So I Just Got My First Rejection Letter ...

[kjjcarpenter]

Greetings fellow scribes,

I haven't posted here in awhile, and I thought I'd come back to give my first impressions after receiving my first rejection letter from an agent. I am writing this bare minutes after opening the email, so prepare for an amateurish ramble of disconnected thoughts, but it is all fresh and genuine.

It's currently 3 AM in the morning where I am. I have had the last few days off work (and because I work from 1 AM to 7 AM, you don't need to wonder why I'm up at this wonderful hour), and I was just lying down in bed when I thought I'd check my emails. A few weeks ago I had sent off 7 agent queries, and expecting a four week reply, this will probably be the first of many.

I hovered my curser over the email, clicked, and the text opened.

Rejected. I expected little else, but it still hit me like a knife to the heart. Cut me to pieces. If I had been standing, or sitting, I probably would have fallen to my knees and weeped a little bit. I read the letter over and over again, seeking for hints about my rejection, but the letter was fairly devoid of criticism. In fact, in the short amount of text they sent me, they apologised three times, and actually tried to reason with me that their decision was justified.

If I may paraphrase, the agent insisted that they are one person, and my skill cannot be judged on their opinion alone. I thought it was cute, a little ice to soothe the burn, until I realised the entire letter was a simple copy/paste, which pretty much tells me nothing about the quality of my work, nothing about what the agent actually thought of it, or, to be honest, if they took my rejection seriously or not.

This is when the depression turned into an acute form of ire, and here's the big killer:

They didn't even address me by name.

Not only was their email a copy/paste, they couldn't even take the time to take the template introduction of "Dear Author" and change it to "Dear Kevin". This infuriated me. Sure, one of their apologies dealt with the fact they have umpteenth queries to siphon though, but don't tell me you can't type in my name? I have run my own editing business, along with being manager of my current job, and if I simply replied to a query with "Dear Client" I would not only be berated, but possibly demoted as well (assuming it is with my current job). I can not only understand how any agent, or any job for that matter, can get away without calling a potential client by their name. It's insulting, and the worst part about it is if I sent my query letter to the agent without addressing their name, I would be immediately rejected. A little bit of common courtesy would be nice. As authors, we are expected to follow an extensive list of rules when writing a query letter or else our submission will not be read or replied to, yet apparently the agent, or at least this one, which I will keep anonymous, thinks it's okay not to return the same salutations. Very, very disappointed by this.

All in all, mixed emotions for my first rejection letter. Not as bad as I initially thought, but could have been a lot better. If anyone is interested, I will update as the replies continue to leak into my inbox.


For now,
Hasta Luego

 

[Philip Overby]

While it's understandable that you'd be disappointed or upset that you were rejected, the form letter rejection is actually quite common. It's nothing against you, it's just how a lot of publishers and agents handle things. If you have to read hundreds if not thousands of submissions, it's not always possible for them to personalize each one. Just be aware that this is a pretty common practice.

I've received rejections, some form letters and some personalized. It's always nicer to get the personalized ones, because at least then they can explain why they're rejecting it, which is always easier to swallow. However, sometimes a form letter rejection is getting easier for me. Mostly because it allows me to say "OK, that didn't work. Let's try again." I don't always need to know what did and didn't work from a rejection. I can figure these things out on my own hopefully or have critique partners clue me in.

Sorry to hear the experience bummed you out. But put it this way: at least it's over. I hope you don't have a lot of rejections, but once you have that first one, it gets easier from here on. Even the best get rejected, so dust yourself off and keep it up.

One thing of note: I wouldn't make it a common practice to rail against people that reject you. It's best to just take it graciously and move on, even if you're offended by the rejection being impersonal. Writing isn't just about being a good writer, but showing how you can handle interacting with fans, publishers, and other writers. If you post a complaint about a review or interactions with a publisher, it can reflect poorly sometimes.

However, if you feel it's cathartic and that you have enough anonymity to do it, then do what you wish.

Once again, sorry for the rejection, but keep it up! You'll make it, I'm sure.

 

[Guy]

Rejected. I expected little else, but it still hit me like a knife to the heart.

