Read More“Something big happened. In mid-February (on my birthday), I signed with a small literary agency. This summer, my agent negotiated a five-book deal with a publisher. Now, she has sold the audio rights for all five books. ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! Keep on working your magic, Patrick.”
Finding an agent who is excited to work with you is more like dating than choosing a skilled doctor to visit. It’s personal. It’s subjective. It’s about first impressions, common interests, and establishing mutual excitement to build a bright future together. Ideally, it’s a committed, long haul relationship, prepared to weather any bumps. It’s no wonder that there can be frustrating rejections of “I like but just don’t love enough to pursue.”
BUT there are smarter ways to vet and curate your wishlist—to tip the scales a little closer in your favor. And it boils down to doing your homework. Sometimes lots of homework to tailor your search, so it seems like “fate” has landed your query in said agent’s in-box.
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It’s every aspiring writer’s least favorite scenario: waiting to hear back from a literary agent.
But it’s possible—hardly even uncommon—to never get a response from your queries, or even after an invite was extended. What gives? Is your work that bad or wrong for them to justify query amnesia? Are agents so inundated that even a form letter rejection is too much to ask? Because, like in dating, getting “ghosted” is by far THE WORST.
Well, I’m going to let you in on some secrets. Or rather,
12 Hard Truths About Getting Rejected (Or Receiving “the Silent Treatment”) from Agents
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Congrats to Horace Hough, former middle school vice principal and director of an all-boys mentoring program, on the recent publication of 8 Things Every Boy Should Know About Being a Man (Bethune & Nest).
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It’s always thrilling to watch clients’ aspiration and hard work become published reality.
This month two very different projects hit the marketplace and are finding their audience.
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Congrats to Chris Roberts on the publication of his inspiring personal tale, You’ve Earned It!
Increasingly, indie publishing can be a viable alternative to the “query and wait/pray” path of traditional publication. If you’re willing to invest in yourself, producing a polished book helps build one’s vital “platform” and share your ideas or story with others. And with print-on-demand (POD) and ebook formats, no longer is “self-publishing” a dirty word or synonymous with a car trunk or closet stacked with books.
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I know it’s hard. It’s a little scary to put yourself and your words out there.
As creative people, thoughts and ideas are often pulling us in every direction…except forward. Sometimes we just need a little push.
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To increase the odds of getting a book offer, it’s essential to think like an acquiring editor.
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