Comments on: Different Types of Rejection

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:02:21 +0000

Ha! She liked my query and requested my proposal, I am also “dying” to know!!

By: Rachel Zurakowski

Rachel Zurakowski — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:00:09 +0000

LOL! Everyone is safe this week! I’m too busy blogging to be rejecting projects.

Michelle, thanks so much for the wise words. I agree 100%.

Alicia, great question! At Books & Such, we TRY to respond to proposals within 8 weeks, but sometimes we are traveling (visiting publishing houses, attending conferences, etc.) and that makes a timely response next to impossible. Every agency has a slightly different response-time policy, so I can’t answer for everybody.

I do think it’s totally okay for an author to write to check in on a requested project if the agent hasn’t responded after about 8 weeks. Sometimes projects get lost on the way to our office, so it’s always a good idea to check in with us.

By: Alicia Muhlestein

Alicia Muhlestein — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:37:10 +0000

I didn’t know there were so many different types of rejections and that some are laced with a second chance. Thanks for the insight! It is very helpful. I can’t wait to visit your next your next stop on Rejection Trail.

I do have a quick question. After sending a proposal, how long should one typically wait before receiving one of these rejections?

By: Genny

Genny — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:46:23 +0000

Thanks for the great post, as always. I appreciate all the information you share here!

By: Jody Hedlund

Jody Hedlund — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:21:50 +0000

Very helpful post! We writers often get rejections and wonder “why?” This narrows down the wondering just a bit. Thanks!

By: Ame Raine

Ame Raine — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:35:03 +0000

Miss Britt, I’m in the same boat as you : ) It’s good though to be prepared is what I’ve come to decide. Even if it’s scary timing lol.

By: Lynn Rush

Lynn Rush — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:14:28 +0000

Nice! Thanks for the insight into the different types of rejections. I hadn’t heard of the “Any other ideas” rejection before. It makes sense, though.

Great post.

By: Michelle Ule

Michelle Ule — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:10:00 +0000

It’s always so important to remember that publishing is a business, not a ministry, and an agent is rejecting a particular work, not the person. As I wrote last month, we receive something like 20 queries a day–it’s physically impossible to represent so many projects and a beautifully written book just may not be what we know is selling. We’ve had to reject many projects we’ve personally liked–because we have to stay in business and thus represent projects we think will have a good chance of selling.

And Rachel’s comment from yesteday is absolutely germane–we feel badly after a day spent sending out rejections.

By: Miss Britt

Miss Britt — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:57:17 +0000

Rachel, on a purely personal note, a friend of mine has recently submitted a manuscript to you (after you read her query, etc.) – and we are DYING over the “Let’s Talk About Rejection All Week!” posts. LOL

By: Jill

Jill — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:31:12 +0000

Definitely a helpful post! I’m looking forward to tomorrow.