Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office
Weather: 61º and rainy
Early on in my life I learned that if I pictured the very worst thing that could happen and figured out some strategies for dealing with it I could defuse a whole lot of anxiety. There’s something very freeing about picturing yourself losing your job, running out of money, selling all your possessions and living the life of an ascetic.
Or not.
This week I thought it would be an interesting exercise to examine four worst case scenarios. I’ll set up the scenario and give you some possible strategies. You can use the comment section to tell me which strategy you’d choose and why. (Hint: There will not necessarily be one right answer.) Or if you are of the shy persuasion you can note your choice at home. The following day I’ll tell you which strategy or strategies I’d recommend and why. And then I’ll set up the following day’s worst case scenario. Hopefully, by the time we’re done, you’ll have pictured the worst possible outcomes of your writing adventure and have some strategies ready to redeem the situation.
So let’s start. . .
Worst case scenario: You’ve spent years honing your craft. You’ve written a book, researched the market and set out to find an agent. You’ve crafted a query letter, polished it and sent it off to twelve appropriate agents. Three letters came back in the SASE by return mail with a form letter with some kind of variation of “does not meet my needs at this time.” Of the email queries, you received two return emails saying that the query was received and if you didn’t hear by xx number of weeks the agency was not interested. You had two nice email rejects with no specific information, just a no thanks. Five months have passed and you’ve had no further correspondence. What do you do?
A. You wait patiently to hear from the seven potentially open queries.
B. You decide the squeaky wheel gets the grease. You recontact everyone, giving more information and even a little nudge or two along the way.
C. You reconsider the query itself, the chosen recipients and the method of querying.
D. You give up. You gave it your best shot and failed miserably.
If it were you, what would you do? Please feel free to comment, choose your strategy and tell us why. If you have real world experience with this, please share.
I’ll be the first to play. 🙂 I don’t have any real-world experience since I haven’t started querying yet, but here’s my initial reaction.
My introverted self would be tempted to go with A, but I don’t think that’s the best choice. Since it’s been 5 months, it doesn’t seem like the odds of hearing something will improve.
So instead, I’ll choose C. Maybe there’s something in my query I can improve or maybe I can meet with those agents face-to-face at a conference and get direct feedback on the query and/or story.
I want to do “D” but inevitably do “C” only I tend to query one agent at a time and very far in between because of my tendency to want to do “D”. :[
It’s difficult to know who is the best fit for one’s work. Usually a client list is broad enough to obscure what really inspires an agent’s interest. Also, a query needs to adhere to the brevity and pseudo-formality of a business proposition when I would rather say, “Hey, this is what I write. If you like it, let me know, and I’ll give you the lowdown on my plans for marketing. My audience will be those who . . . If you don’t, thanks for taking the time to look at my writing. See ya.”
The one-on-ones which are generally five-on-ones in appointments at conferences don’t always give enough time for “real” communication. The idea of presenting a zinger impression in two minutes doesn’t bode well for those of us who prefer that “real” who-are-you-this-is-me kind of people meetings over “speed-dating”.
I’d choose “C”. I’ve found that just as a manuscript can go through various revisions, so can a query. Sometimes just allowing the thought process to come at your story from a different angle can illuminate something about the story you overlooked. I even changed the title of my current WIP after I did this. (I realize publishers often change titles, but coming at it in a different angle did help.)
After…
– 3 form letter rejections via SASE
– 2 email rejections with a sunset after so many weeks
– 2 nice rejects w/no information
—————
= 5 open queries (I wouldn’t re-contact the 2 sunset agencies; they’ve already rejected the project.
I’m w/Nicole in that, emotionally, I’d weep and wail with option D, fueled by coffee and chocolate..
But my noble self would buck up and do option B via email for the 5 open queries… something simple and direct. “On April 6, I sent a query about a fiction project, “South of North”, and I’m following up to see if you’ve had a chance to look at it. Thanks.”
Then, I’d reconsider my project, reconfigure my query/pitch and start over with a new batch of agents and an improved project.
Fun question!
Bill
Definitely “B.” Perhaps the query was lost. Perhaps it is serving as a coaster for coffee mugs and the type is unreadable from the rings. Maybe it’s lining the litter box. 😛 I kid, I kid. But seriously, it could be an oversight, and it never hurts to check if it’s been a long period of time.
Ah, I hate to admit it, but I’m in that place right now. I’d give up and try for a different agency.
I know people who have nudged, Have been told to resend as the proposal was lost, and have ended up landing the agent.
I have never nudged. I just figure if they liked it they’d get back to me. If they don’t like it I don’t want to try to nag them into it. What good would that do? You need an agent that loves your work.
So I have so far gone with “A” but I do think that it’s fine to nudge. (Not by being a squeaky wheel and not by recontacting EVERYONE and not by giving more information. I think you can just ask if they need more time to consider.)
However, in a situation where out of 12 queries you didn’t get one single personalized rejection, I am pretty confident that the query needs to be reworked before you send it out to the next twelve.
I’d go with C.
