The Daily Rejection

[herenow]

Yes I had one of them too. I'll pass.

[Aldrey]

I got one that said "No cigar."

[herenow]

I think the agents get bored. That's my BIG concern with this agent route. It's like trying to get a rise out of the same crowd that comes to the circus every night. Also they are looking for easy sales, not supporting a book with an eye to it ending up a long term classic.

[Carleree]

The dry spell is over at last. A new rejection just came in. Not too worried, my WIP has finally called my name after a 5 days silence.

[rebelcheese]

I've eaten four form rejections in the last two days. My track record suddenly doesn't look so good. ^^;

It wasn't so long ago when I semi-consistently got partial requests . . . those were the days.

EDIT: Make that five rejections. *makes eternal impression of face upon desk*

[Nova Odyssey]

Originally Posted by Carleree

The dry spell is over at last. A new rejection just came in. Not too worried, my WIP has finally called my name after a 5 days silence.

Awww Carleree... You left me alone with the crickets, then.

[Carleree]

Originally Posted by Nova Odyssey

Awww Carleree... You left me alone with the crickets, then.

Hahahaha! Don't worry, the drought will return.

[rebelcheese]

Six rejections in the last two days now. Ouch. I'm getting seriously agent-pwned.

[herenow]

Yep one more for me too. The main theme is, "this is not for me, but I am sure someone else will feel differently."

At the moment my plan is send to as many agents as I can. Once I have exhausted them all, send directly to publishers.

[rebelcheese]

Originally Posted by herenow

Yep one more for me too. The main theme is, "this is not for me, but I am sure someone else will feel differently."

At the moment my plan is send to as many agents as I can. Once I have exhausted them all, send directly to publishers.

Dude, you'd be better off writing a new novel and trying again instead of submitting directly to publishers. There's no escaping the slush pile.

[Carleree]

herenow, how many beta readers have you had?

[herenow]

Really publishers leave you langering in the slush pile forever...

I have had three. If I sent it to publishers I would get another three before submitting and maybe make this a stand-alone instead of a series.
Maybe I shouldn't bother but I hate the idea of this book being trunked.

If I get an agent with the second book - this one may well be able to be brought out and made into a stand-alone and sold. I guess the trunk books get a second chance at that time right?


I have ideas for a new novel and have been writing them down.

So far I have sent to about 30 agents - had 10 replies all rejections.

[rebelcheese]

Yeah, basically when you exhaust all attempts at finding an agent you trunk the book, and try something else. The trunked book may get another chance later on.

[herenow]

I am loving this new book I'm sketching out. I worked my butt off on this first MS - two years.

This time I am going to reverse engineer my MS. Meaning, I will keep in mind the end result query - keeping it exciting - twist and turns and all that crap. As the query seems to be the most important thing in this whole submitting process.

I am also going to make it totally unique, so it can't be compared to anything in the agents mind. Although I have read they like to compare books to other books, I don't think they really do. Thoughts on that?

[Erin]

I thought writing unique books was the ticket. The 2 books I've been querying have totally unique premises and one's heading to the trunk. Sometimes, I think my Book 1 is too unique and quirky for today's market. I hold out hope that eventually the market shifts from the dark paranormal and readers want something a bit lighter. So it'll stay in the trunk and when I eventually land an agent/deal, I'll pull it out.

So I got another query R and an R on a full (Book 2) yesterday. But it just makes me want to finish my current WIP even more.

[herenow]

Interesting Erin...

I feel that agents looking for YA are reading my MG and feeling it's not complex enough. But this book is meant to be for 9-12 years not 16! I am selecting agents that say they want MG. As much as they moan about wanting MG and not getting it. I can see why so many write YA.

No rejections so far today...

[Sydneyd]

herenow, I feel for ya. It takes writers a lot of heart and time and blood to write out a story. I don't think you should give up on this one just yet. Ten rejections, although each probably hurt, isn't that many. I like to think of other things I've tried to do, sometimes it took me more than 10 times. I would suggests maybe re-working your query once more, before you trunk it.

Unless of course, you are super excited about this next WIP.

I woke up to an empty inbox. Unless my coupons from bath and body count. Which they don't.

[herenow]

14 is tween, right? not YA? It would be nice to be able to use words such as damn, hell and a few other tame ones. Words I avoided in my 9-12 book. I would also like to include maybe smoking and drinking by adults. Maybe the odd smoking by one of my characters. No kids having sex.

[Erin]

Originally Posted by herenow

Interesting Erin...

I feel that agents looking for YA are reading my MG and feeling it's not complex enough. But this book is meant to be for 9-12 years not 16! I am selecting agents that say they want MG. As much as they moan about wanting MG and not getting it. I can see why so many write YA.

No rejections so far today...

I've been told my UF world-building is not complex enough. But it's not meant to be complex in the first book (when the world is changing) and I'm not ready to revise it... unless I land an agent or a deal, of course! So it heads to the trunk. Maybe someday when I run out of projects and feel like completely rewriting it, I'll pull it back out.

[herenow]

Right. Me too, if I added more complexity it would change the whole feel of the book. Right now it has a light roald dahl feel, with quirky characters. I love my book and I feel it's beautifully written and unique.

[EagerReader]

Originally Posted by herenow

So far I have sent to about 30 agents - had 10 replies all rejections.

That's not very many rejections. Keep querying! And maybe work on your query if you're not getting bites. But, that said, I totally get it. I'm writing my third novel, alternating between high hopes and deep despair!

Originally Posted by Erin

So I got another query R and an R on a full (Book 2) yesterday. But it just makes me want to finish my current WIP even more.

I saw someone say around here, take your revenge by writing a better book. Ha! Don't we keep trying?

[herenow]

It's funny I feel like that too. I'm so damn mad I want to write a book, I can kick butt with!

[Erin]

What sucks is that I thought the book I'm soon to trunk was the ONE...so much better than my other works. Obviously, I was wrong.

[EagerReader]

Maybe, we just haven't found the right agent yet. (hope, hope)

[Karen Duvall]

Originally Posted by EagerReader

Maybe, we just haven't found the right agent yet. (hope, hope)

A good agent can make a world of difference, not only for getting the deal but also negotiating the terms of that deal. I doubt i would have the deal from Luna right now if not for my fabulous agent, who stuck with me and my book for 2 years before it finally sold. Yes, it can take that long and longer.

I queried over 40 agents before i found THE ONE. So don't be discouraged. I know of some writers who have queried up to 90 agents before finding the right fit. That's mostly what it is, the right fit. Who connects with your voice and your story because not everyone will.

Best of luck to you, herenow. Perseverance really does pay off.