Unhelpful rejection on a full

First things first: Congratulations on the requests!

Next things next: They can take a LONG time to respond to anything, ever. You always hear how glacially things move, but until you're in to, you don't really believe it.

And, moving on: Rejections suck. The further you are in the process, the suckier they are. There's a feeling that just getting the read is great, but in the end, it's not and we all know it. Rejections hurt and sting and they all do and always will. So the faster you accept that, the easier things will be. Sort of. And just so you know, the ones with comments and criticisms and kind words that still say no, they suck, too. And when you get an agent and you get to submissions and those are rejected, those suck, too.

In other words, rejections are rejections and they all suck. It doesn't say anything abut the quality of your work that one rejected without notes -- it just means they were a) busy and b) your book didn't fit with them. It doesn't mean you won't doubt; it doesn't mean you won't fret. But if the work is good -- and you believe you've written it as well as you can write it -- then all the rest is waiting and hoping. And waiting and hoping.

And drinking. Sometimes drinking helps.

Also, just so you know, you must have a great query. That's saying something -- practically a foot in the door.

I wouldn't dwell too much on the form rejection. It may just be that the novel wasn't a good fit for her.

Wait until you hear back from the other two agents before you spend money on an editor. Also, consider SYW on AW. Good luck! I hope things work out for you.

My feeling, in these days of the nearly universal electronic submission, is that we shouldn't differentiate the full request from the partial request as in the good old days of weighty paper MSS and postal fees. It's just as easy to handle a digital full as a digital partial, and it's just as easily deleted, so why shouldn't the agent save time by getting the whole package at once? Query teasers of a few pages aside.

You're getting an impressive number of requests, so your concept's working. Form rejections mean nothing about the quality of the text itself -- a busy agent (like one with a fast turn-around!) isn't going to have time to comment on what she's not taking on. I even had several no-response rejections on fulls -- paper fulls! Ack, the postage, and that SASE was included for what?

Nothing to do about it, though, and trying to read between nonexistent lines just makes you crazy. Been there, have the loony hat to prove it.

So anyway. I'd say we should feel free to have a 5-30 minute private freak-out about ANY rejection, query to full and beyond. And then we simply have to get on with it.

Phaeal said:

So anyway. I'd say we should feel free to have a 5-30 minute private freak-out about ANY rejection, query to full and beyond. And then we simply have to get on with it.

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This.

You'll find that rejections on a full will get easier as well.

I went from a partial request to a full request with one agent. Then got a form rejection. It's clear in that case it wasn't that the first few pages didn't bear any resemblance to the query or something like that, as they wouldn't have upgraded the request.

Form rejections mean what they say: no. They don't give you reasons, so try not to invent them.

Phaeal said:

My feeling, in these days of the nearly universal electronic submission, is that we shouldn't differentiate the full request from the partial request as in the good old days of weighty paper MSS and postal fees. It's just as easy to handle a digital full as a digital partial, and it's just as easily deleted, so why shouldn't the agent save time by getting the whole package at once? Query teasers of a few pages aside.

You're getting an impressive number of requests, so your concept's working. Form rejections mean nothing about the quality of the text itself -- a busy agent (like one with a fast turn-around!) isn't going to have time to comment on what she's not taking on. I even had several no-response rejections on fulls -- paper fulls! Ack, the postage, and that SASE was included for what?

Nothing to do about it, though, and trying to read between nonexistent lines just makes you crazy. Been there, have the loony hat to prove it.

So anyway. I'd say we should feel free to have a 5-30 minute private freak-out about ANY rejection, query to full and beyond. And then we simply have to get on with it.

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They give out hats??

Why was I not informed!!!


anyway....Op, 3 requests from 18 queries, that's the thing that should be on your mind.

One form rejection means nothing. Three form rejections mean nothing. But when forms are basically all you get, it means everything.

Hiring an editor won't help.

Hanson said:

They give out hats??

Why was I not informed!!!

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I took your hat -- sue me.

Rejections sting at every stage...but the farther it goes, the harder those rejections hurt. Wait until you land a top notch agent, get big-5 editors who love it, and then someone on the acquisitions board says no. Talk about ...been there done that more than once. Never gets any easier.

Form rejections hurt. I understand the need to want to know more, but if that's all you got, then resist the urge to ask. As others have said, it's a loooong process. Focus your energy on the possibilities and not the ones you know are dead ends.

Congratulations on the request for fulls. The form rejection sucks and I'm sure those don't sting less over time.

I'm sorry they are taking so long to get back to you. There are lots of reasons why they could be doing so, none of them related to your MS. Be patient and hope for the best.

Good luck. Best wishes.

Form rejections do hurt but remember that many, many people get them and it's part of being published. I had one agent ask for a partial and wanted it to be mailed out. I spent a good amount sending it to her, only to receive a form R. That was painful. Another agent, and I'll say her name because she was so lovely and it reflects well on her, sent me a personal rejection that was so kind and so thorough that I couldn't possibly be hurt. I was very impressed (it was Jenny Bent). Keep trying and don't let the rough R's get you down too hard. And best of luck with the fulls you currently have out. You just never know . . .

In all my years writing and rejections, I only got a couple rejections with feedback. The last rejection with feedback was very helpful and they gave me great advice. I wouldn't worry. You seem to be getting further than a lot of writers get.

Like others have said, you're query must rock.

Make sure your mind lands on the requests you received. And when it starts delving into analyzing rejections, get it busy with something. It's just a waste of your mental energy to try to get inside anyone else's head. Most of the time I'm not even sure what's going on inside my own.

Don't feel bad. I'm up to 154 rejections. I've had a few requests for fulls
(5 or 6), a few partial requests (I forget how many...), and even an R & R.

ONE gave me helpful feedback, and it wasn't even on the R & R. With all the rest, it's been bupkis.

There have been tears, frustration, and now I'm to the point of being seriously pissed. But you have a choice. Keep going, or quit. That's it.

MorganicMoon said:

thanks and sorry to hear about your rejections, but you're right about keep going or quit. For some reason I was under the impression that if an agent has enough interest to request a partial or full, they would provide reasons why they didn't take it on (you know, to help the author). Obviously, that kind of thinking is in line with agents pooping rainbows.

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I could seriously use some rainbow poop right now. :/

MorganicMoon said:

it's Friday, the rainbow day of the week. Wine?

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Slide that bottle over, willya? I need to get a little more maudlin.

Hip-Hop-a-potamus said:

Slide that bottle over, willya? I need to get a little more maudlin.

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YAAAAYYYY MISSSERRRYYYYYYY

*BALLOOOOOOONS*