Super quick rejections

Emurelda

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Carol Rose

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Jimithyh said:
I've just received two rejections in two days, no more than a week after electronic submission.

Is that an indication of a very poor submission package, or efficient literary agencies?
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I would conclude the latter.

And lucky you can turn around and submit to the next agent in the agency so soon (if they do not specify that they share submissions and no need to query more than one).
 
You are right, Jason, I had not considered that the quick response could be seen in a positive light ... Thank you.

The joys of being a writer. I think I might ask for some white spirit for Christmas ... to help speed up the thickening of my skin.
 
Definitely the effect of Christmas. My record was 15 hours from submission to receiving a form letter of rejection. I prefer hearing quickly than waiting around for months. My longest wait was 22 weeks—what were they doing with my query? Biggest slushpile ever, I expect.
 
Some agents are just quick though. A few months ago, I had a four day turnaround. My very first submission I got back within two and only because I submitted Saturday night right before midnight.
 
I once had a ninety-minute rejection many years ago. I submitted via e-mail to an agent I had in my Twitter feed. About an hour later, I noticed she started tweeting about being at the Laundromat and skimming through submissions while she did her washing. Within half an hour, I had a rejection e-mail.

Shortly thereafter, I found this place called Litopia, and actually learned how to write well... ;)
 
For science fiction, I've had rejections trickling back over the past few months. Apparently, most agents that read sci fi/fantasy get so many submissions that you can expect a delay in response. Personally, I'd prefer quicker rejections because I'm one of those people that hates having stuff hanging over my head.
 
Chase Gamwell said:
For science fiction, I've had rejections trickling back over the past few months. Apparently, most agents that read sci fi/fantasy get so many submissions that you can expect a delay in response. Personally, I'd prefer quicker rejections because I'm one of those people that hates having stuff hanging over my head.
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Keep a Word doc with all the agents to whom you've submitted, when, and when each submission will "expire." Then you know which ones to hold your breath on, and which to let go, or submit to the next agent. There are also web pages that help you manage them as well, I believe.
 
Jason Byrne said:
Keep a Word doc with all the agents to whom you've submitted, when, and when each submission will "expire." Then you know which ones to hold your breath on, and which to let go, or submit to the next agent. There are also web pages that help you manage them as well, I believe.
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Yep, I use a super excel spreadsheet to manage mine. It makes me feel better because I can distract myself from rejections with data :D
 
I used Querytracker for nearly a year and found it useful, but since I entered the world of self-marketing, I' not active on the site.
 
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Emurelda

Opportunities for writers in Jan - Feb 2016

  • Emurelda
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Carol Rose

Pets who "help" us write

  • Carol Rose
  • Replies: 126
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