This query is part of the Be an Agent for a Day contest. Rules and Regulations here
Please post your rejection or manuscript request in the comment section!
Dear Agent for a Day,
For astrophysicist Allie, falling in love is as easy as identifying the planet Venus. However, keeping her boyfriends from fleeing as though she’s become a Martian is considerably more difficult. In an attempt to ‘act natural’ and protect future relationships from failure caused by her over-eagerness, Allie creates The 15 Date Rule: never sleep with a man until after the 15th date. Suddenly her dating life seems a lot easier, that is, until she meets Matt. THE 15 DATE RULE is a 102,000 word romantic comedy.
All 31-year-old Allie wants is someone to love her. She’s worked hard to have what she has: a nice house, a friendly dog, a good relationship with her long-time best friend and a career that boosts her confidence with awards and prestige. All that is missing from her life is a loving partner who enjoys star gazing.
During the break-up that leads to the creation of the 15 date rule, Allie meets Matt, the man hired by her boyfriend to break up with her. Afterwards Allie can’t stop thinking about Matt and how perfect the kind-hearted man seemed to be. Too bad he would never go for someone he was hired to break up with–like Allie.
When one of Allie’s work contracts sours unexpectedly and she faces losing everything she’s worked for, she decides it is time to take risks. Maybe pursuing a man like Matt is worth the chance of rejection.
While attending the University of Lethbridge, where I graduated with distinction, I wrote entertainment articles for the university’s newspaper, garnering several contribution awards. I currently serve as literary agent and author chat moderator as well as a mentor and critiquer at www.agentquery.com. I am a member of RWA and have a website and blog at [redacted].
Author
STATS: 8% request rate
Asherose says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission, but it isn’t for me at this time. Best of luck with it elsewhere!
Agent
Reasoning: Blurb too long and involved, did not hold my interest. Good query structure. Perhaps some unnecessary facts in the ‘about me’ para.
Anonymous says
Thank you for your query, though I don’t think I’m interested in taking your story idea. Keep on writing.
-Thanks,
Suzuki Volkeswagon
drat says
Dear Author,
Thank you for sending me your query. I gave it careful consideration, but ultimately I concluded I’m not the right agent for the book. I was just not drawn to the main character enough to feel like I could represent the work with the passion neccesary. This is very subjective though, so keep trying!
Good luck with your manuscript, and query widely!
Thanks,
SDC
Anonymous says
Dear writer,
I appreciate the query but your book is not what I am looking for at the moment. However, I wish you luck in getting this book published.
best regards,
Nathaniel Orange
Anonymous says
Dear writer,
I found your query intriguing and I’d like to represent you. Please send me the first fifty pages.
Gloria Valentine
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I appreciate your time and efforts, but I am sorry to say that I do not wish to represent your story. If you have another story idea, please send it to me in the future, and I would be happy to look at it.
Best Wishes,
Quintus Blackburn
Katalina Marie says
Dear Author,
I’m sorry but I don’t think that this book is the one for me.
Regards,
Katalina Marie
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I am not interested in your novel. Keep writing, your story had potential but was not for me. Feel free to Query me later with another piece of your work.
Anonymous says
Dear author,
I appreciate your query and found your concept interesting; however, it is just not what I am looking for. I look forward to future queries from you!
Thank you, Scarlett Cyrus
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for the submission, but I regret to inform you that I will not be picking up your story.
Keep Writing,
Agent Jackie Moon
LateInTheGame says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I am not the best representative for your work.
Good luck in your search for representation.
All the best,
Agent LateInTheGame
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I’m sorry, but this story is not right for me. Thanks for sending me your request, I really appreciate it. Please continue writing.
Veronica Lovette
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I have decided not to take up your offer on publishing this book. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to view your material.
Thank You,
Happy Gilmore
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I regret to inform you that I am not interested in representing your story. I hope you have better luck in the future.
Best of luck,
Arkham
Reba says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, it is not the right fit for me.
Best,
Reba
(Note: I love the idea of hiring someone to break up with a partner. I think you’ll find someone to represent this. Good luck!)
Meggrs says
Form rejection with a note encouraging future submissions.
Kate H says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. I’m afraid I’m not the right agent to represent you, but I wish you the best of luck.
Kate H
Dorothy says
Dear Author:
I regret I am unable to accept your manuscript. I took a second and third look at your query. Your first paragraph sold me but my expectations were not met by the subsequent description. Sorry. I hope another agent picks this up and runs with it. Meanwhile keep polishing the manuscript and the query. It’s worth it.
Sincerely,
Honesty Is the Best Policy
s.koncilja says
Dear Author,
I received and read your query. Unfortunately it is not something that I’m looking for at the moment.
Keep me informed about your future work and good luck!
Agent S.K.
EJN says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, I will not be able to request additional materials at this time. Your word count is too high for a first time novelist in this genre. Also, since it took three paragraphs to complete your pitch, I’m afraid the manuscript might also be scattered and unfocused. Please keep in mind that another agent may feel differently. Keep writing and keep trying.
Best of luck,
Agent EJN
Shannon says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Please send the first five chapters of THE 15 DATE RULE including cover letter. I look forward to reading it and will contact you within four weeks upon receiving the material.
Sincerely,
Shannon
superwench83 says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, your manuscript isn’t right for me. Best wishes in your search for an agent.
Sincerely,
Agent for a Day
Mira says
Dear Author,
Chick Lit/Romance with a spot-on plot for the genre? Your query is nicely written, flows quickly and lightly? You have insider contacts and professional chops due to your work at agentquery.com?
Yes, please. I’d like a partial of your work.
