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:
A young girl falls and undergoes a CAT scan. Physicians find a small spine fracture, but that is the least of her worries. She’s just been exposed to radiation 100 times more powerful than a chest x-ray and by the time she’s 50, she will undergo many more CAT scans and nuclear medicine tests, thus dramatically increasing her chances of developing cancer at an early age.
As a medical editor for the last 12 years, I have written extensively about the risk of cancer from imaging tests and I have talked with physician and industry experts. While experts debate the extent of risk, the public is largely ignorant of any such risk. I propose to write a simple, comprehensive book that lays out the problem, the raging debates and the solutions.
The New York Times and other mainstream newspapers have written about this problem, but no one has compiled a simple-to-understand book. The book I propose—“The CAT (scan) is Out of the Bag”—will allow people—especially parents of young children—to take action now to prevent the harmful effects of radioactive medical imaging.
I know physicians who were unaware of these dangers. The FDA wants people to carry a “radiation exposure” card. Manufacturers have dose-reduction techniques, but these are largely ignored by imagers. What is the public doing about this? Nothing, because people simply aren’t aware of the problem!
Doctors order more than 62 million CAT, or CT, scans a year, and 20 million nuclear medicine tests. Children and young adults get radioactive scans for many complaints when other nonionizing tests will suffice. The public should know how to protect itself.
I can send you a proposal that details each chapter, along with the experts to be included in the book. I can have a finished book 5 months from go-ahead. Thanks for your time; I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Author
STATS: 13% request rate
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 for each and every author I declined, I’d note the following:
I wasn’t sure that such a narrowly-focused topic could be the basis for an entire book. Wouldn’t one kick-butt feature article in Newsweek cover the whole story? Alternatively, taking more ideas and putting them in one book–maybe a provocative idea like a parent’s guide to preventing cancer–would have sold me right away, as would a proposal for something with a broader appeal. I’d think that by the time you’ve convinced people to read the book, they might not need to.
Alisa says
No, thank you.
Alisa.
Shannon says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query for THE CAT (SCAN) IS OUT OF THE BAG for review. Unfortunately, I am not the right person to represent this book. This is a subjective business so another agent may feel differently. Good luck.
Sincerely,
Shannon
lilianamama says
Dear Author:
This was one of my last decisions to make as I felt you have a strong premise. However, your query is redundant in places. If you can scale it down to your opening paragraph and then a bullet point list of what your book covers, you might find the outline you need to write a concise query. Check out Larson and Pomada’s book on writing proposals and queries? It’s a must.
Annie Reynolds says
Dear author
Thank you for taking the time to submit your query to the A.F. A.D. agency. Unfortunately I do not believe your novel is a good fit at this time, but please remember that this is a very subjective industry, so keep trying.
Good luck with your career.
Yours truly,
Annie Reynolds.
Jada says
Form rejection.
Reason: I’m not sure if being a medical editor is a strong enough platform to write a book like this. I think you would need to have a medical degree at the very least. (You may have one, but if so, mention it in the query.) The writing also strikes me as being slightly awkward.
Joy says
Hmmm, I’m liking it. Sounds controversial. Please send first 50 pages and a list of your sources.
Thanks,
Joy
Aisling says
Dear Author,
I am sorry to inform you that I am not interested in your book. It does not fit with what I am looking for right now so I regret to tell you that, although I appreciated you sending me your query, I would not like to represent your work. I wish you the best of luck with your future writing!
Aisling
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 didn’t like it. Try again later.
Backdoor Trojan
PS: CAT scans SAVE LIVES not endanger them.
Anonymous says
I appreciate you sending me this, but I’m going to pass.
S. Pancake
Anonymous says
Dear Pursuing Author,
After reviewing your query, I feel that what you have presented to us is just not going to fly in our market right now. Sorry but keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Pepe Habanera
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I liked your story and I would like to hear more about it.
Sincerely,
Mitsubishi
Anonymous says
Dear writer,
Your book looks promising and I may be interested in representing it. Please send me the first fifty pages so that I can get a better grasp on your writing and book in general.
Best regards,
Nathaniel Orange
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: I am unsure of the format for nonfiction proposals, but I wonder if, rather than offering to send a chapter-by-chapter proposal, you shouldn’t just go ahead and do it? In addition, I felt the premise here was unlikely, and did not respond well to it.
Anonymous says
Dear writer,
I enjoyed your query, but I’m afraid I’m not the right agent to represent this work. I’d love to see more of your writing.
Gloria Valentine
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. This is very interesting stuff though – I’m sure you’ll find both and agent and a readership quickly! Best of luck!
