Giving Reasons for Rejections

>I’m being selfish here: I’m glad you posted these reasons because now I can go look at my own stuff and work on the weaknesses you pointed out in the comments. I think I’d appreciate any of these comments because it’s a “no” with an explanation. I might be peeved at a first, but after I quit sulking, I think a comment similar to these would be very helpful.

>There were two comments that I would find helpful because you pointed out specifics in which you found a problem.

“…I can’t tell what kind of audience you’re shooting for. I’d suggest you be clear about your audience and make sure you’re hitting your target both with the storyline and the writing itself. This seems like it’s intended for a young audience (young teens, perhaps?) but it’s not clearly defined.”

“You’ll probably need to find a strong hook to draw readers into your book and make them want to read it. Figure out what’s really fresh and unique about your story. Right now it doesn’t strike me as compelling enough to draw readers’ interest.”

The following comment did not point out anything specific, but as a writer I would appreciate this from an agent, if it was not part of a form rejection. It lets the author know he or she is on the right page and beginning to go in the right direction.

“Keep writing. Keep studying the craft. Write another book, and another. You clearly have a natural gift, and a beautiful way with words. Like all gifts, yours will benefit from being nurtured and refined. I encourage you to avoid being in a rush to publish, and instead, spend a bit more time focused on being a writer. You will get there, in the right timing.”

Most of the other comments were a problem with the entire work, which I don’t find particularly helpful. I would rather hear a simple “no thanks.”

Like Dee Yoder commented, it’s always useful when agents post why they reject queries (and reasons why they accept others.) So thank you for posting this!

>I’ll play devil’s advocate assuming Rachelle’s goal is to help writers vs gunning for resubmission.

I don’t think any of the rejections are harsh, but getting back 10 “no thanks” vs 10 “no thanks, yadda yadda yadda” will still send me back to the drawing board or to my critique group for personalized, actionable feedback.

I don’t believe the extra effort on Rachelle’s part is worth it when I reach the same eventual outcome, and if I were her client or family or friends, I’d prefer she spend her time elsewhere.

Although, agreed, everyone likes to know their writing is clear and passionate.

>I’d personally love to hear this kind of information from an agent. I think that’s why Miss Snark’s First Victim secret agent contest slots fill up so quickly. Writers are dying to know what agents think of their work.

With that said, I’ve left comments on secret agent contests, so I know how much time it sucks up. I wouldn’t expect agents to do that for every single query. They’d go nuts! Even cutting and pasting from a list of general feedback points could take forever. So, Rachelle, don’t feel guilty for not doing this on a regular basis. Don’t feel guilty if you never doing it again. We don’t blame you! You have lots of other ways to spend your time.

>I’d personally rather know the reason a submission is rejected. I think it would be helpful to the writer. However, I doubt it is worth your time considering all the submissions you have to go through.

>A bit harsh? Yes.

Unnecessarily harsh? No.

Rejection is harsh. Publishing is a tough business and it will require a thick skin. This may sound harsh, but I think it’s better for us to hear the truth sooner rather than later so we can do what we need to do about it.

The problem is, rejection hurts so badly we’ll be reeling from the rejection rather than really hearing what you’re saying.

I still think it’s helpful and incredibly kind for you to take a moment to respond with a reason.

I’m shocked that you didn’t list “Your submission does not conform to our requested guidelines.” But perhaps that’s best, to not see it recycled.

>Personally, I thought the comments were helpful and would really appreciate them if/when I send you a submission. However, I completely understand that there is only so much time in a day. I just read this awesome book called Ten Choices – and one of the chapters is about priorities. We all have to make them. And nobody should fault you for not making comments in rejection letters – because you can’t have a million top priorities. It’s selfish for others to think otherwise. I would ask yourself – is doing this taking away from my top priorities in life? And if it is, I wouldn’t do it.

>Personally, I’d like to know why…even if did sting a little.

The responses that tell the writer that you are not the best agent for that genre are the softest ones here.

Giving them a line of advice (needs a better hook or a stronger plot or a definite audience) gives the writer something to work with.

The ones that tell them their work is not unique would hurt more. (Every writer thinks theirs is different.)

Your replies that say no one would buy it are too harsh.

I like your sensitive, but honest, attitude, Rachelle. Don’t stop being you.

>Any extra words along with a rejection are a blessing in most cases.

