Not For Me

“Not for me” is the briefest rejection I’ve received from a literary agent, but those three little words say it all. It’s all about fit.

Because I lack the technical knowledge and, truth be told, the courage to self-publish, I chose to promote my novel through literary agent representation. I began my quest on behalf of my novel Bear Woman Rising in December 2017 and to date have queried over 50 agents. To determine who might consider my book, I studied the Guide to Literary Agents, the Poets & Writers Literary Agents Database, and the Authors Publish website for potential agents. In addition, and this is a must, I always checked their websites for current agent listings, submittal guidelines, and published books they’ve represented. I only submitted to agents who indicated they were interested in women’s fiction and had represented that subgenre.

Bear Woman Rising, a 116,000-word women’s fiction novel set in the 1970s, tracks the harrowing lives of two very different women who face challenges of survival in remote regions and in worlds dominated by men. For the past 10 years, with the help of many WAG writers and critique pod members, I have revised this book 12 times and cut over 50,000 words. The revision process has helped me to cut much-beloved clutter and to bring my story into clearer focus.

I’m sure I’ve worked harder on my one-page query than on any other single page of writing in my career. I’ve also arduously reworked the first three chapters, as they are most often requested along with a query letter.

Two things I’ve learned: 1) Not every rejection marks the end of the road; and 2) I’m in good company, as the majority of published authors have survived multiple rejections. Here is an example of a typical rejection note: “Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, your work does not meet our needs at this time.” Some larger agencies (those receiving 700-plus queries per month) will not send you a rejection notification. Instead, if you haven’t heard from them in four to six weeks, assume your submission has been rejected.

Here are a few of the “encouraging” rejections I’ve received.

Thank you for your email query. I appreciate the opportunity to consider Bear Woman Rising for possible representation, but I’m not the right agent for it at the moment. I think you have an intriguing concept and your writing shows promise, but I’m afraid that the sample here just didn’t pull me in enough to request the full. Of course this is only one response, and tastes vary widely among agents. Thanks again for the look, and please do think of me again in the future.

Thank you very much for thinking of me for representation. Due to the large volume of submissions that I receive, it is impossible for me to answer every query individually, however I assure you that your material was carefully evaluated. After consideration, I regret to say that your project is not right for my list at this time. As you know, this is a subjective business and another reader may feel differently. To that end, I wish you the best in finding enthusiastic representation.

Many thanks for your note. Bear Woman Rising doesn’t seem quite right for me, but I’m sure other agents will feel differently. I wish you the best of luck elsewhere and many thanks again for the opportunity to read your work.

Oh sure, these are rejections, but something in my writing caught their attention, and they encouraged me to keep querying. This I will surely do. I encourage other aspiring writers to do the same. Remember, it’s all about fit.

P.S.  This past week, in response to my query, an agent requested the first three chapters. Fingers crossed!