Another rejection today. I could see the preview of the letter on my phone, but it cut out just after "I don't think I'm the right age... "
At the time I was driving home from an event where I had to give an impromptu speech and I was just relieved I didn't screw it up too bad then I saw the email. I wanted to pull over and read it on the side of the road, that way I could kick up dirt or punch a road sign, but the kids were already in the car too long so I just sat there for over an hour thinking what the hell does age have to do with it.
Here I am thinking maybe I wrote a kid/middle grade/YA only agent, but then I saw who it was and I knew she accepted adult. Then I started to get optimistic for some reason and thought it was going to say something like "not the right age, but I know a great agent who will be perfect." Or even better maybe something like "but I've decided to make an exception just for you!"
It didn't say anything like that. It said "not the right ageNT for you." Then it went on and said the exact same thing as the last one. It's OK.
I still have the full MS out to one agent. And I have a couple queries out to my original top two choices. I also still have one in to an agent that seems to be really nice. She's probably the least likely, but I really think she would be great so I have my fingers crossed.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Rejected!
Three days after I submitted my first queries and I have received my first rejection. I'm sure that my query has already been rejected by others, but Mr. Lazar was kind enough to send an email. It's weird to think a rejection letter is a form of kindness, but it really is. The anticipation of the others is brutal.
I kind of wish none of the agents asked for samples up front. That way I would at least know if it was my query or my manuscript.
This first rejection letter was completely expected. I only wrote to him because querytracker said he was the most rejecting agent. I figured if he accepted me as a client then I must have really good stuff, but if he didn't it's ok because he rejects everyone. I said as much in the letter which probably didn't help my case.
Last night I sent an extremely specific query letter to Janet Reid at FinePrint. I had no intentions of sending one to her, I did intend to send one to Peter Rubie because he seemed like he was looking more for what I have than her. However, after I sent that bad manuscript out I asked her for her opinion on what to do and she actually answered me and did so very quickly. I was so happy with her that I searched her past clients trying to find a novel that had some similarities to mine and bought The Breach by Patrick Lee. I was only able to read the back so far, but it seemed similar enough to give it a shot. I, like most authors, think my book will sell, and so far I would feel best about giving a cut to her.
I kind of wish none of the agents asked for samples up front. That way I would at least know if it was my query or my manuscript.
This first rejection letter was completely expected. I only wrote to him because querytracker said he was the most rejecting agent. I figured if he accepted me as a client then I must have really good stuff, but if he didn't it's ok because he rejects everyone. I said as much in the letter which probably didn't help my case.
Last night I sent an extremely specific query letter to Janet Reid at FinePrint. I had no intentions of sending one to her, I did intend to send one to Peter Rubie because he seemed like he was looking more for what I have than her. However, after I sent that bad manuscript out I asked her for her opinion on what to do and she actually answered me and did so very quickly. I was so happy with her that I searched her past clients trying to find a novel that had some similarities to mine and bought The Breach by Patrick Lee. I was only able to read the back so far, but it seemed similar enough to give it a shot. I, like most authors, think my book will sell, and so far I would feel best about giving a cut to her.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Sending the manuscript to the agents
Novel is written and ready to go to the agents. It's a sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian, thriller with a little bit of a pizza party somewhere in the mix. I just don't know what to say my book is. It seriously has elements of all of the above (oddly enough pizza is my favorite food and there isn't a single mention of pizza in the entire thing). If you sound wishy washy about what your book is, I'm sure that automatically leaves a pretty bad impression. So I'm sticking with thriller and saying cross-genre when acceptable.
On another note about finding your genre, the prefix of literary needs to be removed from life. First of all, when you say your work is not literary it just hurts on the inside. Second, what the blank is literary anyways? I always thought literary was the work your professor in Lit101, or maybe even 102, wrote that sucked, but if you said so the reply was automatically "you just don't get it." I feel like any agent who says they only represent literary works is an agent who doesn't like to eat.
This finding a literary agent business is for the birds. I keep reading posts about how people send out their queries to 15 agents at a time and maybe hear back from two of them, and it doesn't give me a whole lot of hope. But here is my story so far:
7/22/14 11:55 pm. Sent out my first query letter to three agents. In that first query letter it had cheesy questions basically saying "Who done it? Read the book and find out!" On top of it being bad, I didn't include my contact info. Awesome, right?
