Now that you have walked 50 queries in an agent’s shoes and likely pictured yourself answering 50 queries a day stretching on into infinity, how would you handle your slush pile if you were an agent?
Would you personalize? Would you form reject? Reply-if-interested? Crawl under your desk and hope no one finds you?
I’m really curious to hear everyone’s submission policy. Knowing what you know now.
PurpleClover says
I’m sorry…its not as pretty as it is on the link:
I’m still looking for the “drop-and-auto-response option” …that may be the holy grail.
Nathan Bransford says
pc-
Thanks so much, I’ll play around with this. I’ve tried creating a rule, but I haven’t yet been able to figure out how to create a rule that automates a certain rejection letter. Gmail has “canned responses,” but I haven’t found something similar in Outlook.
Thanks again! If I get this to work I’m happy to barter for like kind.
Dara says
I have to say form rejection. If I’m on the fence about a query and/or sample pages, I may send a personalized rejection detailing what I think would make it stronger.
Of course, those would be my intentions; however I have a feeling that I would probably get overwhelmed by that pretty quickly.
Thanks again for the challenge. It definitely makes it clearer for me what an agent has to do, at least in the query sense.
Jen C says
I think I would defintiely be a “no response means no” agent. But, I might set up an online form for submissions so that people can have their immediate confirmation that their submission has been recieved.
I just don’t see me in my hypothetical agents office sending out form rejections all day. Apart form the boringitude (I told you, it’s a word. And, it’s sooo fetch…), the time suckage is substantial.
Wanda B. Ontheshelves says
Outlook canned responses
https://cannedresponses.4team.biz/
Free 14-day trial.
“CannedResponses addin integrated in Microsoft Outlook email toolbar that significantly simplifies the process of sending numerous or repetitive email. Canned text, templates, Messenger like Emoticons, attachments to make your professional personalized email response in just few clicks.
The program is very useful for help desks and busy persons and helps spend less time writing Email and shares your “canned” experience with your team.
This is a fantastic addition to current email capability and a perfect email toolbar for active email users.”
Oh well.
Anonymous says
Two words: Rejection Hotline.
ryan field says
Marilyn Peake said, “After sending rejection letters to so many people with amazing talent, I feel that receiving rejection letters in the future will have much less power over me.”
I think this is an amazing, empowering comment, too. I hope everyone feels this way now.
Gavin Brown says
Hi Nathan,
What you need is an outlook extension.
I think this one should do it for you:
https://cannedresponses.4team.biz/
It should work for Outlook 2003.
Nathan Bransford says
STOP THE PRESSES.
Jessica Faust of BookEnds has saved my life. The key is using signatures. My life is irrevocably altered.
PurpleClover says
This link may help a little more:
https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/CH063564671033.aspxApparently you can create a macro for office (who knew?) in order to complete your tasks for you. But how this is done is beyond me. I’d have to call geek squad…but maybe you know a couple techies that write scifi that could help?? lol. 😉
I have 03 on my desktop but its not fully installed so it doesn’t have all of these options. Could be why you were able to do it? Maybe yours isn’t fully installed…
Jen C says
Nathan Bransford said…
STOP THE PRESSES.
Jessica Faust of BookEnds has saved my life. The key is using signatures. My life is irrevocably altered.That’s some impressive lateral thinking.
Gavin Brown says
Sounds like you already have a good solution, but here’s one more thing that might be helpful to easily paste replies: https://www.softplatz.com/Soft/Utilities/Other/Alpha-Key-Saver.html
Kristine Overbrook says
I tried to keep up, but there is no way I would be able to be an agent. Bless you Nathan, and all like you.
I agree that a form reply when a query is received is a good idea, just so the writer knows nothing went wrong and the ball is firmly in the agent’s court.
I’ve received form rejections and personalized rejections. If I have to be rejected, I’d rather have personalized, but I’ll accept anything.
Anonymous says
Title, word count and brief pitch (one short paragraph) only, followed by first three chapters in body of email.
I know my own name, I know I’m awesome, you don’t have to tell me. And really, I don’t give a crap about you unless I like your pitch, and I can always find out what I need if I’m interested.
In the mean time, less stuff to wade through equals more efficient use of my time.
As for why the frist three chapters…it saves time. If I want to see it, it’s there. If not, I ignore it. This is email people. Why waste time requesting partials when they can be right there waiting for you?
Marva says
Roster filled? Then don’t accept queries. My gosh, that’s like posting a job available listing, but having no job to offer.
People, whether writers or ditch diggers, really don’t like to be toyed with.
If you want new writers, then be clear on what you’re looking for. If you’re filled up with YA, then say “no YA.” Filled with SciFi, then say “no Scifi.”
People are waiting in horrendous lines for jobs in the “real” world. That agents leave it open as if they actually want new clients, then reject everything that comes in is just as bad as somebody offering ditch digging jobs, but really have no ditches to dig.
Of course, agents are the employees, not the bosses. They should remember that.
Nathan Bransford says
marva-
The author/agent relationship is a collaborative relationship, not a boss/employee relationship.
Bane of Anubis says
I’m actually surprised Google hasn’t come out with an “Outlook” type mechanism to allow other domain users to employ their services – b/c Outlook kinda sux big donkey gonads – or maybe Google has and I just don’t know about it (they seem to be pretty smart over there in that Googleplex).
Bane of Anubis says
Oh, and those 1 minute response time rejections – I’ll take those every second over any other rejection – waiting sucks worse than Microsoft.
