Comments on: Rejection Follow-Up

By: Cassandra

Cassandra — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:53:23 +0000

Wow. Who knew people would ruin their reputation and relationships with potential agents by throwing temper tantrums! Thanks for this great post.

By: Kidlit.com · Rejection Follow-up Part 2

Kidlit.com · Rejection Follow-up Part 2 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:54:25 +0000

[...] my earlier blog post about rejection follow-up, I covered two responses I frequently get to just your run-of-the-mill rejection. But, as I said a [...]

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:00:35 +0000

jtuttle — Some agents only take queries, so that’s the only submission they usually receive. Of course they (or an assistant) read them. And some agents are faster than others, they really love that clean inbox. A book isn’t all about the writing, which is probably something I should post about. If the rejection seemed super quick, that’s probably because something else about the genre or story didn’t resonate with the agent. I take on very little high fantasy, for example. If the idea or the story doesn’t grab me, I’ll reject more quickly because I know it’s not something I’m interested in. I wouldn’t be the right advocate.

By: jtuttle

jtuttle — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:16:15 +0000

What about if you get a form rejection after sending JUST a query letter (no part of the manuscript)) and you get a rejection moments after you send it. How can an agent tell what your writing is like from the query? Did the agent even read the query? I wonder about that.

By: Katie Carroll

Katie Carroll — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:12:54 +0000

I always respond when an agent or editor gives me a personal rejection. I have these little notecards that I use to send a handwritten thank you via snail mail. I keep them very short and to the point. I started doing this after reading Carolyn See’s book “Making a Literary Life.”

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:58:40 +0000

Kim — Good question. I write a post about this, so watch out for that in the next couple weeks, my blogging schedule is a little cramped right now.

By: Kim Baccellia

Kim Baccellia — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:42:14 +0000

Ok, I have a question. When an agent has rejected a requested full or partial is it ok to send a thank you email or letter? Especially if they give personal feedback? I’m reading that some agents say not to do this. What do you suggest?

By: Shannon

Shannon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:36:26 +0000

This is nice to know, because I’ve only ever responded to a rejection when it seemed so specific and personal and kind. It was an ejection, and it prompted me to write a snail mail thank you-I really appreciated her time!

By: beth

beth — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:51:58 +0000

I…cannot fathom doing either of these. It always astounds me when people are so unprofessional! The only time I’ve ever responded to a rejection was when I was writing a thank you for personal feedback.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:33:07 +0000

Meradeth — Personal preference operates on a level far above and beyond what I deal with in the slush. 99% of the queries I get, I’ll reject because the writing isn’t strong enough or the idea isn’t saleable. I’m not saying that “not for me” is the euphemism for weak writing across the board, but it is the most frequent reason for rejection for me. After I weed out all the people who submit weak writing and bad premises, I’m left with the people who have good ideas and can write well. THAT’S when personal preference comes in. If I love an idea and it’s totally up my alley and in line with my interests and I’d PREFER to have that book on my list, but the writing isn’t there, I won’t take it on because I doubt a lot of editors would be interested in this competitive market.