The Daily Rejection, Vol. 2

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Tepelus

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Thanks, everyone, for your insight and recommendations. I haven't heard from anymore agents yet, and I haven't pitched to anymore either. Still going through query tracker to find ones that may be more suitable than others that I've already picked out.
 

Belle_91

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Things have been quiet for me, too. I thought I'd hear back from at least one agent this week, but alas...

I'm thinking about doing #PitMad on June 4th. Anyone else thinking about doing it?
 

aceafer

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Belle_91 - no, but if you want any help workshopping your tweets, let me know! I find them really fun, and I was lucky enough to get my agent through DVPit.
 

J.B. Rooster

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I'm thinking about doing #PitMad on June 4th. Anyone else thinking about doing it?

I'm on the fence about it. I've been querying since January and have gotten about 20 rejections with no requests for my book, and I'm considering shelving the book to focus on my new manuscript idea, but I think #pitMad is probably a pretty effective way to cut through the chatter, so I'd say it's worth a shot so long as you have a good pitch
 

joeyc

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I would like to do Pitmad. I'm trying to work on my pitch, but it's hard.

I'm also in the same boat as you, @Belle_91. According to QueryTracker stats one of my two queries out (it's not a lot, I'm going super slowly) is past the average response time of 2 weeks. We're at about two and a half now. And I'm still checking my emails at least three times a day.
 

Belle_91

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Aceafer--Thank you! I'm going to take you up on that. I think there's also a board on here somewhere you can submit pitches to for other people to look at/critique before the event.

Joeyc--I haven't hit that mark yet, but I'm also taking into account the pandemic. I got an automated response from an agent saying that it would take them longer than normal to get back to me. Besides #pitmad, this is all the querying I'm going to do until this improves or we reach our new normal. If you want, you can private message me your tweets and I can go over them for me if you like. I think you're allowed three that day.

J.B. Rooster--I agree. I figure it can't hurt. I'm debating the times I want to send out the tweets. I'm thinking the first one at around 9:30ish and the second one maybe at 11:00pm and the last one at one.

Thoughts?

Other than that I've been working on the new MS and trying hard not to panic about querying, covid-19, life in general. My wedding got moved back to sept (I was actually supposed to get married two days after #pitmad) and I'm REALLLY hoping things will have improved more by then so that my relatives from out of state will still come.
 
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noranne

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No #pitmad for me--I'm kind of burned out on Twitter pitching. I've had some fun with it in the past, but none of the requests ever panned out for much (and once was even a CNR, which was especially disappointing for a solicited query!), so I don't have much energy to spare for them anymore.

noranne - Do you maybe just need a recharging break? With so many things shut down, a lot of my usual suggestions aren't available, but maybe you could find a change of pace that'd work. Or is there a particular sticky bit that you're avoiding?

Yeah, unfortunately one of my go-to methods for getting out of a rut is to spend an afternoon with my laptop at a coffee shop. That's not happening again anytime soon! And I think the fact that I'm working from home is hurting. I'm at my desk all day, so I definitely feel "worked out" there by the time my free time comes around. But it's all just excuses, in the end. I have the time, I'm just not feeling enthusiastic about this MS anymore. I think I should finish it, as I'm so close to the end, but I'm worried about what that means about the project as a whole.
 

joeyc

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I'll have to get a pitch together.

CNR on a solicited query sounds kinda rough. I feel one they at least ask for should deserve a form at least.

I've had to move my work from home office to another room so things don't get too samey, but it's still super difficult so I know where you're coming from @noranne.
 

The Circle

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Hey Noranne, I see your list of trunked books and I clicked on your website to learn more about you, and OMG! ... I geeked out. :Hug2:

I lost track of the hours I spent on Zooniverse clicking through pics looking for exoplanet potentials. Even found one! No, I have no degree, just fascinated by other planets and the potential for life out there.

Edit: Ps. that's right, I forgot why I was writing to you. What does CNR mean? Thanks.
 

zmethos

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Edit: Ps. that's right, I forgot why I was writing to you. What does CNR mean? Thanks.

I know you weren't asking me, but since I'm here... CNR means "Closed No Response" - in other words, the query never received any kind of reply and it's been long enough that you're fairly certain you won't hear anything. (For example, it may be past the point that the agent's site says they typically respond, so you assume no response means they're not interested.)
 