>I found the extra words to be helpful, some even positive and motivating. I can’t imagine being able to do that for every submission you receive, but I think it would be lovely in a perfect world

>I thought these were wonderful responses, but in truth, they would only waste your day sending them out. As writer, I don’t expect a reason why my query was rejected. It wasn’t for you. That’s good enough for me. But I do like to hear back from an agent, even if it’s a form rejection. Then I know it wasn’t lost in cyberspace. If I send in a requested partial or full, I do appreciate it when an agent has taken the time to point out consistant mistakes I’ve made that weakened the writing. If no one points it out, I can never improve. However, that is not an agent’s job, and I appreicate that, too. A hint of why the partial or full was rejected would be nice too. This is not the right story for me, works well too. Not every story in the bookstore is right for me, either.

>Rachelle,

I didn’t see a single harsh word in any of your responses. Any writer who isn’t grateful for such feedback should self-publish or find another line of work because he or she won’t survive working with an editor. You are offering a priceless service to writers, and I applaud you for doing it with such kindness and generosity.

>I think this sort of feedback is invaluable. As a writer, I think it’s helpful to know why a query is not successful. Is it the quality of writing? Is the storyline hackneyed but the writing solid? Is it a bad idea? Is it impossible to sell?

I think your comments were more encouraging than harsh, and if you want to make that sort of comment and pull the punch, you can always remind them that yours is only one opinion.

As a fiction mag editor, I find myself wanting to make comments on declines when I feel there is a lot of promise, but the work doesn’t suit or needs development. It’s not a request for a resubmission, but I like to encourage writers who I feel have promise. I’m more likely to send a straight form No if I really disliked the piece. Perhaps that’s why I don’t see these as harsh.

>I haven’t read through all the comments yet, so I may be repeating something someone else has already said, but I have a baby about to finish his bottle so I have to hurry up.

If any of these were said to me, I would be 100% fine with it. I love constructive criticism because it helps you figure out how to get better. I think of writing like anything else–you can always learn more… and these kinds of comments, though they may feel harsh to deliver, are extremely helpful in that learning process!

I think these writers were very lucky to get these responses from you!

>I don’t see a smidge of harshness in these responses. Honesty, but no harshness. I would be grateful to receive this sort of feedback, especially on a query.

I think the single most important bit of feedback I’m interested in at the query stage is whether or not the proposal is effective (even if it’s not the right project for that particular agent). I understand, though, that’s probably the most difficult information to give, as most form rejections use that as the final “Buck up, Camper” closing. Another agent may feel differently. But that’s the key question: Is this a great proposal to the wrong agent for this project, or is the proposal not right yet (query or pages or both)?

>I think those remarks were extravagantly kind and helpful. I would beeming from a rejection like that (hahahaha)

>You know what would be SO cool? Most of your comments seem to follow in a few categories.
What if you just posted a “checklist” on your submissions page and then, when you responded, you could just put in the numbers for the checklist?
1) No hook
2) dont rep
3) doesnt grab me personally
4) Not fresh enough
5) blah blah
then, when you respond, you could just say “check website” and post 1,3, 5
i am a genius.

>I think it was kind of you to take the time, and they are not harsh AT ALL.

Submitting writers are hungry for any clue as to what they can improve in their work to make it more appealing, so I’m certain your time and words were appreciated.

>What I found myself wanting to do during Nathan’s “Agent for a Day” was add extra comments at the bottom of the rejections ONLY if I found they were almost there. Sometimes writers just fall short in a few areas and if I thought they had great potential, I’d let them know what to work on.
Otherwise, I just kept it brief. Thank you, but I’ll decline this time.

As for your other question, I didn’t find them harsh at all. Very professional and helpful in my opinion.

>First and foremost, none of what you said was overly harsh. For myself, I would find any feedback helpful.

However, I know there are writers out there who take criticism very personally and would attack you for trying to be helpful.

So, while I would love feedback, I understand why agents don’t do it (especially considering the time it takes). But, specific advice about things like hook, target audience, etc. could all give a writer a direction of how to improve, without seeming vague and “too big” to fix. Also, some of your comments were extremely encouraging (“You certainly have a strong topic, along with the passion and writing ability to pull it off.” or “The premise is pretty unique and the writing is strong, but …”) – these let the writer know they are doing things right without it sounding so much like a form letter that they ignore it.

Is it worth your time? Maybe. Is it helpful to writers? To those hungry for advice, yes. To those thinking they have a perfect ms, probably not.

