EQ: 5/31/18

YA Contemporary 78k

@ispyamystery - That's the biggest frustration and irony about querying. Agents encourage you to personalize a query so they feel all special, but then for doing just that, you're gimmicky, being a pushover, annoying, inappropriate, etc. That's why I just cold query, it has always worked for me, while personalizing always leads to either a CNR or just a rejection.

The thing is, I think social media always brings out the "mean" in the agents who use it so frequently, they sound so harsh. My experience with Lauren was nice though, even though it didn't go anywhere (I was close but no cigar)! A note I always make to myself though, cold querying works, the strength of the pitch always speaks for itself.

EQ: 3/20
FR: 5/18 (My first one. Eek)
YA Contemp 70k.

EQ: 4/27 (#DVPit Request)
ER: 5/7 with personalized note about why she was rejecting it.

YA Contemporary 90K

EQ: 3/16/18
ER: 4/23/18

Form rejection addressed to "Dear Author."

Email rejection addressed to “Dear Author”.

EQ: 2/15
Nudged 4/16
last night she put this on twitter:
"writers: you want your query to stand out because your premise & voice are excellent and the perfect fit for the agent, not b/c you wrote a gimmicky query. Follow basic query rules and save the creativity for your novel. " An author asked what she meant and she continued:
"Basically anything where you think, “Ah, THIS will get their attention!” Some common ones: inappropriate chumminess or flattery, writing as if the protagonist wrote the query, “let’s cut to the chase”/“do you want to get rich?” bravado, lies about what the agent’s looking for."

okay on most of that, but a tad confusing since there is a fine line between personalizing a query (because you've done your research on the agent and you put a couple of lines at the beginning of the query as to why they might like the book/things you have in common with them) and "inappropriate chumminess."
I worried a lot last night that she was talking about me.
This morning I got a "Dear Author" form rejection. Well. Okay. I guess I was "inappropriately chummy".
As a note: I have an agent already for one genre; I'm querying a different genre. So I do know how to get an agent from the slush pile and query trenches, meaning I know how to write a query.
Sigh. This business is brutal sometimes. I wouldn't have wanted her as an agent at this point, because she sounds a little bit mean, even if she wasn't talking about me. Which is why this business feels brutal this morning.
She may not have been talking about me; but writers who are working hard take everything personally.
Dear Agents: please realize most authors are doing their best. They're not trying to piss you off, be inappropriate, be gimmicky. They're just doing their best.
I love query tracker because I can mark it rejected, hide the rejects from my list, and move on.
Onward!

EQ on 2/19/18 MG Fantasy Adventure 38,500 words. Received an automatic reply that she was out of the office but would get back to me when she returned. Nudged on 4/22/18

EQ 11/7
Full req 11/7
Pulled to revise 11/28
YA contemp 65k #MSWL

Has anyone had a reply from Lauren lately? it looks like she does respond, but that's it's been awhile..

11/8/2017: Sent query based on MSWL. I received a full request an hour later.
1/12/2018: Lauren email me to set up a call. We have a call that afternoon and she offers representation.

I ended up signing with another agent, but Lauren was absolutely wonderful during the whole querying process and anyone would be lucky to work with her. Her clients clearly love her.

EQ: 01/13
ER: 01/29 "Dear Author" form

New Adult contemporary

EQ: 12 Jan 2018

Ya contemporary

ER: 29 Jan 2018 (not the right fit for her list)

EQ: 10/5/17
ER: 12/14/17 (form)

Apparently, this agency has a "no from one is a no from all" submission, which seems strange, considering the number of agents and the degree of experience. Anyway, I received a rejection for my crap query with another agent and thought I'd give the new one a spin at this agency. Let's see what happens.