Is There Any Such Thing as a Good Rejection?
This is Part I in our three-part series on the various forms of rejection.
Responses to agent queries and editor pitches generally fall into three categories:
· Personalized & Helpful
· Formulaic
· Non-existent
Disappointing as it is to get any sort of rejection, a personalized and helpful reply can be a gift. When an agent or editor offers specifics, it can help us improve our querying and pitching skills, and maybe even our writing. Sometimes a rejection gives us a better understanding of the marketplace. In this post, we’ll take a look at three different replies from literary agents and one from an editor that fall under the umbrella of Personalized & Helpful. Next time, we’ll take a look at Form Rejections.
Helpful! A recent reply to a memoir query not only explained that a publisher would require a more “fully developed platform,” it gave the author some specifics about connecting with a potential audience and building social media numbers.
Helpful! I found myself craving more—a stronger hook and higher stakes, especially. That said, I would be open to seeing this manuscript again in the future after revisions. This is beyond helpful, bordering on amazing because the agent left the door open for the future! That absolutely doesn’t happen every day.
Helpful? (Shrug) One author shared via QueryTracker* an agent response that gave insight into a particular genre, stating that the fantasy market is “currently saturated.” While that might help fantasy writers manage expectations, it also begs the question of why agents are still open to fantasy queries if the market is indeed saturated.
Helpful? You decide. A pitch to a well-known humor mag received the response, “We don’t take personal essays,” which is a specific guideline. However such funny, first-person pieces have been spotted on the site so maybe what they really meant was “We don’t take YOUR personal essays…?”
We want to hear about your experience with rejection! What are the best and worst rejections you’ve received? Bring us the good, the bad, and the ugly. How did they make you feel? Let us know here.
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*QueryTracker is an excellent source to get the scoop on how long agents take to reply to queries and what percentage of queries they respond to, in addition to seeing honest author comments about agent experiences.