I was a trial lawyer for 30 years and a trial judge for ten. All three books involve court trials. One is about a judge who is tried in his own courthouse for the murder of a police officer. The other two involve a trial lawyer/Lake Superior sailor who deals with civil trials, intrigue, deception and murder.

So, Jane is the agent for me and for these books. But, her e-mail address is not listed and if I try to submit stuff to her through another agent, the website says no one will review my materials.

So what can I do?

Thanks,

Dave Sullivan
Aug 19, 2013

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I submitted simultaneously, so I was pretty worried when I read here that multiple submissions can be frowned upon in the agent realm. I only queried those who expressly accepted simultaneous submissions.

I’m looking for representation for the purpose of moving my writing career to the next level. Agents give a writer a better sense of direction. This is my life. It’s what I want to do, and, more importantly, what I know I’m qualified to do for the rest of my life. I take it quite seriously. I’m looking to be published by 2008 and believe I have written materials that can make this happen. Therefore, I don’t have the luxury of time to query one agent, wait two to six months, then query another, and so on.

While I respect my writing as a craft, I understand that the world of writing is a business. So, just as an aspiring actor has to go on many casting calls before they acquire a gig, and agents may submit applications to several companies before they land the job they want, writers have to search every nook and cranny to find the best representation they can.

Also, agents must consider that, out of thousands of agents, there may be 20, or 30 who are a good fit for an author. Just as an agent may have 100+ clients whom they feel are a good fit for them. To expect writers to narrow it down to say 3, or 5 knowing that most agents reject a high percentage of the queries they get, doesn’t seem fair. It’s like dooming a writer to never attaining an agent, or taking years to do so. By then, everything they’ve written is out of date and they have to start all over again.

How does an author know what’s okay to do, versus what’ll turn an otherwise perfectly good project and hundreds of hours out of their lives into a rejection before it’s even read?

I would like to know whether you accept cookbook pitches as well — including of the fictional type — or it is something that you are interested in at all.
Thank you!

As for “gray areas” of rejection, there are many. Sure, we see things that are terrible, and it’s easy to pass on those. As often, though, once we’ve requested a complete manuscript, we find that it’s…fine. So we pass. It is our feeling that to be as effective as possible, we need to truly believe in a project. It comes down to an intangible reaction to the material. Given how competitive the fiction market is, we need to know that we’re willing to go to the mat for each project we sign on. If that personal response to the material isn’t there, we just wouldn’t be the right agents for it. Beyond that, we also need to know how we would sell the project. As a rule of thumb, if we can’t identify five editors we think would want to see the project, we probably aren’t going to have the best luck.

Someone else asked if we provide feedback. Generally, no. First, there is the issue of time. We just can’t offer constructive criticism to everyone whose work we consider. Second, if we did offer that information, there is no certainty that an author would rework and come back to us. But from time to time, we do have some notes, and if we genuinely want to see more material from an author, we will mention it. Sometimes something is so close that we believe it is the writer’s potential more than their project, so the door is left open.

As for “gray areas” of rejection, there are many. Sure, we see things that are terrible, and it’s easy to pass on those. As often, though, once we’ve requested a complete manuscript, we find that it’s…fine. So we pass. It is our feeling that to be as effective as possible, we need to truly believe in a project. It comes down to an intangible reaction to the material. Given how competitive the fiction market is, we need to know that we’re willing to go to the mat for each project we sign on. If that personal response to the material isn’t there, we just wouldn’t be the right agents for it. Beyond that, we also need to know how we would sell the project. As a rule of thumb, if we can’t identify five editors we think would want to see the project, we probably aren’t going to have the best luck.

Someone else asked if we provide feedback. Generally, no. First, there is the issue of time. We just can’t offer constructive criticism to everyone whose work we consider. Second, if we did offer that information, there is no certainty that an author would rework and come back to us. But from time to time, we do have some notes, and if we genuinely want to see more material from an author, we will mention it. Sometimes something is so close that we believe it is the writer’s potential more than their project, so the door is left open.

As for “gray areas” of rejection, there are many. Sure, we see things that are terrible, and it’s easy to pass on those. As often, though, once we’ve requested a complete manuscript, we find that it’s…fine. So we pass. It is our feeling that to be as effective as possible, we need to truly believe in a project. It comes down to an intangible reaction to the material. Given how competitive the fiction market is, we need to know that we’re willing to go to the mat for each project we sign on. If that personal response to the material isn’t there, we just wouldn’t be the right agents for it. Beyond that, we also need to know how we would sell the project. As a rule of thumb, if we can’t identify five editors we think would want to see the project, we probably aren’t going to have the best luck.

Someone else asked if we provide feedback. Generally, no. First, there is the issue of time. We just can’t offer constructive criticism to everyone whose work we consider. Second, if we did offer that information, there is no certainty that an author would rework and come back to us. But from time to time, we do have some notes, and if we genuinely want to see more material from an author, we will mention it. Sometimes something is so close that we believe it is the writer’s potential more than their project, so the door is left open.

DO NOT waste your time asking why agents/publishers reject your work with a badly photocopied rejection slip.

It doesn’t matter and you are wasting your time if you think they care. They are busy reading god-awful slush. If their rejection slip sucks, then it does. Again, it does not matter.

Let that go.
You need them more than they need you. Spend your time on the things you can control, like your WRITING!

I sense your frustration, and believe me, we’ve ALL been there.

First, do not, and I repeat do not take any rejection personally. You might like an agent and consider that to be your dream agent. But a true “dream agent” is someone that identifies and respects your work, that “gets” it.

Passion is what drives this business, on every level. You do not want an agent that is mediocre about your book, it will make it that much harder as they try to sell it. Remember agents get their writer’s work rejected on a daily basis as well. If they don’t have that burning passion for your book, to stick with trying to sell it, it WILL NOT sell.

Other people who’ve read your work and said they like it means nothing in this industry. I mean it, nothing. Zilch. Indutry standards are different from friends and family that love you and are so pleased with your thoughts, etc…

Take a break from your book. Come back to it with fresh eyes. A new perspective. Join a writer’s group if you can find one. Attend a conference, perhaps one where you can get the first three chapters critiqued. (early on, that helped my work tremedously.)

Write more than one book!

Rejection is EVERWHERE.

You must perservere!