tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post5633400110611627761..comments2024-03-29T07:14:38.160-04:00Comments on Dystel & Goderich Literary Management: The great chain of rejectionDGLMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03594925221862242748noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-74585111720289356942015-09-19T03:42:31.652-04:002015-09-19T03:42:31.652-04:00I say many thanks to Mr. admin website I read this...I say many thanks to Mr. admin website I read this, because in this website I know a lot of information information that I did not know before his<br /><br /><a href="http://goo.gl/G6joZx" rel="nofollow">Obat Tradisional Benjolan Di Hidung</a> <br /><a href="http://goo.gl/HWGloI" rel="nofollow">Pengobatan Filariasis</a> <br /><a href="http://goo.gl/dGXmji" rel="nofollow">Obat Toksoplasma Untuk Ibu Hamil</a> <br /><a href="http://goo.gl/1r0d4N" rel="nofollow">Obat Penghilang Wasir Pada Ibu Hamil</a> <br /><a href="http://goo.gl/AtCLbF" rel="nofollow">Obat Kehamilan Ektropik</a> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00472094084252487231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-46566804607418372382010-02-15T22:33:00.603-05:002010-02-15T22:33:00.603-05:00Excellent post on a subject next to my heart. Reje...Excellent post on a subject next to my heart. Rejections do not bother me because I have faith in my novel. What does bother me is an agent who states in their web site if they are not interested in your material they will not respond. This is a slap in my face and instead of submitting my manuscript; I place them at the bottom of my agent list. TK Richardson recommended your blog and I agree with her, it is excellent and I will become a follower.<br />DavidDavid Ferretti IIIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08077205988316403994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-15420933802662064132010-02-06T16:16:44.933-05:002010-02-06T16:16:44.933-05:00Thank you for this post, it's very encouraging...Thank you for this post, it's very encouraging and has made me rethink a lot of things! On the subject of form rejections, I have to admit that they are exceedingly frustrating. However, I understand the issues of time that constrain agents (hey, everyone, really!), so I don't really blame agents for that. <br /><br />That said, I've never received a form rejection from DGLM, though I've submitted twice. Both times, an agent (Jim, both times) sent me kind and helpful rejections. I can't describe how much this kind of thing means to aspiring writers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-55547268980632113352010-01-25T15:34:57.708-05:002010-01-25T15:34:57.708-05:00Re: "There's a big difference between an ...Re: "There's a big difference between an intern quickly identifying a submission as hopeless and an agent reading it, having reservations and deciding on balance that it's not for them."<br /><br />Well, unless you construe "having reservations etc" as <i>slowly</i> identifying a submission is hopeless. :) Just having some fun, it's a cold cruel world out there -<br /><br />Wanda B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-33018827767888542192010-01-25T14:08:23.693-05:002010-01-25T14:08:23.693-05:00"I have no need to know how far an agent got&..."I have no need to know how far an agent got"<br /><br />That's not quite the point I was making - it's not how far the agent got, it's how far it got in the agency (or publishers). There's a big difference between an intern quickly identifying a submission as hopeless and an agent reading it, having reservations and deciding on balance that it's not for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-82280538093083210612010-01-23T17:18:57.040-05:002010-01-23T17:18:57.040-05:00Re: "Thank you for your submission, I Surviv...Re: "Thank you for your submission, I Survived Prancer"<br /><br />Sorry, I just have to mention Prancer is one of my favorite movies!<br /><br />http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098115/plotsummary<br /><br />"Jessica, the daughter of an impoverished apple farmer, still believes in Santa Claus. So when she comes across a reindeer with an injured leg, it makes perfect sense to her to assume that it is Prancer, who had fallen from a Christmas display in town. She hides the reindeer in her barn and feeds it cookies..." Written by {Vertigus@aol.com}<br /><br />***<br />Hmm, now that I look at that blurb, I wonder if it would "have any legs" with an agent...get it, injured reindeer leg/have any legs...never mind....<br /><br />Re: Rejection: I have no need to know how far an agent got - what if it was only the first 6 paragraphs? Painful. Be kind: Just say no.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-4097930269971218202010-01-23T08:33:02.284-05:002010-01-23T08:33:02.284-05:00The big problem here is that for people on the out...The big problem here is that for people on the outside, 'being published' seems like something magical and special, for people in the industry, it's a job with deadlines and budgets and products at the end of it, and five hundred manuscripts on a slushpile already. <br /><br />Often, people who haven't been published think it's about some magic key - a form of words on the cover letter or bumping into the right person. When it's much more simple, and much harder: you want a great piece of writing about something that's really marketable to arrive already shovel ready or thereabouts. <br /><br />Agents and publishers are a lot less opaque than they used to be - their websites say exactly what they're looking for and what to submit. Anyone trying to get published: read those guidelines, for heaven's sake. They're instructions, they're the map to where you want to get to.<br /><br />My advice for agents and publishers - be kind, always remember that writers have spent months putting submissions together, and usually groping around in the dark. You get fifty submissions a day - we don't, we're barely even sure what a synopsis is for, let alone what one reads like. <br /><br />But always be honest. If there's no hope, don't offer constructive criticism, it's a waste of time. Don't sugar the pill or give any room for doubt - most of us know that 'not what we're looking for at this time' means 'because we're looking for stuff that's not absolute *&^*ing *^&%'.