Yeah, that's how it is with me, too. I know rejection goes with the territory, but it still hurts.

if I sent my query letter to the agent without addressing their name, I would be immediately rejected. A little bit of common courtesy would be nice. As authors, we are expected to follow an extensive list of rules when writing a query letter or else our submission will not be read or replied to, yet apparently the agent, or at least this one, which I will keep anonymous, thinks it's okay not to return the same salutations.

I agree with everything Phil said, but I've got to admit the double standard aggravates the hell out of me, too. Budding writers look up information on how to submit their writing and they're given a procedure akin to disarming a bomb, with similar consequences for minor deviations such as clipping the red wire instead of the blue one, yet editors and agents don't hold themselves to the standards they demand of writers. Reminds me of those overweight P.E. coaches demanding their students run laps.

 

[Lord Ben]

I would just think of it as that they had time to read yours because on the several hundred/thousand before yours they didn't spend an extra 5 minutes on each one personalizing it.

Good luck though!

 

[kjjcarpenter]

One thing of note: I wouldn't make it a common practice to rail against people that reject you. It's best to just take it graciously and move on, even if you're offended by the rejection being impersonal. Writing isn't just about being a good writer, but showing how you can handle interacting with fans, publishers, and other writers. If you post a complaint about a review or interactions with a publisher, it can reflect poorly sometimes.

However, if you feel it's cathartic and that you have enough anonymity to do it, then do what you wish.

Once again, sorry for the rejection, but keep it up! You'll make it, I'm sure.

Thanks for the confidence. I took a nice long sleep, and my spirits are soaring in the heavens once more! While I appreciate all of the advice, I hope my reaction didn't come off as sarcastic, or overtly vexing, I attempted to be quite mellow. Did not intend to rant like a doom preacher on the streets of New York. It was honestly shocking to the system, I was just expecting something a little more professional ...

But, alas, now that I have received my first generic letter, the ones that follow will be easier to deal with, it still annoys me that a ten second edit to the template is out of the question for some of these guys (and girls). Oh well, that's the world we live in, I suppose. Double standards all around, haha.

I agree with everything Phil said, but I've got to admit the double standard aggravates the hell out of me, too. Budding writers look up information on how to submit their writing and they're given a procedure akin to disarming a bomb, with similar consequences for minor deviations such as clipping the red wire instead of the blue one, yet editors and agents don't hold themselves to the standards they demand of writers. Reminds me of those overweight P.E. coaches demanding their students run laps.

Excellent description of the query writing process! I must have read over two dozen websites, some of them detailing how a simple error in my query could result in an agent rejecting me forthwith and evermore. While much of it may be hyperbole, it's haunting for all the unpublished seedlings. One website informed me if my contact details are at the top of the page, instead of the bottom, an agent may not even read your query; but then, the great irony, the wrong way is apparently what a bestselling query writing guide suggests to use. Totally baffling.


Well, time for me to send off another query to fill the empty void of my first rejection!

 

[Guy]

Excellent description of the query writing process! I must have read over two dozen websites, some of them detailing how a simple error in my query could result in an agent rejecting me forthwith and evermore. While much of it may be hyperbole, it's haunting for all the unpublished seedlings. One website informed me if my contact details are at the top of the page, instead of the bottom, an agent may not even read your query; but then, the great irony, the wrong way is apparently what a bestselling query writing guide suggests to use. Totally baffling.

Yeah, I really wish the industry would standardize on submission requirements.

 

[BWFoster78]

kjjcarpenter,

You inspired me to offer a new service on my blog. I'm inviting people to send me the first few chapters of their work, and I'll tell them why I'd reject it if I were an agent or a publisher. Of course, I'm not either of those things, so my opinion probably isn't worth the epaper it's ewritten on...

Announcing a New Service – Rejections | Brian W. Foster

 

[Ireth]

Brian, just a note, I can't access that link you posted -- when I click it just says "not found". Nor can I get to your blog via the link in your signature. I used to be able to do the latter, though. Weird.

