Thank You, Mr. Agent

I was thrilled to receive a rejection letter from an agent in the mail yesterday. Thrilled? I can hear you thinking, she is definitely off her rocker. But no, I have not lost all of my marbles just yet. While I am obviously disappointed not to have his representation, this is indeed good news, for a couple of reasons.

First, it was an actual letter, not the one-line form rejections I have gotten in the past. He thanked me for expressing interest in his agency and for giving him the chance to review my work, made specific reference to something that he had liked about my manuscript (showing that he had indeed read it - I know all agents assure us that they read everything, but with a one-line rejection it sure doesn't feel that way), gave specific reasons why my manuscript didn't appeal to him personally, and wished me the best of luck. He was respectful, concise, polite, and thoughtful, and he wrote me the best rejection letter I have ever gotten.

Second, now that I know that his agency isn't interested in my manuscript, I can consider moving on to submitting directly to publishers, which is probably what I should have done in the first place. Taking on someone with no publishing credits is always a gamble for agents, and although I am disappointed not to have an agent (yet!), I am not surprised. I know where I want to shop my story, and now I'm one step closer to doing it!

So, once again, thank you Mr. Agent. Thank you for taking the time to read my manuscript, and for responding so thoughtfully and professionally. Your letter is the first one to deserve a place on my bulletin board.

And thanks to the rest of you for stopping by.