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,
I understand from Nathan Bransford’s blog that you are seeking queries for review as part of the ‘Be an Agent for a Day’ event. I have a 90,000 word complete MS entitled ROSIE’S CHILD available for your consideration.
Motherhood, they say, is a biological fact, while fatherhood is a social construction. While you may wonder who your father is, there’s never any question who your mother is.
At least, that’s what most people think.
When Rosie Martin, a good-time girl living and drinking in West Cork, Ireland, in the 1940s, falls pregnant outside of wedlock, her first thought is for her childless best friend, Elizabeth McCarthy, unable to conceive after six years of marriage. Together, they hatch a plan to organise an adoption in a society wholly dependent on secrets and lies, where there are no adoption laws and where unmarried mothers can expect to be incarcerated and enslaved.
And when Jack McCarthy dies suddenly in 2007, his daughter Hannah is bequeathed a house she didn’t know he owned. Desperate to find out the secrets her father took to his grave, Hannah embarks on a quest to find out how he came to own a house belonging to his mother’s reclusive neighbour, and uncovers a strange love story she could never have imagined in an era she struggles to understand.
The novel is best classified as literary fiction and is set in Ireland, alternating between the 1940s and the present day. I am previously unpublished and ROSIE’S CHILD is my first novel.
Thank you for your time,
Author
STATS: 29% request rate
Mega says
I thank you for sending me your query but it isn’t right for me at this time.
-MV
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
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 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 liked your story and I would like to hear more about it.
Sincerely,
Mitsubishi
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: Good query structure, but blurb was confusing and mostly told backstory, rather than main story. Good last para of query.
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I liked your story and I would like to hear more about it.
Sincerely,
Mitsubishi
Anonymous says
please send manuscript.
Agent Edgar Leroy 3rd
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 would very much like to thank you for submitting your query, unfortunately it’s not right for me.
Sincerely,
Agent Sunshine
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
Megan says
Dear Author,
I am intrigued. Please send a manuscript.
Thanks,
Meg Spencer
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.
Good luck with your manuscript, and query widely!
Thanks,
SDC
Gryph says
Dear Author,
Thank you very much for your query. I’m interested to see more! Please send me the first three chapters to blahblah at blahblah dot com. Either Microsoft Word format, OpenOffice format, or rich text would be fine.
Thank you very much for considering me!
Agent Gryph
Kate H says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Please send me the first 30 pages and a brief synopsis.
Thank you,
Kate H
Reba says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, it is not the right fit for me.
Best,
Reba
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.
Dorothy says
Dear Author:
Please send the full manuscript for Rosie’s Child. I am most interested in this book.
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
Nifaerie Noven says
Hi,
You have a very interesting concept and your writing is quite solid. However I’m turning you down because I am not getting a sense of your unique voice and style in this query.
Best of luck.
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 novel Rosie’s Child.
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. Please send the first three chapters and a synopsis by email.
I look forward to reading your work!
Agent Nikki
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!
Rebecca Knight says
Dear Rosie’s Child,
Thank you for your query, and for thinking of my agency. Unfortunately, I feel that I’m not the best fit for your project. This industry is highly subjective, so I’m sure others will feel differently. Best of luck to you in all your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Knight
Just_Me says
Dear Author,
I am looking forward to meeting your fascinating characters. If you are not already under contract I would like to review the first three chapters and a complete synopsis.
Sincerely,
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’m not an expert on literary fiction, but my impression is that alternating/parallel narratives is a common device in that genre. I’d be more interested in the actual story–Rosie and Elizabeth’s adoption story–and why unmarried mothers back then were commonly jailed and enslaved. I’d read pages if they were attached, but the query doesn’t interest me in Hannah’s POV.)
Hildegarde512 says
Thank you for submitting however [If I were a real agent, a GENTLE FORM REJECTION would exist here].
Hildegarde512 says
Thank you for submitting however [If I were a real agent, a GENTLE FORM REJECTION would exist here].
Kendra says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. The story sounds intreguing. Please send the first three chapters for further concideration. I look forward to reading them.
-Kendra
Hallie says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. I’d like to request a copy of your manuscript (and submission instructions go here). It usually takes me about a month from the time I receive the file to read and consider manuscripts and reply. Thank you again!
Warm regards,
Hallie
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. I did hesitate over this a long time though… it certainly has something intriguing about the premise.
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering me. I can see this being picked up elsewhere, but unfortunately I have to pass. Reason for rejection – personal taste.
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 seems to be 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 manuscript, please feel free to resubmit to my attention.
Rik says
Thank you for submitting your book – Rosie’s Child – for my consideration. May I say that I enjoyed reading your query. Regrettably, I do not feel that I am able to represent this particular book – a fact that has more to do with pressures on the time and resources at my disposal rather than on the book itself. Best wishes for your future endeavours, both with this book and with future projects. Agent Rik.
AgentforDay says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting ROSIE’S CHILD for my consideration.
Please send the first half of the manuscript for further consideration.
Sincerely,
AgentforDay
Reminds me of Maeve Binchy. Well done.
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 form rejection. I was interested in the historical portion, but the info about the modern storyline didn’t seem clear enough to me.
Julie says
Dear Author,
I am very intrigued. Please send your full manuscript at your earliest convenience.
Best regards,
FakeAgent
Leis says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. While I think your story has potential, it is not something I feel confident taking on at this time.
Please feel free to query me with future projects.
Sincerely,
Agent for a Day
L.C. Gant says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission, but I’m afraid I will have to pass on your story.
I can only select a handful of queries for sample pages, and unfortunately yours wasn’t quite at the top of the list.
Take heart, however–another agent may feel differently! Good luck with your continued search for literary representation.
Best wishes,
L.C. Gant (Agent for a Day)
donnas says
Thank you for your submission, but I do not feel that this is the right project for me.
Sincerely.
Hilabeans says
Dear Author,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to consider your work. I regret to say that I don’t feel that I’m the most appropriate agent for this project.
Best wishes,
HHS
Dawn says
Dear Author,
Thank you for contacting Dawn Ink. Unfortunately, ROSIE’S CHILD is not what we’re looking for right now.
Best of luck in finding representation.
Sincerely,
Dawn
—–
This was tough. I hung onto this one for a while, but ultimately had to pass.
Owl Sprite says
Dear Author,
I regret to inform you that I have used up all my picks for the contest. Consequently, I did not read your letter. So this rejection has absolutely nothing to do with you, simply that I am out of picks and out of time to spend giving feedback.
So very sorry.
Best wishes in your search for representation,
Owl Sprite
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 is not 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 / ROSIE´S CHILD / YOUR NAME. I will respond to your request within two weeks.
Good luck with finding representation and keep on writing!
Kind regards,
Nicole34
SuzieQ Agent4U says
Dear Author,
Please email your manuscript to SUZIEQ@AGENT4U.BIZ. I look forward to reading it.
Best,
S