We talked about “rejectomancy” in the previous post–that bad habit of trying to decode form rejection letters to figure out the secret messages agents are trying to beam into your head. Doesn’t really work and is honestly more depressing than the initial letter itself.
But there are good, productive ways to approach revisions after getting rejected. Here is a Top 10 list of questions you should ask yourself after you hit that point where you wonder why your query and manuscript aren’t getting the response you feel they deserve.
Here’s a couple:
3. Are you only approaching senior agents at your desired agencies? Expand your search to include agents whose lists may be more open and your response rate could go up.
4. Does your query have any big DON’Ts on it? (rambling letter; confusing concept; picture of you/your kids/your dog; no contact info; calling your work “the next Harry Potter”)
Also, oddly enough, agent Colleen Lindsay recently posted eight big reasons as to why she may have rejected your query. Funny how most of them have to do with reading (and following!) the submission guidelines, plus being somewhat professional and courteous in how the query is written. Whodathunk?
I see that smile.