Thank you,
Mira
publishingcareer says
Dear Author
Thank you for your interest in our agency and submitting your query for your novel The 15 Date Rule.
I read it with interest but unfortunately it is not what I am looking for.
Best of luck and kind regards.
Yours faithfully
Robert Sullivan AFAD
Melissa says
Form rejection:
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately it doesn’t meet my needs at this time.
Thank you and best of luck,
Melissa (Ximera)
PCB says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query. We are not in a position to represent you at this time, but wish you all the very best in your writing endeavors.
Sincerely,
PCB
Dave says
Sorry, but I’m going to have to pass. Don’t give up though!
Nikki Hensley says
Dear Author:
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am the right agent for this novel. Best of luck in your search!
Agent Nikki
vicariousrising says
Thank you for your submission. I regret that I don’t feel this project isn’t right for me.
I wish you the best in your writing endeavors.
Agent FaD Jen says
Dear Author,
Thank you for the query. Unfortunately, I am going to have to pass. Good luck,
Agent FaD Jen
Comments: The premise was intriguing, but it didn’t seem original enough to me. I feel like I’ve read it and watched it before.
Hildegarde512 says
Thank you for submitting however [If I were a real agent, a GENTLE FORM REJECTION would exist here].
Hallie says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query to My Imaginary Yet Successful Literary Agency. I receive many queries each day, and I request only a small percentage of manuscripts that I’m interested in representing. I have decided not to request one for your book because I don’t feel that I’m intrigued enough to be its best representative.
Should you need resources for querying, finding writing resources and groups, or if you’d like to know more about how I choose manuscripts, please visit (this section of my agency’s website) for more information. I wish you the best of luck in finding a home for your writing. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to consider your work.
Warm regards,
Hallie
__________________________________
And if I were fortunate enough to be able to give some feedback to each and every author I declined, I’d note the following:
This was fun, but ultimately, it didn’t make my top five. I wonder if perhaps the 15 dates are too many for the story? Ten seems like plenty as it is, and if you don’t make it to ten…I sort of wondered whether the rule was the reason why the book was so long, to be honest. Best of luck in finding representation.
Vic K says
Thank you for submitting to my agency, however I’m going to take a pass at this time.
Vic K
Reason; At the end of the day, I wasn’t caught up enough in the concept.
Heather says
Dear Author,
Thank you very much for taking the time to query our agency. I have given your project thoughtful consideration; unfortunately, it is not a good fit for us at this time because, although the project seems to be very well conceived, I had some difficulty with your word choice in the query letter, and feel the manuscript may need extensive editing prior to being ready for shopping at publishing houses; however, after a revision of your query letter and/or partial manuscript, please feel free to resubmit to my attention.
Sincerely,
Heather
The Spidermonkey says
Thank you for your query, which I have considered carefully. I’m sorry to say I can’t represent you at this time.
Romcom is not my field, and to my ears this sounds like a lot of other stories.
This is a subjective opinion of course, and others may see it differently. Good luck!
Kendra says
Dear Author,
I’m interested in seeing more of your work. Please send the first three chapters for further concideration. I look forward to reading them.
-Kendra
Rik says
Thank you for submitting your book – The 15 Date Rule – for my consideration. Regrettably, I do not feel that I am able to represent this work for you. Best wishes for your future endeavours. Agent Rik.
Martin Willoughby says
(form rejection)
genkischuldich says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query to us. However, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accept you as a client at this point in time.
You have two opening paragraphs here. If you choose just one of them, your query will be stronger.
Thank you very much,
“Genki”
SuzieQ Agent4U says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I do not feel your book is right for me. Good luck with your search.
Best,
S
AndrewDugas says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query, but I do not believe I would be the best advocate for your novel. I wish you luck in finding representation elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Andy
KareFree Kennels says
The 15 Date Rule
Sorry, not for me.
Best of luck,
Sheryl
ludwig snarf says
i regret that we cannot help you
L.C. Gant says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission, but I’m afraid your story isn’t right for me at this time. Good luck with your continued search for literary representation.
Best wishes,
L.C. Gant (Agent for a Day)
(Reasoning: Aside from the cute concept of a “15 Date Rule,” there’s nothing that really makes this stand out from the myriads of other romantic comedies out there. Allie in particular isn’t interesting enough right now to make me want more.)
Madhat says
Dear Author:
I’m going to have to pass.
-Agent
Why: It seems like a pretty standard romantic comedy, nothing new. There are so many books where the woman or teen girl create various rules. In all honesty, I’ve never met a single person in reality who does that. I just can’t relate to it.
donnas says
Thank you for your submission, but I feel that this is not the right fit for me at this time.
Best of luck.
Dawn says
Dear Author,
Thank you for contacting Dawn Ink. Unfortunately, THE 15 DATE RULE is not what we’re looking for right now.
Best of luck in finding representation.
Sincerely,
Dawn
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your query to me.
At this moment in time, however, I choose to pass on your project. This does not automatically mean your query isn’t good enough. It simply means that I am not the right agent for this project. This can be for a number of reasons.
If you would like to know why, you can send a reply to this mail. Please change the subject line to: FEEDBACK / THE 15 DATE RULE / YOUR NAME. I will respond to your request within two weeks.
Good luck with finding representation and keep on writing!
Kind regards,
Nicole34
2readornot says
I enjoy the tone of your query, but I’m afraid this genre isn’t one I feel confident in selling right now. If you write in other genres, I’d love to see something from those. Good luck!
Anahita says
Dear Author:
Thanks for sharing your query. Sorry I can’t represent your work. Good luck!
Anahita
PS I like your work. I would watch it if it became a movie.