The Circle

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I know you weren't asking me, but since I'm here... CNR means "Closed No Response" - in other words, the query never received any kind of reply and it's been long enough that you're fairly certain you won't hear anything. (For example, it may be past the point that the agent's site says they typically respond, so you assume no response means they're not interested.)

Thank you.
 

noranne

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Hey Noranne, I see your list of trunked books and I clicked on your website to learn more about you, and OMG! ... I geeked out. :Hug2:

I lost track of the hours I spent on Zooniverse clicking through pics looking for exoplanet potentials. Even found one! No, I have no degree, just fascinated by other planets and the potential for life out there.

Edit: Ps. that's right, I forgot why I was writing to you. What does CNR mean? Thanks.

That's awesome! I absolutely love exoplanets, but I've never actually discovered one myself! I'm very very much a theorist--I almost never work with data that isn't generated by my computer.

And yes, zmethos nailed the explanation of CNR.
 

Taylor Harbin

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After nearly five months, I got a rejection notice for my short story "Mary Endling" to Mysterion magazine. They said it made the final round of consideration, but felt the ending was too abrupt. This one hurt more than usual. "Mary Endling" is one of my favorite stories, and Mysterion is one of my favorite magazines. Guess I'll try again when they open in July.
 

joeyc

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I got a form rejection today. That's my third. I know I should send more out, but I keep wanting everything to be perfect. The project, the query letter.
 

Liz_V

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No #PitMad for me, because no Twitter. Good luck to those doing it, though!

R cookies to Taylor, joeyc, and anybody else who needs 'em.

noranne - Yeah, working in your writing space and vice versa could definitely drag a person down. Would writing in a public park be feasible, or, I dunno, a bench outside a deserted university building or something? Not the most comfortable set-up, maybe, but at least it would be different.

I always hit a point in a long project where I Just Don't Care Anymore. For me the answer is usually to take a few days off, then kick my butt back into gear and push through it. FWIW, afterward I can't tell from reading it where I was flagging and where I wasn't, and neither can anyone else.

In local news, I've gotten two rejections in the past few days. I'm feeling d@mned discouraged. This is the book that's easy to pitch, it's the one that got terrific response on the opening pages... I really expected to have better results on this one. And yes, it's still early days, I haven't sent out nearly enough queries to be making judgements yet, etc., etc., -- but d@mmit, where are my "hey, this sounds like fun, send me more" responses?
 

liritha

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I got my first full request 10 days ago and my first rejection on a full today. Tbh, I didn't have high hopes for this one because the agent has a really low request rate and an even lower offer rate, and my MS didn't seem to hit her wishlist.

But it's still a downer, particularly because she didn't bother to personalise the rejection in any way: just a generic "it didn't pull me". Looking at AW and QT, this seems to be her MO, no one has received a personalised R, but I was still holding on hope she can provide me with some insight.
 

noranne

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That stings, but hey, congrats on the full request! Especially for an agent with a low request rate. Keep on going!!

:Hug2:
 

liritha

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That stings, but hey, congrats on the full request! Especially for an agent with a low request rate. Keep on going!!

:Hug2:

Thank you noranne and joeyc! I haven't heard anything from anyone else just yet, so fingers crossed this wasn't a fluke. Nothing else to do but keep on sending :)
 

Carleree

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Hi friends :) :hi:Feels like forever since I was here. But I'm back! :hooray: For the first time in years, I flung some queries into the world. I hate that I'm already refreshing my email because I know better. And yet one rejection has already come back. :ROFL:So I guess the band-aid is off, and I'm officially swan-diving into the slush. All set for #pitmad on Thursday. Anyone else pitching?
 

Belle_91

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Carleree--I am!

Also if there are any black writers on here, a bunch of agents and editors are offering to critque your query letters, #pitmad, ect. Go check it out! @KyraMNelson did a whole thread with different links.
 
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joeyc

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I just got rejection number six. So that's... something. Hopefully PitMad gets me somewhere. I had a brief run a few years ago before I reworked the second half, but six queries in this time I'm already feeling like it might not get anywhere.

If there's good news, I'm almost 10,000 words into my next project that I started about 10 days ago.
 

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Anyone subbed to Black Static here, waiting for a response? I know my chances are slim, but I'm nervous as I spent quite awhile on the story that I submitted... Would love to get into that magazine one day...
 

Taylor Harbin

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Two short story rejections, one to a new market and one on a reprint attempt.
 
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