>Everyone — this is extremely valuable and helpful input! Thanks for taking the time. Keep it coming!

>Why not shorten your replies?
I’d appreciate comments like this: MC too cruel/boring or Sloppy wroting or weak premise or confusing plot or too many subplots. Use phrases, not full sentences, perhaps w/ a pre-printed form. Thanks!

>I’m glad I read Amy’s comment before drafting mine, because I was going to say the same basic thing. The generalities come across as form anyway, so if it takes you extra time, I would prefer a form…at least that way you’d have time to get to some of my fellow writers’ queries.

I do think that a specific line, like the examples Amy gave, would make a rejection a lot easier to take, and a agent (even one who’d rejected my novel) a lot easier to recommend to others.

>I expected to find single-sentence responses here but you went above and beyond, Rachelle. Your comments were helpful, not harsh.

I personally would appreciate whatever feedback you (or any agent) want to give. Short and sweet far surpasses form-letter.

>Would it be hard for me to read some of these things about my writing? Sure. But it would also give me a much better idea what I needed to work on in order to make my writing marketable. I’d love to have a rejection letter like one of these!

That said, I’m sure it takes considerably more time for you to write a rejection letter along these lines. Is it fair to put that weight on your shoulders? Perhaps not for every rejection letter…but if you have time and the inclination, I think it’s terrific! And it occurs to me that if more writers got rejection letters like these, slush piles might not be so full of rubbish?

>I don’t think any of the comments were harsh. If an author can’t pick themselves up and brush the dust off after comments like that, they will find it hard to persevere long enough to get published.

I would find any comment such as you gave helpful. For the author, even tidbits would be better than nothing.

For the agent, it takes more of your time but it also shows you’re one who will go the extra mile.

Great post!

>Personally, I appreciate specific criticism; it gives me the direction I need, and can quite possibly save me a ton of time riding a dead horse.

>I didn’t find them to be too harsh at all – though I think that I have thicker than normal skin because of law school. It seems like some of them are very helpful, especially the really specific ones like that it’s hard to sell devotionals and the tone was too harsh for its audience. It seems to me that people would want to know when their story isn’t unique as well.

As to whether it’s worth it – that seems like a decision for you. It will probably add a little benefit to the writers, but they also might just be inclined to gloss over/ignore the advice since it comes along with a rejection. If it takes you a lot of extra time, it might not be worth it – particularly since it might open up more communication with an author who wants to argue with you about your advice.

>i don’t think some were as harsh as others. you were encouraging in many of the responses (like saying the writing was strong) and that would stand out like a beacon in a rejection letter to me. i’d probably grab onto it and try to shake off the rest (easier said than done). but if all i got was “it’s not my cup of tea,” i would have a harder time with that. why? the genre? (of course, i would never send in a sci-fi to you.) but without some reason WHY, i almost wouldn’t respond with that b/c it’s TOO quick a reason. the ones i liked the best were, invariably, the longer responses, which doesn’t help your time out at all, does it? *sigh*

>I think, if you have time, that sure, put a reason on there. Short and sweet is good. These weren’t mean at all.

>My take on this is that a serious writer would appreciate any comment made, but I think most of the complaining aobut agents not responding comes from those who are already convinced their book is 99% wonderful and want a simple quick-fix from you! What they want to hear is “Just deepen the character of George and I’ll snap this jewel up next time!”

So all your efforts to ease the blow still won’t be enough for those writers. As soft and helpful as your responses were, they can’t substitute for in-depth instruction that most rejected manuscripts need to be accepted.

I say if this excercise is taking too much time, effort, or mental stress, then go back to simple form letters. Or the check-box system some agents/editors use. That might work, since most of your responses ended up being about similar problems.

You are to be commended for caring enough about this to try something different, but in the end, the real writers are going to figure it out anyway and a short rejection letter can’t help the others.

>I, too, would have blessed to receive any of that feedback (except one). I think your feedback gives writing a clear direction as to why their writing was rejected and something to work on.

The only exception (to me) was the “not my cup of tea” response, simply because a writer can’t “fix” that. And obviously you didn’t like it enough to suggest another agent, as you did in another of your passes.

If you have time to give those little critiques, I think they are awesome and helpful! YAY!

