Today’s post is written by Sarah Juckes of Agent Hunter.
After you’ve spent years writing your book, weeks researching literary agents, and days crafting the perfect pitch, waiting on a response from an agent can be agony. Unfortunately, they are extremely busy people and not always able to give you the in-depth response you want.
So what constitutes a good response from a literary agent? What are you supposed to say to a rejection letter? And what do you do when an agent finally says yes?
Below are four typical response emails and tips on how you can deal with them.
Type #1: No response at all
What it looks like
Nothing. Nadda. Zilch.
In my experience, this one is the most difficult to deal with. Questions such as “Did it even reach them?” and “Is this even a rejection?” can weigh you down after a while. As can constantly refreshing your emails for five months.
What to do
- Look at the agent’s submission guidelines. Do they give a timeline for responses? The average agent receives 2000 submissions every year, so it can take a few months to get around to every one. Most agents will list their average wait time on their website.
- If you don’t have an automated confirmation of receipt, chase. You want to know that your submission arrived safely. If you haven’t heard from them in the time they said you would, then send them a chaser email to ask if they got it. Don’t make my mistake of being too polite to chase an agent: I once waited six months before finding out that an email never arrived. Doh!
- If you have confirmation of receipt and the agents say they don’t respond to every submission, move on. Unfortunately, not all agencies respond to submissions. If you haven’t received a response, pick yourself up and send to the next agent on your list.
Type #2: An automated rejection
What it looks like
Thank you for your submission, which we have read with interest. Unfortunately, we did not feel enthusiastic enough to take this further. We are sorry to give you a disappointing response, but thank you for thinking of us in connection with your work.
We regret that we are unable to give further feedback due to the large volume of unsolicited submissions we receive.
What to do
- Acknowledge that this sucks. Because every rejection always does a little—especially when it’s a standard one like this. It can feel like they didn’t even give your manuscript the time of day, and it’s okay to feel like that. Agents get so many submissions, it can indeed be something really small and stupid that turned them off before they read very far.
- Look at this list of amazing authors who were also once rejected. Know that it happens to everyone—that writing is subjective—that it’d make a pretty crap “how I made it” story if you were accepted right away.
- Move on to the next agent on your list. Review your pitch letter again. Look for any glaring errors. Move on.
Type #3: A personalized rejection
What it looks like
This can take many different forms, but it will usually contain a personal note or reason for rejection, such as the following:
Thank you for your submission, which I have now considered. In general terms, your writing shows promise, but I’m afraid I don’t think we’d be able to sell this novella in today’s harsh publishing climate. However, if you’re planning to write a novel (which needs to be at least 65K words) I’d be pleased to consider sample chapters from this in due course.
I’m sorry to disappoint on this occasion, and wish you luck with all your writing.
What to do
- Acknowledge that rejection sucks, but revel in the positives. Don’t just focus on the fact that, yes, this is a rejection. Instead, look for the positives in the email. The example above says that the author’s writing shows promise. That’s great.
- Learn. If there is a reason given for rejection, is this something you might want to change? In the example above, the author could look into extending the novel’s word count. Of course, all writing is subjective, and feedback should be taken with a pinch of salt. However, if you are receiving a lot of similar comments, it might be worth looking into.
- Move on to the next agent on your list. Review your pitch letter again. Look for any glaring errors. Move on.
Type #4: A request for a partial/full
Some literary agents prefer to see just a query letter in the first instance. If they like what they read, they’ll then ask to see a sample of your work. This is called a “request for a partial.” Agents who prefer you to send a sample of your work with your initial query will then ask to see your entire manuscript, if they want to read more. This is often referred to as a “request for a full.”
What it looks like
Thanks for considering me for this.
You have an interesting concept and I am intrigued as to how you might pull this one off. Would you care to send me the first three chapters/full novel for review please?
What to do
- Dance around the room in your pyjamas. You’ve achieved something many authors never do: a request from an agent to see your work. Celebrate!
- Read through your book one last time—but don’t take too long. Of course, you’ll probably want to give it one last proofread before you send it, but don’t wait more than a week if you can. Capitalize on the agent’s interest by sending it when it’s still fresh in their mind.
- Send only what they ask for. If that’s the first three chapters, then don’t send the first five. If they ask for the whole thing, then don’t leave anything out because it’s “not finished.”
- Be professional, friendly and available. Keep your reply polite. Remember they’re considering spending a lot of time with you in the future, so don’t give them a reason not to! Also remind them of your phone number, and tell them of your availability to chat.
What not to do
- Burn bridges. Rejection always hurts, especially when it comes after a request for a full. However, you should never reply to a rejection email with hurtful or sarcastic comments. Do that, and you’ll ensure that agent will never consider representing you for any future books.
If an agent goes on to read the full version of your book and is interested in representing you, then they’ll probably want to go into more detail about any work they feel needs doing and how they would like to approach seeking publication. They might invite you to their office or give you a call. Remember to remain professional and friendly throughout, and you’ll ensure that your working relationship starts on the best possible foot.
Until that time, keep reviewing your pitch and keep submitting. You can do it!