<br /><br />I'd rather get a straight, no-nonsense rejection letter than one that mumbles something about how it didn't hook you or started slow. A line that suggests you've read it would be nice, just so it doesn't feel cookie cutter. A line that suggests how far it got would be nice:<br /><br />'Thank you for your submission, I Survived Prancer. It was passed to me by one of our readers. I'm afraid I don't see a market for a 965 page stream of consciousness memoir about how boring your family's Christmas morning was eight years ago, particularly one so bereft of humor and filled with hate against named individuals and ethnic groups. I'm afraid I would recommend entirely abandoning this project.'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-50677179659362437782010-01-22T16:26:22.646-05:002010-01-22T16:26:22.646-05:00Form rejections are ALWAYS better than silence! I...Form rejections are ALWAYS better than silence! It's like applying for a job: I'm a professional and all I want to know if when I'm out of the running.CKHBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17741681893677604323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-79588588187640280722010-01-22T15:08:03.067-05:002010-01-22T15:08:03.067-05:00Thanks so much for all the feedback--I will certai...Thanks so much for all the feedback--I will certainly heed your thoughtful advice and diligently send responses. <br /><br />As for the colorful analogy in which writers are “nerds” and agents are "the cool kids," I would counter that in a business whose professional ranks are riddled with bookworms, "cool" is a relative term. In addition, much as I know trying to attract the attention of an agent may feel awkward and nerve-wracking, in point of fact, the author agent relationship is one of equals. When looking for an agent, consider looking for someone with whom you feel you can partner, someone who does not, in fact, reduce you to feeling like a geeky supplicant. <br /><br />--JessicaDGLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03594925221862242748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-61313212947135062012010-01-22T13:22:07.215-05:002010-01-22T13:22:07.215-05:00Thanks, Jessica. You definitely put things in per...Thanks, Jessica. You definitely put things in perspective. :)Richard Von Wolfganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04205979675754325887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-73362292248769541592010-01-22T13:06:26.062-05:002010-01-22T13:06:26.062-05:00Re: "...and publishers, though they are oste...Re: "...and publishers, though they are ostensibly at the top of what can seem like an appallingly medieval cosmology,"<br /><br />So good, so apt, so funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-45972516384206478002010-01-22T11:55:55.207-05:002010-01-22T11:55:55.207-05:00I queried Jim after meeting him at a conference be...I queried Jim after meeting him at a conference because he came across as such a nice person. And he ended up rejecting me, but with a short and very nice e-note. When my next project is ready for submission, I'll definitely include him on the query list.Rashda Khanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04803134396969891096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-52353182660019276752010-01-22T11:39:20.805-05:002010-01-22T11:39:20.805-05:00A great post on the reality of the publishing food...A great post on the reality of the publishing food chain.<br /><br />Everyone gets rejected. Accept it and move on.<br /><br />Per your question - I think a form rejection is better than silence, as silence tends to lead to a fruitless hope sometimes.Windyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07684298115679477705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-42330163527840728152010-01-22T11:37:32.698-05:002010-01-22T11:37:32.698-05:00Agreeing, a rejection is better than the silence. ...Agreeing, a rejection is better than the silence. I would prefer a form rejection that offers nothing than a form rejection that seems to offer something and does not. I would rather that an agent would simply say no, than to try to be nice about it with a generic 'helpful' form letter. (Still querying...I can handle the truth...)Michael Lee Joshuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02567852505554143883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-51493376980560636172010-01-22T11:32:04.478-05:002010-01-22T11:32:04.478-05:00Excellent post. Let me join in the vote asking for...Excellent post. Let me join in the vote asking for a rejection, even a form rejection, rather than the suspense of silence. Did the email/letter/smoke signal get lost? Should I ask? Requery? <br />In the oft-uttered words of Spenser, the protagonist created by the late and much-lamented Robert B. Parker, "Better to know than not to know."Richard Mabryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15993592219849830777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-42059985209681202522010-01-22T10:01:55.197-05:002010-01-22T10:01:55.197-05:00Worse than a form rejection--even far worse than n...Worse than a form rejection--even far worse than not hearing anything--is receiving a form rejection that reads as a personalized one. A friend got one recently and I compared it with the one I received two years ago (by the same agent), with character names and the manuscript title replaced. She was convinced this agent had read the full (and she might have) and was offering specific advice as to what needed to be changed. Until I showed her mine. She was ready to tear apart her story. Very scary.Pamela Hammondshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18267333699680840984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-23783014927792253112010-01-22T08:28:55.889-05:002010-01-22T08:28:55.889-05:00You brought up sme great points on this food chain...You brought up sme great points on this food chain of rejection, well done!