>Hi Rachelle,
It’s probably all been said, but if you’re keeping a tally, I’d side with those who say your comments are very helpful! I also recognize that it takes a lot of time on your part. Since, as you point out,

“you can probably tell that the reasons for the “no” are often very similar, the most common being: It’s just not interesting/unique/fresh enough, and doesn’t make me want to read more”

could you adapt a “form letter” and just check the boxes that apply. I’d still find this helpful and it wouldn’t have to eat up so much of your time.

>I actually thought those comments were extremely helpful. You’ll have to decide if it’s something that you could keep up, of course.

But if I were one of those authors, I would be grateful.

>I think the best thing about the recent controversy in regard to queries and failing is that it has inspired discussion. It’s making querying a less esoteric process than it always was.

My thoughts here: no, I don’t want a reason, any more than I would want a reason from a girl who was breaking up with me (especially if I liked her). I might think a reason would salve my busted heart, but ultimately, it’s just a reason like all the other reasons in the world. There’s nothing unique about it, and the fact that there’s a reason at all is reason enough.

However, obviously, the agent/author dynamic is different from a romantic one, and that leaves room for feedback. That’s what I’d want, more so than a reason for the rejection; tell me not what I’m doing wrong but rather suggest to me something that will help me do it right.

Considering all the reasons you posted; I admire what you did, and I applaud you even for the effort. However, most of them were simply reasons. “Not compelling.” Etc.

A few stand out, though. They are:

“Keep writing. Keep studying the craft. Write another book, and another. You clearly have a natural gift, and a beautiful way with words. Like all gifts, yours will benefit from being nurtured and refined. I encourage you to avoid being in a rush to publish, and instead, spend a bit more time focused on being a writer. You will get there, in the right timing.”

and

“The story didn’t capture my attention as particularly fresh, and in addition, I can’t tell what kind of audience you’re shooting for. I’d suggest you be clear about your audience and make sure you’re hitting your target both with the storyline and the writing itself. This seems like it’s intended for a young audience (young teens, perhaps?) but it’s not clearly defined.”

and

“You’ll probably need to find a strong hook to draw readers into your book and make them want to read it. Figure out what’s really fresh and unique about your story. Right now it doesn’t strike me as compelling enough to draw readers’ interest.”

Note what they all have in common: they suggest things. They’re very real, and tangible. That last author now knows to look for a hook and, if one isn’t to be found, maybe even create one, which means you, without even agenting/repping them, helped that author find a way to a better book (hopefully). The first one: study craft is so important and so bloody tangible. Getting clear about audience? I say bravo about all those. For real. Terrific. The self-publishing/blogging devotional one, too. That wasn’t just feedback; that was a totally right-on-the-money business suggestion, and that’s awesome. I hope whomever received that one heeds your advice.

The others? It’s not that they’re not helpful, of course, but I think there’s a reason “Agenting is a subjective business, and I’m sure another will feel differently about this project, but it’s not for me,” is included on pretty much every form rejection is that it’s so true (too many cliches generally are. That tends to be what makes them cliches. Like “I love you but I’m not in love with you.”).

So thank you for trying. And thank you for posting about trying and making such an effort.

>Will’s reply kind of made me laugh; I wonder if there’s a difference in male vs female writers wanting an explanation. In the break-up analogy, I think women want an explanation more often than we’re willing to just take a “no” and be done with it.

I agree with others that getting specific feedback is desirable, but I’m not sure how much of it is a good use of your time.

I recently came across the feedback from a manuscript submitted to an agent at a writer’s conference a couple of years ago. This conference gives the faculty a checklist of ‘strengths’ and ‘weaknesses’ to help facilitate the feedback. I was surprised to take that sheet out of the envelope to see that all of the ‘strengths’ (well-written, strong voice, clear viewpoint, helpful takeaway, etc) were checked and none of the ‘weaknesses’ (topic overdone, too preachy, needs stronger focus, etc) were. The agent took the time to hand-write her concern that there would be a platform problem. She gave me 1/2 page of questions to answer, some of which I could have addressed to her satisfaction.

But all I remembered of it was the “not for me” part. With some time and distance behind me (and a lack of emotional investment in pursuing that relationship now), I was able to see there was much more good in her reply than there was to be discouraged by. I’m not a newbie to publishing or having an agent (hi Greg!), but being turned down is hard to take no matter how nicely done.

The dilemma for you is what is the best use of your own time. My suspicion is that you do a good job of knowing when someone will take the constructive commentary and do something with it. For those writers, your feedback may sting initially (we all hate rejection, period), but it might provide them just the insight they need to re-work a project to take it to the next step.

