Query 4/21/22. Rejection 6/13/22

"Thank you for thinking of me and The Seymour Agency. While I like your project and see the value in it, I'm afraid that I simply don't have the bandwidth to take on anything new right now....as you can tell by how long it's taken me to get to your query--sorry!"

Query 3/30/22. Rejection 4/5/22. Helpful response, but many of her recommended qualifications were qualifications I have and I articulated in my proposal.

"Hi, Randolph,

I really appreciate the opportunity to consider your project. I get a lot of proposals with great messages like yours. I also know that without a big author hook (credentials/applicable doctorates/affiliation with high-profile companies or magazines) and a respectable and engaged platform (10,000 and much higher for the large publishing houses) and/or large email list, it’s going to be an uphill battle placing it with a good publisher in this incredibly competitive market. For projects low on those aspects, I rely on a Universal nudge, and I’m sorry to say that I’m not getting that here. Please know too that I have a small author list, so I’m even more selective than many agents.

I know that building an engaged platform is challenging, but I encourage you to do so before continuing to send out submissions. Of course, you may find an agent who’s so passionate about your proposal that they’ll take you and your book as is…because it can happen. I recommend that you subscribe to Publishers Marketplace for a month to see which agents are selling your kind of projects. And do keep in mind that if you decide to self-publish, your sales will weigh heavily in whether an agent or publisher will be interested in it or a future project. Think 10,000 as a minimum threshold and lots of great reviews.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you all the best!

Cheers,
Tina Wainscott"

43 days for query response on a memoir.

Responded with a long and helpful rejection. She explained my book was not the issue, but I wasn't a celebrity and that is what the public wants at this time. She added she also was shopping for two other specific memoirs with clients and cannot take on more.

EQ: 1/14/21
ER: 2/1/21
69k Memoir
"Memoirs are tricky these days. Must have a significant platform or tell a story no one else has..."

@Mesmer7... thank you for posting this. Today I got the same rejection email for my nonfiction book, too.

Rejection for my nonfiction book was encouraging, but not really helpful. "…You have a well-thought out book here that’s certainly worthy. With my limited client list, though, I really must fall madly in love with the material to take it on.…"

Neither a form letter nor really helpful. How do I mark that in the query status?