discovered I actually queried that agent 520 days ago. Lol I don't even understand why they would bother to respond after that amount of time, especially with just a form rejection.