I don’t think it would be an effective use of your time to give that kind of feedback to everyone, especially those who have faaar to go before they’re ready for representation or publication. (There are good critique services available that can offer that kind of feedback; you shouldn’t be expected to do it for free!)

>Rachel!!! Of course these writers are better off with personalized comments. This is a rough business and writers who are in the querying stage know that. Writers who spent years writing their manuscripts and spent hours researching agents get rejected in minutes.

The way a query presents the manuscript can be tweaked. The first few pages can be tweaked. I know, you know that a lot of writers are determined, hard workers that aren’t willing to give up. If a writer sees a common thread in rejection letters, maybe they can fix the problem.

We’re only asking for a slim chance in Hell. : )

Kelly D

>While I don’t think the comments were harsh, many are too vague to be of any real help and some might be more subjective than the author would like to think. But I guess most writers just like to know that something personal went into the review of their ms. I still think it’s unnecessary for agents to give personal feedback unless they’d be interested in seeing the project again with revisions OR they feel strongly that the book is worthwhile but not something they personally feel they should take on. And sometimes the personal feedback makes an author think the door is open for more discussion when it probably isn’t. There are plenty of resources for feedback, great feedback. Shouldn’t authors learn that querying agents is not a way to get feedback? Join a critique group, take a class. Agents need to give most of their attention to the clients they do have. They are, afterall, paying their agent for their time (assuming they get a book deal.)

>Have you ever considered having more than one form rejection? It would be faster than personalizing it, and much appreciated by all of us.

You could even go so far as to have bullets that you could fill in (like the multipule choice format on tests). That would be even faster, while still giving us some impression of the direction we need to take.

I know for me, I hit dead ends. I don’t know what to do to make my writing/story better. If an agent, such as yourself, pointed me in the right direction, I’d stop querying and start working (assuming that I agree, of course). That would reduce the agents’ inboxes as well.

>Hi Rachelle!

I think it is all about meeting someone’s expectations. Let me explain what I mean. As I was reading your blog – before I reached the examples – I formed a mental idea of what I would find as I scrolled down to your list. When I read the list, the remarks did not fit my mental image. The comments were not short phrases and most of them were not limited to reasons why you declined to represent the work submitted. Obviously, my expectations were off the mark. I was pleasantly surprised by what I read.

No matter what comments you use to reject a query, proposal, or manuscript, you will not be able to know how the writer will respond simply because you will not know the expectations with which the writer started.

Having said that, I do have one suggestion. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you consider each project and only make comments as He directs you. By doing that, you will be sure that your time is well spent and that, regardless of how the writer responds, God will use those comments for good.

Be blessed!

Lynnda

>Difficulties abound in spending time personalizing every letter that says no. Agents, like other book professionals, need to spend their time and energy on the yes. That being said, as a querying author I would be grateful to have even one sentence that illuminates a rejection, but I don’t expect one. From an agent’s perspective, even a nice and thoughtful agent such as Rachelle, it will get very tiring, very quickly, to give this personalized attention to all but the queries that could, with some work, turn from a no to a yes. In these situations, by all means, give reasons.

>I so appreciate your concern on how your rejection letters are received.
Personally, I don’t think any of your comments listed were harsh at all. They were truth as you see it.
I would much prefer to know why than to wonder why. It provides direction for improvement.
Thanks so much for your help each day!

>I think most of your responses were great, though I think the first two would have stung the most. I suspect that it’s because they so bluntly say, “this writing isn’t working” – and that’s it. Your other replies offer suggestions as to why something isn’t working and overall, feel more encouraging.

After participating in Nathan Bransford’s Agent for a Day game, I can appreciate how much time it would take for you to make these responses. As a writer in the querying stages, I’ve decided I’m okay with a form letter, though if you feel there is something very specific that can be fixed, sure I’d love to know! I could see, though, how a writer could get trapped in a cycle of constantly trying to repair a manuscript based on a small paragraph from an agent – kind of tricky because the next agent might look at the same writing and think it’s super.

>Your comments are helpful, as it can only help someone to improve their work, but I wonder if you’re also specifying whether or not they should re-submit the same work after the corrections are made. It might save you and the writer some effort if they knew up front that their changes won’t change your mind.

