So, you sent me your latest proposal and received a rejection from my assistant. A week later, I post a blog that seems to be talking about your submission.
So, did your proposal prompt that blog post?
Maybe. But consider:
- If the post appears a few days after we interact, you weren’t the one. Most of my posts are written weeks in advance.
- If your interaction with my office prompted my post, don’t worry. One communication with a lone author doesn’t trigger a blog post from me. If you see a blog post that seems to be talking to you or about you, if it is, then that means you are part of a trend of three or more people. Enough people that I feel warrant a helpful post.
- Decisions from my office are all about whether we think a project will attract attention in the current market. We are painfully aware that we are sometimes mistaken in our assessment. Yes, I want to represent people I enjoy working with; but I assume if you’re submitting a proposal to me, you’d like us to work together. So a rejection of your project is not a comment on you as a person. We try to keep authors from feeling that way. We hope we succeed.
- I hate rejections more than you do. I would never lash out at an author with a vindictive post.
So please never feel chastised by a blog post from me. Look at it this way: If an interaction with my office that you had can help other authors, that’s good for all of us.
Your turn:
What have you learned from your journey in querying agents?
How can agents do a better job of helping authors through rejection?
