Thread by @annmrose

Back on the elliptical—or in other words, back to my BS—and thought a good distraction could be a thread about the R word (rejection) anyone up for it? #QueryTip #WritingCommunity #AmQuerying

So first the disclaimer, like I mentioned I’m on the elliptical so typos will inevitably happen… otherwise off we go..

All agents tackle their query boxes differently so this isn’t a one size fits all thing, but hopefully it can give some insight.
What does it mean when an agent says, “this is not a right fit for me” or something along those lines…

Well it could mean a number of things. 1) That’s is not a genre/age group they rep or if they do they might not be looking for it right now.
Maybe their list is pretty full in that area or they already have clients working on things so they have to pull back a little

2) it could mean that the voice just isn’t working for them. It doesn’t mean the voice is bad or wrong just that there isn’t something clicking with it for that one individual

3) and to go along with # 1 — the concept of your project is too similar to something a client is already working on—or it’s a concept they already have out on sub

4) if the agent is an author themselves (because many of us are also authors) maybe it’s a concept they themselves are writing so they for ethical reasons can’t take a look at your project for fear you might think they “stole” your idea.

“Not the right fit” can be a kind of catch all phrase that if they were to offer specific feedback it might not actually be helpful or actionable. Remember just how subjective this industry is

Yesterday we talked about word count and this can also be a reason that an agent will auto reject. If that could is just too far outside the “standards”. Remember agents are looking for reasons to say yes so don’t give us reasons to say no—and this…

Word count is something entirely in your control. You can no say if they will connect to the voice or the character but being in range with WC does give you a slight advantage.

Another thing to consider when it comes to rejection is that it’s a numbers game. (I know business talk—yuck!) but agents are getting on average 100 query letters a week. Some more some less but just looking at the numbers you do have to realize…

It just isn’t possible to read every full manuscript or offer representation to every author. There just isn’t enough time in the day.

Agents may skip around in their query box when evaluating query letters. If you use query manager I’m told y’all can see where you are “in line” in an agents box—which is fascinating. But you shouldn’t read too much into this…

Sometimes an agent might be searching for specific types of projects to fill gaps in their list or like I mentioned above might have to hold off on certain kinds.
As authors who use QM are also aware agents can use flags or key words are flagged in their box…

This can be done to help them find projects they are anxious to find or also just let them know if certain sensitive topics are going to be explored.
I myself am open to many dark themes but I also like to prepare myself for them in advance.

Having a flag isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
Another reason you may feel as though you are being passed over is that the agent wants to take more time with your project.
Some passes are “easier” (see above reasons) and many agents will quickly go through …

Their box to help keep those pesky numbers down. Because I can tell you seeing that number creeping up in the inbox can be quite anxiety inducing.
An agent recently did a contest on who could guess the number of queries they got in one day after being closed…

I think that number was somewhere around 400+ in one day. So if you could imagine if you got an “extra” 400 emails in one day on top of all the other work emails you get maybe then you can get an idea of what that might feel like.

So being “skipped” in the queue isn’t always a bad thing or mean you are a “maybe” and not an enthusiastic yes. There are just many reasons it could happen.

I think the best rule of thumb is to not think the worst in these situations. Everyone has a different way of managing their work load so it could just be that they haven’t gotten to you yet. Not that they’re unenthusiastic about your project or there’s something “wrong” with it

So now that you know all of this what can you do to turn that query into a yes!
Aside from writing the best book you can, that query letter is really important.

It should tell us
Who is your MC?
What do they want? Goals
What stands in their way? Obstacles
What happens if they fail? Stakes

Along with your meta data- TITLE, age group/genre, word count, bio, comps

This “meat” portion of the query is not dissimilar to a back cover copy on a book. It’s the thing you will use to convince us we need to read your pages just like how it does on books at the bookstore when you are browsing.

Having a really strong hook will also make you stand out in the crowd.
The “hook” being what makes this book different from all the other ones in their respective age group/genre.

We keep hearing about the “crowded market” and it’s never going to get uncrowded so tell us how your book will make people go “OMG I have to read that!”

Okay I think that is a good start for now and hopefully gives a little more transparency into this wild world of publishing. (Even with my terrible typos 🫣)
If you made it this far how about a quick #askagent to clarify anything I’ve said or I might have missed (post below)