I’d go back to my query, and ask knowledgeable people for advice on how to make it better. I’d check over my manuscript again to make sure it’s the best it can be. Maybe tinker with those opening pages.
Then I’d probably re-query the MIA queries — the ones from whom I received no response at all. Then I’d look around for other agents to query. There are more than twelve in the hypothetical universe, right? 🙂
What about E: cry on agent’s shoulder? LOL! Actually, I’m going to go with B. Minus an agent, an author’s best shot, IMHO, is to be proactive. Keeping in mind protocol and good manners, I think I would send a quick note asking if more information was needed from me.
I’ve done A, B and C, depending on the situation, whichever seemed appropriate at the time. Actually with one project I even did D… though I still have hopes for that story. I don’t think I’m playing along according the rules here. 🙂 And I’m very shy, in person. Not so much in writing and on line.
Ah, I, too have suffered this scenario (many more times than I’d like to admit). I’d go with option C, and consider reworking my query and searching for different agents.
I’d do B. I’d recontact THE AGENTS WHO HAVE NOT RESPONDED, politely asking if they’re interested in the query. But, while waiting around, I’d be starting another project.
I have used all options except for B, though I have queried someone twice, with a batch of 12 agents multiplied over several times covering a span of over 40 years… Do you still wonder why I self published?
By the way, I am not on the stage all on my own, by any means, as you once suggested in a reply to my comment. And if you really care to know why not, I posted my “success story” on Janet’s last blog. I hope you do not feel resentment because of all this, but self publishing has made me very happy indeed, so please do not bear a grudge, which was the message you gave me last time. OK? Still friends???
I would check the agents website or blog to see if they have updated their query information. I’d check querytracker.com too, in case they have put a temporary hold on queries or responses. If my submisssion has passed their projected response time, I would send a status query to the agents I haven’t heard from. If their lack of response is an indicator that they have passed, I’d revise my query and go to the next group of agents on my list.
I think I’m with the majority and would typically pick C. But I’d also keep writing on some new project while that one is being shopped around. Also, I’d keep entering contests in the hopes that I would be able to circumvent the query process and get to the top of the heap on an editor or agent’s desk.
Eva, I love to hear successful publishing stories– self-pubbed or traditional. Congratulations.
I apologize if my previous comments were less than encouraging. We often take a subject that is raised by a commenter and go off on a riff of sorts. It’s rarely directed at the commenter’s situation specifically.
I’m going to talk about self-publishing a little bit again tomorrow, but, as always, we talk about the “rule” rather than the exception to the rule.
LOL, I’d choose E–Go to a conference and talk to the agent there to introduce myself.
Seriously, I am most apt to do C because I overanalyze everything. I might even start writing another manuscript.
A friend I have actually got scathing rejections (tons!) so when a manuscript had obviously come back, she didn’t even open it, but promptly threw it in the trash. (She quit.) Her husband dragged it out of the trash, opened it and found the manuscript and an acceptance with revisions letter–she went on to be a NY Times Bestseller. Her rejections came from her romantic suspense, and she sold with a lone romantic comedy. You just never know.
Great exercise!
Thanks for your comment Wendy.
I was/am extremely blessed to have a champion encouraging me and get my little toe in the door to look at a proposal.
After a couple months of silence I did follow up, and received the expected “if you haven’t heard from us, we’re not interested” note (paraphrased).
However, a week or two later I received an email back stating in part “as we discussed your project.” To this day that phrase is encouraging – the thought of several people at an agency reading my proposal/sample chapters and discussing it hadn’t even entered my brain.
The title and tone of the project has changed slightly over the last year, but with each revision / refocusing it has both gotten stronger in its message AND broadened the potential audience as a result.
Delays for the sake of delays are frustrating, but I know for a fact I’d be embarrassed if the book had raced through 3 years ago at the stage it was then, when I know how much more it can and should be!
I have done all of them at one time or another. but always came back from D after a crying jag or talk with someone with more exerience.
I’ve waited patiently, or not, but waited until I pretty much forgot about itand then heard. not a good use of time.
I’ve re-contacted, BTW, I am speaking of editors, although years ago I queried a bunch of agents and got turned down or never heard from some. But with editors, I’ve followed up and after a certain number of rejections, I’ve redone the submission. Let’s face it, somethings just never sold. But others did, thanks to lots of bulldog submissions and being an eternal optimist. This is not a business for the faint of heart. You need bulldog tenacity and alligator hide to succeed.
Lauraine, thanks for the comment. It’s so affirming to hear that one of the biggest names in CBA fiction also suffered query silence a time or two. There’s hope, right?
I realize this is an old post but I just had to respond after reading the comments. I’m shocked at how many writers give up! I never give up. Those few requests keep my hopes alive. But it wasn’t always that way. I had a year with no requests– it was my MS. I wrote two more novels and sent them out. I gained 5 requests, the newest I just started querying and already gained 1. However, even if nothing pans out, I’m too stubborn to give it. I want it too much. I thought I was the norm, but maybe I’m not. Hmm…