Remember to query widely!
Thanks,
SDC
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I enjoyed your story and am interested in representing you. Please send me your full manuscript.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Quintus Blackburn
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
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 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
LateInTheGame says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query!
I would like to see more of your book. Please submit the complete proposal.
All the best,
Agent LateInTheGame
Gryph says
Dear Author,
Thank you very much for your query. While I appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into your work, I don’t believe this is a good fit for me.
Please remember that what doesn’t fit one agent may well fit another! I encourage you to not give up. In the future, if you have other manuscripts to query, I hope that you’ll think of me again.
Sincerely,
Agent Gryph
Reba says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, it is not the right fit for me.
Best,
Reba
(Note: Few agents will represent unfinished books.)
Kate H says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query, but I do not represent nonfiction.
Kate H
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
You are in my top five. Please contact me with your proposal.
C
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.
Kat says
Sounds like an interesting project- I’d like to request your sample chapters to get a better feel of the project. Send me a partial!
Mira says
Dear Author,
This is a very hard decision. Not only is this an current and relevant book, if your findings are true (and given your longevity in the field, I suspect they are) this is a book that should be written.
I am not requesting a partial because I wonder if a mainstream publisher would worry about backlash and lawsuits from the CAT industry. Is there a CAT industry? Also, if a mainstream publisher would feel the readership for this book would be large enough….?
It seems to me that a scholarly journal or University press might be more willing to take a chance on this. Also, if you published articles there first, it might give more weight in seeking mainstream representation.
Honestly, you probably know more about this than I do, being a medical editor.
I sincerely hope that, if it’s not one of the published books, it will become one, in whatever form it takes to reach people.
I personally applaud your efforts to help protect the public through informing them.
Mira
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
publishingcareer says
Dear Author
Thank you for your interest in our agency and submitting your query for your non-fiction book The CAT (scan) Is Out Of The Bag.
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
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
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
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)
Dave says
Sorry, but I’m going to have to pass. Don’t give up though!
Just_Me says
Dear Author,
I am looking forward to reading this. Please send me a full copy, a full synopsis, and copies of the references you cite in the book.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Agent
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.
Jenn S. says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. It’s not right for me, but please keep me in mind for future submissions.
Regards,
Jenn S.
(Reason: I don’t know how big the market would be for this book. The message does need to get out, but a book with that narrow focus may not go anywhere. If this had a broader focus–eg., an examination of the dangers of common medical procedures–it might work better.)
Kendra says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your work. Unfortunately, this is not a project I feel I can sucessfully represent. Good luck in your writing.
Kendra
Hildegarde512 says
Thank you for submitting however [If I were a real agent, a GENTLE FORM REJECTION would exist here].
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering me. I can see this being picked up elsewhere, but unfortunately I have to pass.
Best of Luck,
Agent X-9
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 is timely and another agent might be able to sell it, I do not believe that I would be the best agent to make this sale.
Sincerely,
Heather
PS (Personally, not related to the faux agenting thing) I work in biomedical research and think that the premise of the book might be interesting, but the target audience might be too scattershot. You should either write a book for just the public or the alleged physicians who aren’t aware of the dangers of excessive radiation and make this more clear in your query. Best of luck.
abouttothunder says
Dear Author,
Thank you for the opportunity to represent your work. Unfortunately, it isn’t a good fit for me. Since you deserve an agent who will fully support you project, I will have to pass.
I wish you the best of luck in finding representation.
Sincerely,
Agent-for-a-day Sara
Kathy says
Dear Author,
You’ve written a very good and interesting query. I’m intrigued and would like to read more.
Please send me the first three chapters and an outline for your other chapters.
Sincerely,
Kathy
Rik says
Thank you for submitting your book proposal – The CAT (scan) is Out of the Bag – 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.
GuyStewart/DISCOVERCHURCH says
Dear Author:
Thank you for your query, but I’m going to have to pass. I do not feel strongly enough about your story to represent it well.
Sincerely, Guy Stewart
Meggrs says
Kindly worded rejection. I think the concept could be good, but would likely require a bigger platform from the author to be successful.
I was also struck while reading it that the subject matter would seem possibly more appropriate for scientific articles, or even a series in more popular news media. I wasn’t convinced that a book was the ideal form for delivering this kind of info to the consumer, but this is where my ignorance of the market is glaring.
AgentforDay says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting “The CAT (scan) is Out of the Bag” for my consideration.
I can hear your outrage and passion regarding this frightening issue.
Please send your proposal for further consideration.
Sincerely,
AgentforDay