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So, that means I'm a real writer now?
Apr. 6th, 2009 04:19 pmI just got my first official rejection. So I guess that makes me a really real writer now.
On the good news side, it wasn't from the agent who asked very quickly for a synopsis and sample pages. That agent, heretofore codenamed Quick!Agent, hasn't replied back. Which I don't expect. I won't worry for several weeks about Quick!Agent.
I'm not that upset about this rejection as a rejection. I braced for utter failure before I hit the send button.
However, the agent's attempt to be nice in her form letter was actually quite insulting to me and hurt my feelings, though I realize that it was not the agent's intention at all and she was attempting to be kind. It just, that, well, when you say you only take on new writers with (and I paraphrase) "a unique voice, polished writing, great world building, wonderful characters and a story that's compelling" as you reject me, you're telling me: "your voice is trite, your writing is amateur, your world building sucks, your characters were two dimensional, and your story was boring".
There was no reason given why the novel (or the query and sample pages) did not have these things or what was wrong with it. I'm fully willing to accept that perhaps the Tower!Guy novel is complete garbage that's boring and terrible and not worth anyone's time. I just wish I knew why it was bad so I could work on that and get better.
I want to make it clear (especially in the wake of #queryfail and #agentfail) that I DON'T feel entitled to anything from an agent. A form letter is more than sufficient, and is perfectly professional. The fact that I even got a response, form or not, was more than enough for me. I'm not criticizing this agent, merely blogging about my personal feelings and reactions to the email I received. I have nothing against this agent, and if I have another novel that I think is up her alley, I'll certainly give her another try. She seems competent, professional, and business like.
Though, on a snarky note, I do sort of wish that this agent hadn't chosen to pimp her fellow agents' "how to" books in the email. But that's her prerogative, and there's nothing wrong with it. I fully realize I'm not in the best position to be objective right now.
So, I have been summarily rejected. I anticipated that coming.
And that means it's time to clean things and then get back to work outlining my next project and working on that. Because that's all you can do in the end. Keep the pot boiling and hope that eventually the spaghetti sticks to the wall.
On the good news side, it wasn't from the agent who asked very quickly for a synopsis and sample pages. That agent, heretofore codenamed Quick!Agent, hasn't replied back. Which I don't expect. I won't worry for several weeks about Quick!Agent.
I'm not that upset about this rejection as a rejection. I braced for utter failure before I hit the send button.
However, the agent's attempt to be nice in her form letter was actually quite insulting to me and hurt my feelings, though I realize that it was not the agent's intention at all and she was attempting to be kind. It just, that, well, when you say you only take on new writers with (and I paraphrase) "a unique voice, polished writing, great world building, wonderful characters and a story that's compelling" as you reject me, you're telling me: "your voice is trite, your writing is amateur, your world building sucks, your characters were two dimensional, and your story was boring".
There was no reason given why the novel (or the query and sample pages) did not have these things or what was wrong with it. I'm fully willing to accept that perhaps the Tower!Guy novel is complete garbage that's boring and terrible and not worth anyone's time. I just wish I knew why it was bad so I could work on that and get better.
I want to make it clear (especially in the wake of #queryfail and #agentfail) that I DON'T feel entitled to anything from an agent. A form letter is more than sufficient, and is perfectly professional. The fact that I even got a response, form or not, was more than enough for me. I'm not criticizing this agent, merely blogging about my personal feelings and reactions to the email I received. I have nothing against this agent, and if I have another novel that I think is up her alley, I'll certainly give her another try. She seems competent, professional, and business like.
Though, on a snarky note, I do sort of wish that this agent hadn't chosen to pimp her fellow agents' "how to" books in the email. But that's her prerogative, and there's nothing wrong with it. I fully realize I'm not in the best position to be objective right now.
So, I have been summarily rejected. I anticipated that coming.
And that means it's time to clean things and then get back to work outlining my next project and working on that. Because that's all you can do in the end. Keep the pot boiling and hope that eventually the spaghetti sticks to the wall.
