MYC: Responses and what they mean

Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Now, we’re discussing what to do with that novel once it’s written!

So far, we’ve talked about the mechanics of querying and how to face rejection. But did you know that there are an entire range of responses an agent can give your query? My friends, we are not just talking about a simple “yes” or “no” here…NOPE! As in most things, there is an entire spectrum of responses.

Having done a few stints in the querying trenches, Pennies have probably had almost every experience under the sun! We want to make sure you know what can happen…and what to do when it does.

The NOs.

Yep, there are many, many agents who simply won’t respond if they’re not interested. This is normal and very, very impersonal – no need to even waste a second feeling bad about their silence. As you know, agents are busy. They also have a variety of reasons for rejecting queries, and trying to guess into the silence is not a great use of your energy. Some agents will tell you how long to keep your query with them open (anywhere from 2 to 12 weeks is pretty common), and some will post on their websites or Twitter feeds that they’ve reviewed all queries up to XX date. As a general rule, I wait six weeks and then move on. If they respond later, it’s a bonus!
Form Rejection. These are very common, and are often easy to spot as they are addressed to “Dear Author” or contain vague language saying, essentially, “this is not for me.” Note: you can even get these on requested materials, which is a bummer. But it means the same thing: this is not the story for this agent at this time.
Personal Rejection. Covet these! When an agent takes time to respond personally to you, telling you a specific reason they’re passing on your work, it means they think you’re doing something right. Maybe they loved your premise, but couldn’t get caught up in your voice. Maybe they have something too similar on their lists. Whatever they say, pay a little closer attention to these rejections. They can be gold for a querying author.
Rejection + Invitation. Occasionally, you’ll get a personalized rejection with an invitation to query the agent again with a different work. SAVE THESE! These are agents who probably like your voice or style, but either don’t think you’re ready yet for primetime, or aren’t particularly compelled by this work. If your current project doesn’t get picked up, these agents WHO ALREADY WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU DO NEXT should go to the top of your query list.
Rejection on requested material (or on an R&R). There’s no two ways about these – they HURT. But after you take some time to mourn (and eat chocolate), re-read what they’ve said and see if there isn’t something in there that is actionable. Agents don’t give feedback to many writers, so pay attention when they give it to you.

The YESes

A Partial. An agent will often request a partial – usually the first 25-50 pages – of your manuscript based on your query. This allows them to get a taste of your storytelling/voice/characters without committing to reading too much. It also lets them see if maybe your first three chapters have been workshopped much more than the rest of your manuscript.
A Full. In these electronic days, more agents are requesting fulls than they used to. It doesn’t mean they’ll read the whole book, but the manuscript is there if they get so caught up they don’t want to stop. (Fingers crossed!)
Additional Material. Very occasionally, an agent will ask to see material in addition to the manuscript itself. Most commonly, this will be a synopsis and/or a fuller bio than the one you use in your query. Or, they may ask for brief descriptions of other projects you’re working on. This can be confusing or intimidating since it’s a little out of the norm, but a request like this is a good time to check in with your writer friends and get their help reviewing what you pull together.

The Outliers

The R&R. A Revise and Resubmit response is GREAT news, even though it can feel a little overwhelming when it comes in. This means the agent LIKED your book, maybe even loved it, but they see a few things that could/should be fixed up. You can read more about what to do if you get an R&R here. A caveat: you do not have to make the suggested changes. Sometimes an agent will have a different vision for your story that is simply not in line with yours. That’s OK – but it does mean this probably isn’t the agent for you.
The Referral. Sometimes an agent recognizes that your query/pages are great, knows he or she isn’t the one to shepherd your work into the world, but believes a colleague might be a perfect fit. This is rare and should be cherished, but it doesn’t mean you skip steps. Query as per the referred agent’s guidelines, but make sure to say something like “your colleague XX thought you might be a good fit for my manuscript.”
The bizarre. Those in the query trenches for a while can tell some doozies. Here are a few responses that have actually happened to Pennies and their friends:
- “Thank you for your query, but I’ve decided to leave agenting.” Probably it wasn’t your query that caused them to make this decision.
- An enthusiastic request for pages followed two minutes later by a form rejection. Or the reverse.
- Offers to edit your manuscript for a fee, introduce you to the perfect editor for your work, publish your book without having read the whole thing, or basically anything that sounds super fishy. (This is why it’s very important to research any agent you query!)
- A personalized rejection so specific and so mean that you want to crawl into a hole and never query that agent – or maybe any other – again! Oh, and sometimes this happens on requested material.
- A rejection on requested material that offers helpful suggestions…about someone else’s book.
- A rejection with someone else’s name on it with no manuscript title, leaving you unsure if you’ve actually been rejected, or poor Amelia was and she just doesn’t know it yet.

Agents, like the rest of us, make silly mistakes, have bad days, and make career changes. If you need clarification, it is OK to send them an email. But most of the time, you can just count these out-of-the-box responses as rejections.

Querying can be tough, but when you know what to expect — and expect the unexpected — then you can handle it with a bit less panic (and maybe a slightly smaller chocolate stash).

Ready for more craft advice on writing middle grade or young adult fiction? Head back to our Master Your Craft page where you’ll find dozens of more topics to choose from!

RICHELLE MORGAN writes, works, plays and drinks too much coffee in Portland, Oregon, often in the company of her husband and their three spirited children. When not writing fiction for young adults and children, she pens fundraising letters and other marketing copy for progressive nonprofit organizations. Richelle keeps an occasional blog about nonprofit marketing and communication. She has also written feature articles for The Oregonian, and her short fiction has appeared in Voicecatcher. You can find her on Twitter.