>Rachelle, your comments are exactly what I would be looking for from an agent. I don’t consider them harsh in any degree. The thing that I would potentially ask from you, as a writer, is to take some of the one-liners and extend them with a bit more detail.

“While your writing is strong, I didn’t find the story to be compelling.” What part of the story? Plot? Characters? Is the whole thing a mess? Instead of giving a broad generalization, specifics would help us writers a lot!

Thanks for taking the time to try this and I absolutely hope that you continue to do so.

Cheers!

>Some of these would be really helpful, particulary those that pointed out a concrete problem (ie, I can’t define your audience). The ones I had a problem with were the “I wasn’t compelled” reactions. What’s compelling can be subjective, and have multiple meanings. This would probably make me tear my hair out a little–do you mean that the storyline isn’t your preference, that the style isn’t fresh enough to keep you going, or that the entire idea is a bit too dull? I would say that if you have something specific to say, go for it, but “not compelling” is about as vague as a form rejection would be. Thanks for this!

>Most of those comments I would have been very happy to receive as a writer, because they told me what i could do to improve. But something like “not my cup of tea” isn’t really any more helpful than a form rejection. I think most serious writers would really appreciate the specific comments. Unfortunately, there are the nutbars who will blast you for it and ruin it for the rest of us.

>As long as I knew it wasn’t a form letter, I would have found any of those comments helpful.

In fact, one of the most useful rejections I ever got on a partial simply said, “It’s an interesting premise, but I don’t feel your writing is at market level yet.” Suddenly I saw several ways I could improve my storytelling. I hadn’t really looked at it that way before because I figured the rejections (based on the agents responses) were because my novel wasn’t “their cup of tea” after all.

However, I can see how the more general comments might frustrate many writers.

>I personally appreciate any feedback that I can get on my writing, and I would be thankful for the extra time spent on a short comment about my writing. However, I do understand that it’s time-consuming for you, so I definitely wouldn’t expect the extra effort.

I don’t think your comments were harsh either. If an author can’t handle that little criticism, I can’t imagine they can make it long as an author.

>While I believe personal, perhaps even ecouraging, rejections do in fact hurt more, I also believe they do more good. Every scrap of hope is appreciated.

–Amethyst

>I really appreciate the comments I’ve gotten on rejections. (One of the hardest rejections I ever got ended up being one of the most valuable…an editor who had been considering my middle grade novel for about a year ended up sending me a very thoughtful and detailed rejection letter on why the story wasn’t right for her. That letter helped me to look at my manuscript from a different angle and make changes that, in the end, made the story so much better. Thanks for sharing this post; I think the feedback you provided for the rejections was valuable.

>I say continue with the form rejections. Your clients are priority No. 1.

>This is late but…I’ve noticed that the better I get at accepting rejection the better I am.

Rkh

>I hope 2 posts on this doesn’t label me as a ‘spammer’

I agree with Richard Mabry on this – your style doesn’t seem to be a checklisted form rejection.

And I’d add support for the idea that these helps should go to those who might be considered ‘close’ to a win.

However, if you’re sending ‘form’ rejections out, a checklist on why would be better than just a ‘no’ – every bit of info helps.

>We writers are the only people I know who get excited about personal rejection–it’s so much better than impersonal rejection. I admit, a checklist is just as impersonal as a plain ‘no.’ Mine usually said nothing more helpful than “Does not meet our current editorial needs.”)

What if you wrote up a page of “My most common reasons for not accepting a manuscript.” You could briefly summarize each in your own gracious way (and maybe even add a first practical step in correcting the problem). You can then refer writers to the list for self-evaluation, with or without pointing them to a specific reason. The resource would be there for those who want it, but not in the face of those who don’t.

>Rachelle, if an author thinks your comments were harsh, he needs to move from Coddle-ville to Reality Land.

You made some really helpful statements. Those are the kinds of things I hunger to hear from an agent or an editor.

Without them we can continue to bang our heads against the brick wall of rejections, vacillating between the certainty that we’ve never written a worthwhile word and the suspicion that there is a conspiracy to keep us from being published.

For the writer who wants to hear, you’re giving invaluable feedback.

Becky

>(oops – try this again…)

I don’t have anything anywhere near ready for querying, but I would be eternally grateful to receive any one of those responses with a rejection. As many others have said, I don’t think any of them are harsh at all.

Then again, when it’s my ‘baby’ we’re talking about, my skin might not be quite as thick and I may not be able to think quite as rationally.