How do you stay sane while querying agents?

[CakeRage]

I finished my first book earlier this year (after saying for years I was going to write it), and started submitting to agents 3 weeks ago.

I’ve had a couple of replies, both really encouraging, but ultimately both rejections, and I feel like I’m losing my marbles. How do you keep it together while waiting? Not sure I can take the emotional rollercoaster

The first agent replied within hours to ask for the full manuscript, emailed again the following day to say she was halfway through and absolutely blown away by it, then a few days later to say she did love it, but thought it needed a few changes making. I revised the whole thing (10,000 extra words of work), then she replied just to say it wasn’t working, and she wouldn’t be taking it further.

To be honest I’ve been pretty gutted by it. How do you stop the little judgy voice in your head which tells you you were an idiot for getting your hopes up?

The second agent replied to say she was really impressed by my writing, but didn’t feel I was a good fit for her list at the moment, and recommended another agent (different agency) who she thought would like it. I handled that one much better, even though I guess it was more of an abrupt no.

Please tell me how you cope with this stage - or come commiserate with me at its horribleness!

(Sorry for my crazed rambling - feeling all my feelings this week!)

Hi, thanks for replies. Yes, I've only been submitting to ones that are looking for my genre/type of writing!

I sent it to typical top ten ones, but I really think the quick responses were a fluke. I've not heard a sausage from anyone else. Must be random luck to hear quickly, I reckon. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway... They must be swamped right now, with so many people on furlough using the time to polish off their novels!

I use QueryTracker to look for and track agents - I paid for it though.

I was rejected for the full mentioned earlier in the thread. Loads of feedback but I didn't really agree with it.

Two more full requests since, some Rs (not on the fulls yet) and then silence... will see. I don't hold out much hope to be honest.

One rejection on the partial said the idea was commercially strong, but she didn't like the writing, so that suggests to me I'm not going to get very far!

Sorry to hear your full was rejected, that’s disappointing. Hope you get more positive news soon. Can I ask what you get on query tracker (paid version), is it worth it? I have been on the free level of it and there doesn’t seem to be much there. I feel anxious my query letter personalisation lacks something and may be burning my bridges.

Jacqueline, that sounds harsh (she didnt like the writing). I didnt know they'd give such personal type comments.

In case anyone is still around, I got rejected on my full. No word from any others (sent to 7 total so 5 still out). I have a feeling I’ll never hear back from most. I guess I send it to some more but so scared I’ll run out of people to try and they’ll all say no! I hate this it’s brutal 😭 It’s so much fun just writing, if only this bit wasn’t necessary.

jacqeline sorry to hear about your rejection but to even be asked for the full is massive, and as you will often hear all authors get rejections especially when first starting out. I also received a rejection of my full on the same day as two other rejections from agents who didn't even request the full. And yet another agent decided she liked it and that same book has a publishing deal with one of the top five - not all publishers and agents are looking for the same thing. Maybe send it out to another couple of agents? Then start writing the next book!

Aagh, sorry to hear that. Must be heartbreaking to have a rejection on a full request. Onwards and upwards!

Thanks both. It is upsetting as however much you try not to get invested it does get your hopes up. I’m trying to get over it by listing more agents interested in my genre. Will need to send out some more queries, just not sure how long to give the existing ones first.

For whoever was asking about QueryTracker, I paid so I could see how quickly agents have responded to other people - you can see timelines that show how submissions before yours and after have been responded to. There are more filters and reports etc. Worth it for me, anyway!

Haven't heard anything on my full that's out with two agents. The rest have been slowly rejecting me so I'm not expecting much to be honest. My problem now is that I don't know what to write next.

WIP before last was fantasy fiction, the last one romance, and no idea about genre of the next one! I feel like I'd need a 'big idea' to do a suspense, and I just don't...

I do have an idea for another romance but I want to see if the current one that's out gets any traction...

Could try to write a cosy mystery but not sure UK publishers buy much and the Kindle market is vvvv busy.

Feel like I've gone off writing fantasy, even though it was my first love. Publishers and agents seem to want really edgy things these days that just aren't me. (which is what the market wants, so fair enough).

Argh!

How many agents have you sent it to, Inescapable? It still sounds great to me that two have your full. It was me who asked about QueryTracker. I signed up for the free version but it doesn't tell you much.
I have a list of another several agents to send to, but I haven't had the guts to send it yet. I really need to pull my socks up and send to some, at least to replace the ones who've rejected from my first batch.
I am at least into my second novel now, 17k anyway, and enjoying it. I'm doing YA and the main worry I have is there aren't actually all that many agents I can find who rep what I want to do. I've seen advice articles that say don't give up until you've queried 80 agents - I haven't been able to find more than 25-30! They must be in America for that many to exist, surely.
I tried PitMad and got some interest from three indie publishers, but I'm not ready to try that yet, I really need to get on with it and try some more agents before that I think, if only to rule it out. Though I'm starting to fear maybe this novel is be a dead duck...

