Rejection Collection

This isn't a pity party and I don't ask for words of encouragement, I just wanted to share with you some of the responses I have gotten from agents and publishers since I started submitting in September.

I've done as Shannon Hale told us at our workshop and saved every rejection I get. I've only really received 8 real No Thank Yous, and I thought I might share my misery.

Foundry: I found your material interesting, unfortunately I've decided that this project is not right for me. I'm sorry I can't respond with good news, but I'm sure you will find the right representation.

- And she addressed me by my name and signed it. This was one of the better ones.

Nelson Literary Agency: Dear Author: Thank you so much for sending the Nelson Literary Agency your query. We'd like to apologize for the impersonal nature of this standard rejection letter. Rest assured that we do read every query letter carefully and unfortunately, this project is not right for us.

- It sounds like something I heard on the Simpson's - Dear Baby, Welcome to Dumpsville, population YOU!

Paradigm: Thanks for letting me take a look at the opening to THE VIVATERA. I'm afraid this isn't right for me, so I have to pass on requesting more material; but I want to wish you luck in finding a good home for your novel. Thank you for the opportunity to review.

- He did wish me luck, how nice...

Fox Literary: Unfortunately, this doesn't sound right for me.

- Okay....?

Writers House: ... at 144,000, your word count is pretty high. You should try and get it as close to 100,000 words as possible. A high word count could seriously impact you finding an agent willing to take on when a lot of work will need to be done.

- I thought that was thoughtful to give me some advice on the word count - so I decided to take it off the query.

PMA: Thanks you for your recent query letter and your interest in PMA. We are always eager to hear from writers who are serious about the business of writing; unfortunately, we do not feel that PMA is the right company to represent you.

- Notice my book is not mentioned anywhere and mentioned themselves. They didn't even read it, jerkface. I guess I'm just not SERIOUS about the business of writing.

Larson Pomada: Thanks, but not my thing.

- No letter or nothing... got to love that.- But the one I received on Saturday was I think the most honest. The hard part about it was they had the entire manuscript. I always knew they would say no because Shadow Mountain is a division of Deseret Book and my book has Tattoos in it and I can't take that out. It is a vital part of the story. So the blow wasn't so bad, I kinda knew already.

Shadow Mountain: We are always pleased to see new ideas, and we have now completed our review of this material. It is obvious you have invested a considerable amount of time and energy into this project. Our publishing schedule is quite competitive, however, and as we look carefully at all the issues involved in publication, we are forced to be extremely selective in our publishing decisions. I am sorry to inform you we are not in a position to pursue this project with you.

I think this was the most honest response out of them all, I could be wrong though - maybe it's just not their thing. Some of the rejections came with hardly any material sent to them, Shadow Mountain had everything, and I felt like they really read it. I just need to get my book through the door and I know whoever finds it will love it. I'm not good at querying I guess and should work on that.