7/23/14 3:30 pm. Rewrite the query letter. It's over 500 words. Not good. Spend the next hour deleting, replacing, redeleting, regretting and I'm done.
7/23/14 5:56 pm. Send out new letter to one new agent. An agent I am sure will not reply because he is in the number one agency according to the internet. We will refer to him as Agent X.
7/23/14 6:01 pm. Agent X asks for the full manuscript. What?!?!?! Notice the times between the last two entries. 4 minutes. 4 emineffing minutes!
7/23/14 6:06 pm. Not to seem I very anxious, I wait a whole five minutes before sending the manuscript over. That's a lie. The only reason it took five minutes is because I figured the email I got was just one of those auto replies. I sent it over the second I saw the request.
7/23/14 6:07 pm. I call and text everyone that knows I'm writing a book and tell them about how Agent X is the best agent that has ever existed and how it's pretty much a done deal. Next week Oprah is going to make a special appearance back on whatever channel she was on just to interview me about the book.
7/23/14 8:30 pm. I look back over the email I sent to Agent X just to admire the awesomeness of of all. I open the manuscript just to admire the awesomeness of it all more thoroughly. I see that I sent him an older version of the manuscript without chapter headings and a hole bunch of typos.
7/23/14 9:31 pm. After debating whether or not I should admit the mistake and send a newer copy for an hour I finally do.
7/23/14 9:31.5 pm. Instantly regret sending another email.
7/23/14 11:50 pm. Realizing I screwed it up with Agent X, I send out the query to Agent #5.
7/24/14 8:03 am. Start a blog called New Author Blues
On another note about finding your genre, the prefix of literary needs to be removed from life. First of all, when you say your work is not literary it just hurts on the inside. Second, what the blank is literary anyways? I always thought literary was the work your professor in Lit101, or maybe even 102, wrote that sucked, but if you said so the reply was automatically "you just don't get it." I feel like any agent who says they only represent literary works is an agent who doesn't like to eat.
This finding a literary agent business is for the birds. I keep reading posts about how people send out their queries to 15 agents at a time and maybe hear back from two of them, and it doesn't give me a whole lot of hope. But here is my story so far:
7/22/14 11:55 pm. Sent out my first query letter to three agents. In that first query letter it had cheesy questions basically saying "Who done it? Read the book and find out!" On top of it being bad, I didn't include my contact info. Awesome, right?
7/23/14 3:30 pm. Rewrite the query letter. It's over 500 words. Not good. Spend the next hour deleting, replacing, redeleting, regretting and I'm done.
7/23/14 5:56 pm. Send out new letter to one new agent. An agent I am sure will not reply because he is in the number one agency according to the internet. We will refer to him as Agent X.
7/23/14 6:01 pm. Agent X asks for the full manuscript. What?!?!?! Notice the times between the last two entries. 4 minutes. 4 emineffing minutes!
7/23/14 6:06 pm. Not to seem I very anxious, I wait a whole five minutes before sending the manuscript over. That's a lie. The only reason it took five minutes is because I figured the email I got was just one of those auto replies. I sent it over the second I saw the request.
7/23/14 6:07 pm. I call and text everyone that knows I'm writing a book and tell them about how Agent X is the best agent that has ever existed and how it's pretty much a done deal. Next week Oprah is going to make a special appearance back on whatever channel she was on just to interview me about the book.
7/23/14 8:30 pm. I look back over the email I sent to Agent X just to admire the awesomeness of of all. I open the manuscript just to admire the awesomeness of it all more thoroughly. I see that I sent him an older version of the manuscript without chapter headings and a hole bunch of typos.
7/23/14 9:31 pm. After debating whether or not I should admit the mistake and send a newer copy for an hour I finally do.
7/23/14 9:31.5 pm. Instantly regret sending another email.
7/23/14 11:50 pm. Realizing I screwed it up with Agent X, I send out the query to Agent #5.
7/24/14 8:03 am. Start a blog called New Author Blues
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