EQ: 4/6/21

Fantasy 78k

I had issues with sending via email. I had to remove "Query" from the subject line in order for the email to go through. I had to resort to using simply a "Q", which unfortunately doesn't follow the instructions wanting "Query" in the subject line. Fingers crossed that's okay. I tried every permutation and combination and this was the only format that worked.

He said in an interview that he prefers to give personalized rejections when time permits. I got one after 15 days on an adult graphic novel.

"Thanks for the intriguing submission, [author]. The amount of work it takes to put together a graphic novel is staggering, so I'm impressed by its sophisticated feel. I looked at it on Blogspot to get a sense of the scope, and ultimately I didn't quite click with the intertwined plotlines or the dialogue, so I was never fully enveloped in the world of [fantastical setting a la Shangri-la/Wakanda]. A secondary concern is that in the current publishing climate, anything that carries a hint of concern about representation and appropriation is under fire, so I can imagine non-editorial reasons getting in the way. Clearly I've got too many reservations to be the right agent for you, but I appreciate the chance and wish you the best on your search."

EQ: 3/1/21

YA 96k

I submitted a literary novel for adults to him via his slush sometime over the summer. I did not attach the entire manuscript, as he requests. I just attached the first chapter. He requested the manuscript. I nudged once after 45 days and got no reply. Nudged a second time after 90 days, and he rejected me in a few days with a kind and “close but no cigar rejection”.

I am a published author, with two YA novels out already. In the interim I pitched another book to my editor at Harper. She told me last week she was taking it to acquisitions. With this news I went out to a few agents who had rejected my manuscript for adults. I told them I had been rewriting the novel for adults and that I had this YA proposal that was going to acquisitions. He said he would be happy to read them. This morning I got an email that he liked both and wanted to offer representation.

I spoke on the phone with him in the afternoon. Had a very nice chat. He was complimentary about proposal and revision. Haven’t made my choice yet (I have a few other offers).

I have no idea how to mark this so I changed the first response from a rejection to a revise and resubmit.

I know that an unpublished author can’t necessarily follow this path (I only gave him 100 pages of the revision, which is all I had, and without the YA acquisitions thing I doubt he would’ve read only that), but I just wanted to note how things can sometimes go.

EDIT: I spoke to what I think must be more than half of his client list, and I also contacted at least six or seven ex-clients. All raved about him, even those who'd left (usually because he wasn't able to sell their books). It was incredible. I've never seen or heard about an agent so beloved and respected. I accepted his offer (even though it was a week before the deadline I'd given other agents), and I pulled my subs from elsewhere.

The other email address worked. Thanks!

@Uffelmaj Unfortunately, I think it's been snagged and potentially blocked by his spam filter. It could be that your title, or something in your query, got flagged. This can also be the case if you queried prior with another manuscript that had something questionable for the filter. Use another e-mail address and see if that goes through. I had a similar problem because the title of that project was a little racy.

I hope this helps and good luck.

Thank you, @Ardenwolfe. My title is pretty straightforward. Trying from another email is a good idea. Thanks!

His address is rejecting my emails this morning. Can't figure out why.

Profile Update: Open to queries.

I sent a query all the back in September, and still haven’t gotten a response here at the end of January, about five months later. After the first month of waiting, I took that as a rejection and kind of forgot I even queried him and just started to revised my story—nothing major, just touch-ups and fixing errors to make it better. But I just remembered now that I queried him and decided to check up, only to see he closed submissions about a month after I sent mine which I didn’t know. That leaves a little bit of hope peaking through, because although he closed submissions, I still hope he somehow gets to mine if even possible now (although unlikely).

48 day nudge, CNR if no reply

One of those agents who demands that you personalize your query, or else he probably won't read the pagers, and then he doesn't even bother to respond. You need to put the work into petting his ego and explaining why he's THE BEST AGENT AND YOU WILL JUST DIE IF YOU DON'T WORK WITH HIM but don't expect him to so much as acknowledge you.

He once wrote an article about queries that ended with the line "And if it doesn’t work out, please know that I wish you the best of luck connecting with a good agent who isn’t such an asshole." Definitely a case of "believe what he says."

@Ardenwolfe I've queried multiple books at various times of the year and I've come to the conclusion there is no one good time of the year. Obviously they'll give preference to their current clients, but some workaholic agents work through the holiday season. It is rare, but I'd love to find an agent who loves working that much. Anyways, best of luck to all!

@righthing04 On a side note, I will tell you that querying now is probably the worst time of the year. Most literary agents and editors are pushing their clients' books for the Christmas Crush. Also, and not to scare anyone, but the market is supersaturated with hopefuls. This is especially true for YA. So, the competition is as fierce as it's ever been, with authors trying to get their work recognized.

Keep at it, but know it's an uphill battle with everyone and their mother having time to write a book. A side effect of being locked up and at home due to COVID-19, it seems.

Regardless, best of luck!