I'm waiting to hear back from the first agent who has my full. I've not heard thing but they've just followed me on Twitter.

Hello fellow writers. I have a first novel needing representation and I wondered what you did to narrow down potential agents. Google spits up so many, the Writers' yearbook (well mine) is out of date. I contacted a bestselling author I like out of the blue, and she replied with some great advice. Namely, to use SM to interact with authors I like and are in my genre. Also, she recommends reading The Bookseller and researching deeply the agents and their business to get a feel for the market and gain insight into what makes it tick. I wanted to share that with you.

All she says makes sense, but I'm flummoxed as to how to enact the SM part. Disclosure: I am a tech-dino.

So my questions for you are; do you follow authors/agents on twitter or facebook? How into the SM side are you? Where is this pot of gold info on agents, and how did you narrow down your list of agents? So far, I've been sticking pins into google, sending submissions and had a handful of rejections. My genre is psychological suspense/thriller.

I am fairly active on Twitter that seems to be where writerly folk hang out. I follow lots of authors mostly in my genre (historical) and I try to engage with them - I've been doing that for a while before I got my publishing contract so that now they will retweet my tweets promoting my book just as I do for them. Look at the acknowledgements page of novels in your genre, it's usual for authors to thank their agents so you can see who others are with. If you can get hold of a current writers and artist yearbook they are really useful. Then once you have a list of possibles it's a case of going through each one until you find some taking submissions that you think would be a good match. And follow them all on Twitter because that is where they seem to give a shout out for specific things they are after!

I don't yet have a twitter account. Seems like that's where I need to be! Do you use a moniker, Louisa, or your real name?

I use my pen name so that fans of my book (falls off chair laughing at own joke) can find me, washedout

Coming on here to have a bit of a vent really - anyone done a submission then realised there was an error in the covering letter? I'm so gutted, just did this one today and read and re-read it so many times, only for one to slip right through...so that's one I'm never expecting to hear back from! It's hard to have a 'plenty of fish in the sea' attitude when the chances of getting picked up are so low already!

How's everyone going with their submissions?

Bless you! It's horrible isn't it. It's probably fine, I'm sure they can tell when a letter is planned and considered, and a typo creeps in, versus just a bad letter.

I have a once-it's-sent-I-put-it-straight-out-of-mind attitude, because I can't bear the thought of agonising over what I've missed. I sent to two more this week, finally worked up the courage because it's not going anywhere otherwise! Have another one half drafted, but I'm obsessing over the personalising angles of the letters. I can never think of much to say so I've got into the habit of downloading an ebook or two from authors they rep in my genre so I can check how close a fit they are and have something positive to say. I'm finding it so hard to find that sort of info on likes and dislikes online, I must be doing something wrong! I find Twitter not terribly helpful for that at all, really, it all seems to be championing their authors but nothing about their wishlist.

Ah well! Onwards and upwards. Good luck, all!

Anyone else feeling sick of the whole thing? I feel low today and have only had 4 rejections so far out of about 14. (Full MS is out with 2 agents but haven't heard back yet.) It's annoying how some agents don't even reply.

It's like putting your soul out there for everyone to see and dump on.

Rejections are crap, I think everyone feels down when they get them (and everyone gets them!). I once received 3 from agents, one of whom had the full ms, all in the space of about 90 minutes it was as if they'd timed it on purpose! I still refer to that day as Black Tuesday.

Although other agents had the full I needed to be doing something proactive so I spent the next day researching publishers who were open to submissions without needing an agent. I was quite picky as there are some dubious ones out there but I sent my ms to a couple who are part of big trad publishing houses and 4 weeks later I was emailed a publishing deal, both ebook and paperback. That made the agents sit up and take notice!

My approach isn't for everyone but I needed to be doing something and the agent I really wanted (I'd already met her in person) then offered me representation so it all ended happily!

Amen to that! Hate the no replies. And the effort you have to put in to hear nothing. It’s horrible and I hate it all. The writing is the good bit!

Good for you, Louisa, that sounds well-deserved and well done.

I've not been able to find any imprints for the big traditional publishers open for direct submissions outside the romance genre. I'd welcome any tips.

Thanks Louisa. Tips here too, please!

Well although I write historical mine does have an 'element' of romance. The main ones I submitted to were One More Chapter and Avon (both Harper Collins), Dash (Orion) and there's Bookouture. Some of the smaller publishers are definitely romance genre.

Thanks very much, Louisa. So you didn't get published by them in the end though?
I'll look them up!