Support thread for those waiting to hear back from agents.

[Showmethefood]

Hi everyone ☺️

I'm currently querying literary agents for my children’s picture book and the wall of silence/waiting game is driving me up the wall 🙈. Sent queries to around 30 agents and have received 4 rejections so far. Started querying three weeks ago. Would anyone like to join by keeping each other company/keeping each other motivated during this difficult time?

The more the merrier ☺️

Congratulations @WriterRighter that’s great news!

I’m going to start querying agents in the new year. I ended my contract with my previous agent recently, so I’m definitely looking forward to a fresh start.

I’m hoping because I’m already published/previously agented they’ll at least get back to me quicker whether it’s a yes or no but I’m not too sure how it works!

Well, I've had a look on all the agents websites and it looks like because it's been over 6 weeks for some - they count as rejections. This makes the total rejection count 15 now. However, some say to give a polite nudge after X amount weeks, which I've just done. Now waiting to hear back from 12!! Please wish me luck, everyone. As you can understand I want this quite badly. I am, however, thinking that this one hasn't made it. 😓

And it works....I've just had a rejection from one I chased 15 minutes ago . Been waiting 8 weeks 😂

Sorry for your rejection @Showmethefood - I know it’s glib but hang in there - it’s the worst time of year to hear back as well as so many people have finished for 2024. I can only suggest creating a back-up list of agents to target if you don’t get any joy from this round. Have you had your letter etc critiqued? Anyway I’m manifesting good news for you before Xmas!

I’m currently on submission to publishers for about a month and nothing at all yet! Am preparing to need sedation in the New Year

@WriterRighter @SmugglersHaunt I wondered if I might ask your advice. I received a rejection yesterday from an American agent, who ended the email by saying she invited me to query her again in the future. Now, (and I understand that this might be a crazy idea, but please hear me out) would I be unreasonable to contact the outstanding agents and tell them that this agent has requested more future work from me, to boost my chances/gain their attention?

I understand that this might sound crazy, but I feel rather desperate! Please give me your kindest, but most honest advice!

No because all it does is signal that your current work isn’t good enough (not saying that it isn’t, but that’s how it will be read) Just sit tight. It’s such a difficult business. Best of luck with it and I hope it finds a home!

edited for typo

@MinistryofThyme Thank you for the feedback. I can see your point. It's so difficult isn't it?

Personally I wouldn’t, as tempting as it might be, as 1) I suspect that the US agent is being kind. I wouldn’t read too much into that comment really and 2) by saying someone wants future work it’s clear they don’t want THIS work and right now you want to persuade them this manuscript is worthy of their time, energy and backing.

Sorry.

My biggest advice is start looking which other agents you could contact and write a covering letter that is very focused towards what they want/like. Work on your synopsis and one line sale pitch.

Good luck

@WriterRighter Thanks. I know that's the right thing to do really. Its crazy how desperate this process makes one feel.

It’s so hard. You invest such time, energy and passion into hours and hours of work and then have to fight to get it noticed. It’s soul destroying. Just remember you need one yes only… so don’t give up.

Have you considered an agent one to one? I found it helpful and it definitely helped me with my later letters to agents.

@WriterRighter I haven't. How did you go about making that happen? Is it something you can book online?

Yes search online for agent one to ones. You have to pay for them but I feel it was money well spent even though the agent I spoke to was clearly not interested in my book herself. I realised how my covering letter wasn’t as passionate as I was when I spoke with her and she helped me realise I needed to get that enthusiasm and relevance into my emails!

Thank you @WriterRighter that sounds really interesting. I know my husband is considering what to buy me for christmas...is the consultation very expensive? Sorry to ask 😬I can start saving Christmas and birthday money if it is.

I think it was about seventy pounds.

Hello everyone, hope it’s okay if I join you on here from the query trenches. I sent my first queries out in November and have already scored some rejections on my full manuscript which I found more painful than I thought. Still waiting to hear on some but assume there’ll be nothing now til the new year? So hoping for a rejection free Christmas! I plan to send out more queries maybe mid Jan….

could I ask how long your agent one-one was @WriterRighter ? I had one once and didn’t find it too helpful but then it was very brief!! I’ve been considering paying for some manuscript feedback…

sending you good vibes for your outstanding ones @Showmethefood

Hi all. So I received another rejection today BUT…. The agent said she thought that the story was great and the rhyming was really strong. Unfortunately she said because of the competitive market, it was a case of having to be 100% in love with - which she wasn’t quite there. So it’s bad news but also quite a lot of good news too ❤️❤️

That’s great @Showmethefood - high fives!

one of the things I’ve found hardest about rejections on my full manuscript is complete lack of any feedback, either good or bad….leaves me floundering a bit

@Showmethefood that's great. I think picture books are really difficult currently, so getting that response is good.

I agree with @LucastaNoir that the hardest is getting no feedback - or the one that looks like feedback but is really generic "liked it, but not for me" seems to be generic.

Thank you @LucastaNoir and @MargaretThursday . I agree it can be hard. I received my 20th formal rejection today (the silence from others makes it most likely more, but can’t say for certain). However, I feel my query letter has become a lot stronger than when I first started and so I’ve queried another new agent today.

Im strongly guessing I’m not going to hear anything until 2025 now. So, I’m happy to sit and wait and take a well earned break.

@LucastaNoir it wasn’t very long - maybe fifteen or twenty minutes so be prepared!

@Showmethefood that’s actually very positive. Still tough though. Hang in there.

Happy New Year - may all your writing dreams come true this year! I’m gearing up to start sending out more queries tomorrow, prob another 3/4, tho I’m guessing a lot of the publishing world won’t be back at their desks til Mon….

Hi @LucastaNoir Happy New Year!! I have started writing again today :) Before Christmas I queried two more agents, but I know many don't return to work until the 6th Jan, so it might be radio silence this end for a while. I'm going to try and write a little every day to keep in the habit, but I'm already dreading the anticipated waiting times of hearing anything. It was so lovely over the Christmas period to be free from the querying, waiting, chasing and rejection cycle 😂. Solidarity to us all as we head back to the query trenches and the weeks of silent waiting.

I second getting a 121. I did one in the autumn and it really was money well spent as it told me that my synopsis was really bad. The agent didn't say that, she was lovely but it was clear that it hadn't done it's job at all of telling her what my book was about and when I talked to her about it, she said that it sounded like something much more interesting than she'd assumed. The only criticism she had of my writing was based on what she'd thought my book was about as she thought I was giving too much away in the second chapter. But we talked and she realised what my book actually is, she suggested going a bit harder on that and adding an extra hint to the first chapter.

It was way better than getting a written report, because we had a chat and she was able to change her advice once she spoke to me. And even though she'd never have said that my synopsis was terrible, I could tell that it was the issue. After our chat, I made a very small update to my first chapter and spent several days on my synopsis, getting help from people who knew nothing about my book to make sure that I was properly expressing what it's actually about.

It was very well worth it, as (I don't want to say too much about it at this stage, but...) I've since gotten some very encouraging interest in my book that I don't think I'd have gotten if I hadn't done the 121.

@GhostImposter
I'm looking for a 1-2-1 for my synopsis, where did you go?