The Daily Rejection

I have a Twitter list called Publishing. I put agents in there instead of following them. Then I just click my list to check out what everyone's talking about today.

Heathertruett said:

I have a Twitter list called Publishing. I put agents in there instead of following them. Then I just click my list to check out what everyone's talking about today.

Click to expand...

that's useful, thanks!

Heathertruett said:

I have a Twitter list called Publishing. I put agents in there instead of following them. Then I just click my list to check out what everyone's talking about today.

Click to expand...

I'm so technology-challenged I don't know to make a list on twitter.

Rejection Wednesday strikes again, this time for a short story that I wrote very specifically for a certain anthology and now don't know what to do with it... Oh, well. Chalking it up as good practice.

Oh oh, good point, Heather! I kinda like having them show up in my main feed, too. But Carleree, you don't even have to have a Twitter account to see other people's public lists. Here's Rachel Gardner's Agents list: https://twitter.com/RachelleGardner/lists/agents And of course you could check individual agents' Twitter feeds, I think QueryTracker has links for the ones that do Twitter.

Crap, sorry, WendyN. My only short stories are genre flash fiction, and I run out of possible markets real fast.

Carleree said:

I'm so technology-challenged I don't know to make a list on twitter.

Click to expand...

I used to know how to make them but not use them. I just figured it out last month.

Nova Odyssey said:

Those lingering ones are annoying but glad there was usefulness in this one.

Click to expand...

It wasn't really lingering. I just have a large number of queries out and I want to hear. Maybe it's because I've been querying this thing for a long, long time, and this was my "okay, I'm going to query everybody else I can find and decide this one way or the other" move.

I'm also curious as to how my switch to "fiction" rather than trying to fit the work into a particular genre cubbyhole will work. So far a handful of form Rs and a couple full requests... with many, many yet to be heard from (or written off due to the passage of time).

I see that one of my SFFpit requesting agents has been deciding some of the subs in the last few days. Maybe mine is coming soon?

It's officially been a year that I've been querying FROGS. I'm feeling very burnt out about writing this week. I wish the remaining agents who have subs would just get back to me already so I can have some closure on this MS. I'm feeling mighty sad about it.

The SFFpit agent who requested a partial, then upped the partial to a full in less than a week--which I thought was a really good sign--has now been MIA for weeks. Oh, well.

krashnburn said:

It's officially been a year that I've been querying FROGS. I'm feeling very burnt out about writing this week. I wish the remaining agents who have subs would just get back to me already so I can have some closure on this MS. I'm feeling mighty sad about it.

The SFFpit agent who requested a partial, then upped the partial to a full in less than a week--which I thought was a really good sign--has now been MIA for weeks. Oh, well.

Click to expand...

Krash, reading a full takes a while--weeks, in fact. Do you mean that you gave him/her several weeks, then followed up several weeks ago and got nothing? Or do you mean it's been a few weeks since you sent the full? If the latter, then you're still in good shape. I'd expect 6-8 weeks minimum for consideration of a full. It's possible an agent will get back to you faster, but I wouldn't count on it...

angeliz2k said:

Krash, reading a full takes a while--weeks, in fact. Do you mean that you gave him/her several weeks, then followed up several weeks ago and got nothing? Or do you mean it's been a few weeks since you sent the full? If the latter, then you're still in good shape. I'd expect 6-8 weeks minimum for consideration of a full. It's possible an agent will get back to you faster, but I wouldn't count on it...

Click to expand...

No, she's only had the full 5 weeks. I just thought after such a quick response on the partial, when others haven't even heard back on their partials yet, meant I stood a good chance of hearing back on the full quickly. Just a dream, I guess.

krashnburn said:

No, she's only had the full 5 weeks. I just thought after such a quick response on the partial, when others haven't even heard back on their partials yet, meant I stood a good chance of hearing back on the full quickly. Just a dream, I guess.

Click to expand...

That's totally logical. What's the matter with you, thinking logically, lol?

It's probably just the fact the full is a lot longer than the partial. I don't think you can read anything (such as a slackening of enthusiasm) into it.

I woke three times last night, and was dreaming of the bakery around the corner each time. I think the universe is trying to tell me I need to buy some baked goods.

krashnburn said:

It's officially been a year that I've been querying FROGS. I'm feeling very burnt out about writing this week. I wish the remaining agents who have subs would just get back to me already so I can have some closure on this MS. I'm feeling mighty sad about it.

Click to expand...

Does it make you feel any better than I'm but a few days shy of having been querying my old book for two years?

I'd be feeling burnt out were it not for my new book, which I love. Maybe because I haven't queried it yet, unless you count the SFFpit subs that have yet to garner any response at all. Maybe that's good, though. I am finishing up a new set of polishing revisions. Give me a few more days, people, then send those full requests

Hathor said:

Maybe that's good, though. I am finishing up a new set of polishing revisions. Give me a few more days, people, then send those full requests

Click to expand...

Sometimes the universe knows and (here's the important part) works in our favor.

