Rejection Letter: Agent A

Rejection Letter: Agent A

Today I'm going to spotlight one of the rejections sent to me. You can tell so much about an agent from their rejection letters. Plus, there are things to be learned from a good rejection letter. Form letters included, believe it or not.

I'm not going to quote the letter, but instead break it down. For anonymity's sake, today's agent will be referred to as Agent A. 

The agent begins by addressing me by name, which is a huge plus. It makes me feel like I'm important enough for them to take the time to specifically look at my name. I know that not every agent has the time to do this for every author, but I appreciated this thoughtful gesture. 

Agent A had actually requested my book through a Twitter pitch contest, so I'd been excited to see if they loved my story. They start the rejection letter by apologizing for how long they'd had the query. Agent A then refers to my book by name. Again, an A+ move by Agent A. 

The next few sentences are actually some of the most personalized feedback I've ever gotten in a rejection. They said what they liked about my first three chapters, even calling my MC by name. Agent A liked my MC as a character and said they were complex. Complex? I actually loved this compliment. Complex, in a good context, made me feel like I'd created something dynamic and worthwhile.

And then they said what their main hang-up was. Agent A said that they weren't connecting with the voice.

AHHHHHHHHH! The dreaded not connecting with the voice letter.

Luckily, Agent A gave me some valuable thoughts on what exactly they didn't like. They actually said that the voice of my MC sounded older than he was supposed to be. To me, this was actionable. I can do something about that issue. I can look at what complex aspects I love about my mc and how I can age the character down while still keeping the essence of what makes them awesome.

And then the letter has the dreaded line about how it is a subjective business. I say dreaded because I see this ALL the time. But I also appreciate the thought because it reminds me that a no from one agent is not an end to my dream. 

Agent A wishes me the best and then signs with their name.

I am so grateful for the rare pieces of advice and the time that Agent A took for my benefit. This agent made me feel great about my work, and simultaneously told me what needs to change. That's the sort of great agent I hope to sign with someday. It makes me want to query this agent with future projects, even if they don't ever give me this same kind of review. If Agent A handles their client's work like they handle their rejections, then those authors are in diligent hands!

Thank you for a great rejection, Agent A!