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As of October 9th of this year, I officially began my quest for a literary agent to represent me to potential publishers. Well, not so much ME as my novel LADY SILVER: Warlock Chronicles, Book I.
[Side note: I’m personally not anything to get worked up over. Pretty much just another face in a crowd. But my novel? LADY SILVER is a different story. That’s some good shit, if I say so myself!]
Keep in mind that I’ve never gone looking for an agent before, so I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve read “how-to” websites and books until I fried my eyeballs. I’ve listened to advice from countless friends, acquaintances, and total strangers—some published authors, some not. I’ve revised my query letter a bazillion times, edited my synopsis a quadrillion times, and copy-and-pasted excerpts from my manuscript too many times to remember, everything from the first five pages to the first five chapters to the entire manuscript.
All copied into the body of the email or submission form—no attachments!
As of today (November 28th of 2020), I’ve received seven rejection notices. All but one were obvious form letters: “Thank you for your interest in our agency, but your work doesn’t seem to be a good fit for our firm at this time.” That sort of thing.
I’m not complaining; quite the opposite, actually. In submission guides, some agents state that I should consider “…no response as a pass on your query.” I’m happy to get a definitive “no, thank you,” even if it is a form letter. At least I’m not left in limbo.
I did get a personal response from one agent. She thanked me for submitting and said she thought I had an interesting, intriguing story. But she wasn’t feeling a connection to it, and that was something she needed to represent the novel effectively. So she thought she should pass.
Disappointing? Of course. But also encouraging. She said my novel was “interesting, intriguing.” Her words.
*SQUEE* *HAPPY DANCE*
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my five years of freelance writing and ghostwriting, it’s this: take your kudos where you find them.
So…hopeful and bolstered by two simple words—interesting, intriguing—the quest continues—film at 11.
Photo by Brina Blum on Unsplash