Honestly, no, it doesn't make me feel better to know you've been doing it for 2 years. It just makes me think I'll have another year of this because I love this MS to much to really let it die completely. I sent two more queries today. I only have another 7 agents I really want to query, and I have to wait on all of them because they're at agencies where another agent there has my MS now (for many months).

Carleree--don't say that!!! I could totally face-plant into a chocolate cake right now! Seriously. Put one in front of me. Oh, great. I'm salivating...*brings up google to find nearest bakery* The kids will be very happy tonight you mentioned baked goods.

Watching LOTR in small installments with my 7yo. He did the banana dance last night after Aragorn showed up with his army of the dead and took down the enemy. It's now his go-to dance.

I'm reading WONDER right now. Really great MG.

krashnburn said:

Sometimes the universe knows and (here's the important part) works in our favor.

Honestly, no, it doesn't make me feel better to know you've been doing it for 2 years. It just makes me think I'll have another year of this because I love this MS to much to really let it die completely. I sent two more queries today. I only have another 7 agents I really want to query, and I have to wait on all of them because they're at agencies where another agent there has my MS now (for many months).

Carleree--don't say that!!! I could totally face-plant into a chocolate cake right now! Seriously. Put one in front of me. Oh, great. I'm salivating...*brings up google to find nearest bakery* The kids will be very happy tonight you mentioned baked goods.

Watching LOTR in small installments with my 7yo. He did the banana dance last night after Aragorn showed up with his army of the dead and took down the enemy. It's now his go-to dance.

I'm reading WONDER right now. Really great MG.

Click to expand...

If it makes you feel any better, this bakery deals mostly with bread. No cake. I left with a bag of buns, a loaf of bread, 2 ham and cheese croissants, three donuts and half a dozen cookies.

Speaking of universal mind, my husband went shopping this morning. At lunch, he told me, "I have some Kraken for you now."

I tried not to fall off my chair. He is unaware of my WIP's metaphor. He bought me Kraken Spiced Rum.

Happy Thursday everybody!

Hathor said:

Speaking of universal mind, my husband went shopping this morning. At lunch, he told me, "I have some Kraken for you now."

I tried not to fall off my chair. He is unaware of my WIP's metaphor. He bought me Kraken Spiced Rum.

Click to expand...

THAT is a sign!!!


mmmm...donuts.
mmmm...cookies.
*digs change out of purse and heads for vending machine*

Happy Thursday, everyone.

Finished editing a short story this morning and pulled out a few old ones to revise and polish up to send out again.


krash - Happy query-versary to FROGS. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for it!

In total - going back about six years since my very first rejection - I must have had about 50 rejections. The majority of those occurred in the past two years when I started sending work out on a regular basis, as opposed to maybe once every couple of years. Most of them have been form rejections beginning with 'Dear Author'. Lol.

Has anyone else had any experience with London agents? Most of them, I've noticed, ask straight away for the first few chapters, plus synopsis. But I've noticed American agencies tend to ask for a query letter first. Wonder why this is...

Can I... can I whine for a second?

I'm feeling like querying my current story is getting pointless. I've hit the 60-mark and while I know that's not a lot, since I've gotten no bites since January. Nothing. I know there's more agents out there but I seem to be having a hard time finding them now. All the websites and feeds I keep looking at keep showing me the same agents I've already known about/queried.

Part of me is debating on focusing my energy on my currently editing WIP, because it feels like more of a special snowflake than the one I'm querying. (ha ha).

ETA: well, there's UK-based agents, but I thought that US-based writers shouldn't really query them.

Supermarine_Spitfire said:

Has anyone else had any experience with London agents? Most of them, I've noticed, ask straight away for the first few chapters, plus synopsis. But I've noticed American agencies tend to ask for a query letter first. Wonder why this is...

Click to expand...

Perhaps because they get fewer queries overall, so actually have time to look at pages as well as letter? I definitely think it has worked in my favour - you don't need to have as polished/snappy a query. The synopsis and pages are more important.

Antonin said:

Can I... can I whine for a second?

I'm feeling like querying my current story is getting pointless. I've hit the 60-mark and while I know that's not a lot, since I've gotten no bites since January. Nothing. I know there's more agents out there but I seem to be having a hard time finding them now. All the websites and feeds I keep looking at keep showing me the same agents I've already known about/queried.

Part of me is debating on focusing my energy on my currently editing WIP, because it feels like more of a special snowflake than the one I'm querying. (ha ha).

ETA: well, there's UK-based agents, but I thought that US-based writers shouldn't really query them.

Click to expand...

I've had luck with UK agents. It's worth a shot.

Carleree said:

If it makes you feel any better, this bakery deals mostly with bread. No cake. I left with a bag of buns, a loaf of bread, 2 ham and cheese croissants, three donuts and half a dozen cookies.

Click to expand...

*mouth waters*

Mama just made a chocolate cake. I'm about to partake.

My poem for the day.

I'm losing my touch. I went looking for a "special snowflake" smilie and couldn't find anything I liked.

So we'll all have to use our imaginations for our sweet new works that no one has ever rejected