Unfortunately for those of us trying to sell a book project, rejection letters are a way of life. As I continue to shop my true crime book on the triple murder in East Texas in 1992, I've certainly gotten my share of those letters.
While many offer no helpful comments, some literary agents do take a moment or two to add a personal comment although they aren't interested in pursuing the project.
Almost all of them say in some form or another that the project "isn't right for them," but to "query elsewhere" because "tastes and areas of specialization vary widely from agent to agent," or "Unfortunately, it is not right for us at this time."
Others have remarked, "Of course publishing is all about personal taste and another editor or agent may feel very differently, so I encourage you to continue searching," and "The fact that this work doesn’t fit our narrow criteria for representation does not mean it couldn’t find a home elsewhere."
Standard, rubber stamp remarks.
Here are some more samples of rejection remarks that agents took a little time to personalize:
"While there is a lot I like about this story, especially the writing. However, I didn't feel invested in the story from the beginning. I think I'd like to know a bit more about the victims sooner. "
This comment, of course, is very helpful in that it forces me to take a look at my story structure. Should I tell more about the victims sooner? Of course, saying she liked the writing made me feel good, even though she rejected the project.
"Thought the concept was interesting, but ultimately I just didn’t connect with the style of journalistic writing as much as I had hoped."
Again, another constructive comment that makes me think about the approach I am taking. I initially covered the story as a journalist and the book takes a similar approach. But is that the right way to go about it? A point worth pondering.
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5 Comments
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Sonny; hang your pink slips on the wall as proof of your efforts. They say that Papa Hemmingway, probably on his own, rewrote the last chapter of THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA 53 times. A published book author said about my proposed THE HOG RIDE AND OTHER DUMB STUMPS said, "They say collections don't usually do well but they told James Herriot that and you know how well his books did. He was the country vet who penned, ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL; ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL (The Lord God made them all.) HANG IN THERE. AND GOOD LUCK.
June 26, 2009 at 12:54 a.m.I was just guessing/joking about the 3 people. I have no idea how many rejections you have gotten, but was just making a joke by putting a tiny number of rejections. 3 or 30. You wrote a freakin book and that's more than a lot of us do. Have you tried a different way to write it? Perhaps making it rhyme for a children's book?
June 25, 2009 at 4:40 p.m.John Grisham’s first novel was rejected 28 times… You have 25 more attempts.;-)
You’re just getting started.
Good luck
June 25, 2009 at 4:34 p.m.If this is your dream...never, ever give up.
Good luck to you. Keep submitting...the right literary agent is out there for you.
June 25, 2009 at 4:21 p.m.I think you should probably just give up. If 3 people say they don't like it, then you should believe them by now.
June 25, 2009 at 4 p.m.