 

[Philip Overby]

This is just a small nit-pick, but if you're going to do rejections, shouldn't you do acceptances also? Just seems kind of lop-sided to just "reject" everything people send to you. Maybe a break-down of "why I would accept this" and "why I would reject it" and then your final verdict. As a former editor, that was sort of my thought process. I never really thought in absolutes "So and so did this, so it's rejected." Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

 

[Ayaka Di'rutia]

I'm sorry about the rejection, kjj. I can see them using copy and pasting letters, or "letter templates," though; I use tons of those when I email people from my work. I think it's just a generally understood thing in the mortgage business, and it may be the same for the publishing business. For the agent, it's probably "business as usual" when it comes to emailing potential clients.

Hopefully you'll have more luck with your other submissions!

 

[Lawfire]

A form letter rejection has to be better than, "if you do not receive a response from us, in x amount of time, you can safely assume we are not interested in your project." At least you know that your submission made it to its destination.

 

[Guy]

A form letter rejection has to be better than, "if you do not receive a response from us, in x amount of time, you can safely assume we are not interested in your project." At least you know that your submission made it to its destination.

True. The only thing worse than a rejection letter is when they don't even think you're worth an e-mail.

 

[TWErvin2]

kjjcarpenter,

Rejections are never a happy event, form or even personalized. It's a tough business with a lot of competition. Do you think you would have felt better if they'd typed your name at the top of the cut and pasted form rejection?

You have to believe enough in your writing and your story to keep at it. All those words are something you already knew.

When I send off a manuscript, I have solid hope. When I get the rejections, it's deflating for a moment. Sometimes when you make it out of the slush pile, that's a good feeling, but even then, rejection often follows. Is it easier or harder to get that rejection? For me, it's just time to move on to the next opportunity, and keep going at it. In between the No's I've garnered a few Yes's.

Keep writing and keep improving and keep moving forward.

 

[kjjcarpenter]

It's a cruel, cruel world we live in. But alas, if it were not cruel, we would not know pleasure.

To be honest, I think my name at the top of the letter would have made a huge improvement to my mood. It's the little things in life after all! From my own experiences, both running an editing business and managing the current place I work at, it was probably something I just expected; a little code of conduct I thought would carry on to the publishing realm. From the replies here, however, the opposite seems to be true. I will admit, a standard reply is better than no reply at all, yet the fact there also exists agents that simply leave these budding authors hanging absolutely baffles me. It just seems very unbusiness-like (once again, in my experiences), or is this through unsolicited publishers rather than agents, as all of my could-be-agent descriptions confirm there will be a reply, and if not, to send a reminder.

Rejection does not worry me, it is a given and cannot be avoided. I have yet to hear of an author who defied the meaning of subjectivity and strolled up the red carpet directly to the ivory tower. Rejection fuels the fire, it just means the journey doesn't end here. Speed hump, not a stop sign.

 

[Philip Overby]

The only thing a personalization would really do for me is to make me feel like they may want me send something again. But even if they don't personalize it, that doesn't necessarily mean they don't want to see anything. I don't think editors or agents are these cold, clinical people that don't care about a writer's future. My experience with editing (a long time ago), which bummed me out about it, was that even if I gave in-depth critiques and encouraged writers to carry on, I got zilch back. Not a thanks for your time or anything. Of course you had the writers who had good etiquette who would say thank you for the in-depth critique and taking the time, etc. But it really goes both ways.

In your case, I don't think this particular agent is an unfeeling person. He/She is probably just busy. Maybe that's not a good excuse, but with more editors changing to automated systems, this is going to become more of the rule and not the exception.

 

[TWErvin2]

Look at it this way. If the agent in question got say 50 queries a day, and it took say 10 seconds extra time to check and add the name, properly spelled to each rejection, say they do this 5 days a week, fifty weeks a year (figuring two weeks off for vacation and not counting weekends when queries still come in), that means the agent would spend almost 35 hours a year adding names to the top of a form rejection letter.

The thing is, the hopeful writer isn't a client, and odds are the hopeful writers never will be. Sad to look at it this way, but is it worth the agent's time (almost a full work week) including names at the top of form rejection letters?

If one wants to look at it as payback for agent insensitivity, self publishing is probably taking a cut out of what an agent might be expected to earn each year. (readers purchasing self-pubbed books instead of book their authors wrote-and thus they earn less in their 15% from author royalties). How much, I suppose, is highly debatable.