<br /><br />As for me, even a rejection saying "Not for me" is better than a don't respond means no. It puts me at ease knowing they at least got my query.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-27135440830590603572010-01-21T21:15:57.999-05:002010-01-21T21:15:57.999-05:00I definitely prefer even the most soulless form re...I definitely prefer even the most soulless form rejection to no reply. The form provides closure, lets me fill in the cell on my spreadsheet next to your name and move on (I'm a scientist by training, and a form is data while no reply is...nothing).<br /><br />I really appreciated this post. It reminds me a little of our system of government - rather than being designed "to pass laws" (as we learn in school), it's more designed "to stop bad laws from being passed". That means it is slow and clunky. We call it the sausage factory (as in: you like the final product but you don't want to watch it being made).<br /><br />I especially appreciated your thoughts about authorship and fame, which contain a lot of wisdom.Lt. Cccyxxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18421346964929818151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-86782986711307108832010-01-21T20:12:33.788-05:002010-01-21T20:12:33.788-05:00A writing life is more about the forest and less a...A writing life is more about the forest and less about the trees. If I spent my life waiting for responses, I'd miss a whole lot of fun waiting to be had out there. So I write...that's my job. And the waiting? Well, I'm a person who loves the wonderful gift a good surprise!gael lynchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08109953416971003657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-88225798130953763752010-01-21T19:31:11.157-05:002010-01-21T19:31:11.157-05:00Personally, form rejections never, ever bothered m...Personally, form rejections never, ever bothered me. Why? Because I could totally tell myself, "Oh, we're not a good fit." and believe it and move on. The ones with little notes that say, "Great voice, but it's not compelling enough." or whatever are the ones that killed me. I felt close. With a form rejection, I could trick myself into believing it wasn't me and carry on. <br /><br />I think that agents should respond, but really, don't feel bad about a form letter! You said it all, when you said writers just need to get thicker skins and a sense of humor. My first book is about to come out and if a writer looking for an agent asked me for advice, what I would say to them is: This business is SLOW. It's slow. It's really slow. It's still slow when you have an agent. And it's still slow when you have an editor. And it's even slower when you're waiting for your book to come out. There is only ONE way to deal with this. GET A LIFE BEYOND YOUR PUBLISHING DREAMS. I'm not saying give up, do your writing thing. It's exciting, and fun, and one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me, but if you don't have a life outside of publishing, if you are waiting by the phone, you're wasting your life!!!! Enjoy the process because if anything, it gets slower (not life, publishing) and rejection will always be there. You can't choose how agents, editors, publishers, critics will act, only how you respond to their actions. Okay...I'm off my soap box now!Joellehttp://www.joelleanthony.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-57878023443983683802010-01-21T17:17:37.021-05:002010-01-21T17:17:37.021-05:00Okay, I'm not going to say this nearly as eloq...Okay, I'm not going to say this nearly as eloquently as 'buildingalife', but I completely agree that the closure from a form rejection is infinitely better than never hearing at all. Especially in this day and age of spam filters, if you don't hear anything, you just end up wondering if they ever even received your query.Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-48098343371502672672010-01-21T17:16:22.785-05:002010-01-21T17:16:22.785-05:00Perhaps you should enclose this entry with your ag...Perhaps you should enclose this entry with your agency rejection letter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-26209255800345577512010-01-21T17:08:34.438-05:002010-01-21T17:08:34.438-05:00I like to equate the question of form rejection le...I like to equate the question of form rejection letters or silence to a run of the mill B teen movie.<br /><br /> The authors (nerds) are trying to get the agents (cool kids) to take them to prom (publishers), we've given you the best, wittiest, coolest pick up line we can manage. Much better than the jock's "Hey Baby did that fall from heaven hurt?" and now we wait by our phones for your response wondering if our blue ruffled tux that our overbearing mother picked out was rented in vain. <br /><br />If you (we all have at some point) were waiting wouldn't you at least want to hear the "No" from the cheerleader and move on (with closure!) to the nerdy but still cute girl who shows up in a Killer Little Red number and ultimately becomes the love of your life.<br /><br />Or sit by the phone in the wrinkled tux waiting and thinking, "They'll call in the next 5 minutes, I know they will," while Red stays at home and Prom passes by.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-27467235853689875322010-01-21T16:47:25.082-05:002010-01-21T16:47:25.082-05:00Thanks, Sarah Louise-- "toward" added.Thanks, Sarah Louise-- "toward" added.DGLMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03594925221862242748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34218279.post-81251528659001498282010-01-21T16:46:24.211-05:002010-01-21T16:46:24.211-05:00Mmmm food for thought. I particularly liked your p...Mmmm food for thought. I particularly liked your point about the illusion of a book being the best way to tell a story. A really useful post Jessica, Thank you.Jason Bakihttp://www.kamvision.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com