Robert A Meacham says
After going through this exercise, I would prepare a polite rejection form, changing the author’s name. Time would be better spent on potentials.
melissablue13 says
Whoa. You can do this in Outlook? i.e. move an e-mail to a folder and it will generate an auto-reply? Could you please e-mail me about this?Sounds like your heart when pitter-patter. Lol.
But an incredible idea nontheless.
Gavin Brown says
BofA,
Gmail can be set up for organizations. It lets you use their mail service on your own domain name.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fa%2F&ei=r8LnSfvoD6WsNcn-ndkF&usg=AFQjCNEaXXnKS5J6AvHNyq3apXcnn22l7g
Annie Reynolds says
HI Nathan,
It has been an eye opener. I found myself putting my query letter up against the slush pile and judging how it holds up.
As an employee of A.F.A.D. agency I found myself drafting 3 formula letters, 1 for the bulk of the rejection letters, 1 for the letters that came close but needed more polishing and 1 that could be personalized for the successful queries.
I did end up personalizing 1 more of the standard letters as the content of the query left me a little troubled.
I now feel I have had a glimpse of a query through the eyes of an agent, and believe it is one of the most useful exercises I have done yet. Never before have the words, polish, polish, polish, meant more. Thank you.
Annie
Chumplet - Sandra Cormier says
I followed this from the beginning, already aware of the massive amount of queries the best agents must wade through on a daily basis.
I never whined about lack of personal messages but I was always a little thrilled when I received one.
If I was an agent? Form rejection, but I’d make darn sure it isn’t too abrupt, nor too open-ended.
Bane of Anubis says
Gavin, Thanks!
Carolyn says
I am at home with only non-Outlook computers, but (partially depending on version) Outlook has some very good Rules. I actually do think you could create a number of rules that would be quite helpful. Tomorrow I will look around and, if someone hasn’t already send you some info (Rules and Alerts on the menu bar – MS has done a pretty good job with this feature)
In Outlook 2007 you can categorize your emails with color and some custom tags, there’s a categorize icon on the menu bar.
I’ll check tomorrow morning so I can be specific about Outlook rules.
jimnduncan says
I don’t use outlook, so I’m not very familiar with it, but I’m pretty sure you can save an email to be a template and then just pull it up and plop someone’s name into it. Or you looking for some way to click a button and have a person sent an auto-response rejection letter?
Hallie says
1. I would accept e-queries only. It saves trees and postage, lets me work from anywhere, and allows the agency to move without worrying about orphaned letters.
2. I would set up an autoresponder for all queries. Authors should get an answer about whether a query was received within a few hours; if not, there was a glitch, and that’s good to know.
3. I’d ask for a specific subject line, word count, etc. in my querying guidelines (though, to be honest, I’d read all inquiries anyway).
I’d like to have the first 5-10 pages in the e-mail, rather than as an attachment; I’d rather catch a good book by a new author who isn’t good at queries/reject a book that’s not quite ready at this point in the process.
4. The idea of an online query system/database is intriguing. I wonder if an output of the submitted information sent to the author’s e-mail would make this more friendly. (I hate using forms to submit questions on websites because I don’t have a record in my e-mail, but I do use one of these to collect and review conference presentation submissions, and I can send personalized e-mails with just a click or two. It’s really quick and easy.)
5. I would have one firm, fair, friendly, and kind letter to decline further information. There’s no reason to be rude and there’s no reason to say more, unless it’s to explain that I don’t represent a particular genre.
I have learned from many years on the internet that when it’s subjective, and the no isn’t absolute, you’re going to get responses, many of them rude. The educator in me would refer budding authors to places on the internet where they can self-educate.
6. I would try to limit myself to no more than 1-2 specialized e-mails per day. I do want to encourage people to write, and I want to be the agent who gets first dibs when the current novel is in the drawer, but the next one is ready to be sold. I’m giving feedback for this challenge because 50 submissions isn’t that many and people deserve to know why I made my decisions, but I couldn’t do this on a tighter schedule without drowning.
7. And partials/fulls and further interactions would be handled individually.
In summary, I’d try to treat people as I’d like to be treated, but informed by the need to be a functional agency.
Aimless Writer says
I think you need a form rejection because of the volume with which you deal. But I would write a very nice and encouraging form letter and cut and paste it into the email. Or print if you still do the snail mail. There’s one agent out there that writes really nice rejections but I still think it’s a form.
In the email I’d leave a space for a comment if I care to make it cause someday they might be the next Stephen King and I’d want to stay on their good side.
😉
Gotta think of the future.
As for managing the slush pile? Can I take it to the beach?
Joseph L. Selby says
I would have a tiered form letter system. 1. You didn’t follow submission guidelines/your writing is terrible. 2. You’re concept needs improvement. 3. You’re concept is good but not for me.
I would have tiered request for partial letters as well. 1. I think your concept needs a polish but has potential. 2. I’m excited about your concept and I look forward to seeing the actual writing.
Then give a personal response if the partial inspires me to ask for a full.
While a personalized response would be thrilling, I know that’s just not realistic with the workload most editors keep. A measure of how my writing stacks up, even if delivered by a form letter, would still be very helpful.
superwench83 says
First of all, allow me to eat my words.
I was one of those people who found the I-only-respond-if-interested policy to be a little rude. It wouldn’t have prevented my querying such agents, but I still didn’t like it. But HOLY CRAP!!! Sure, it doesn’t take long to send one form rejection, but try sending 40 of them. (Well, I guess you just did!)
If I were an agent, I’d send no reply to those who obviously hadn’t done the first bit of research on query letters. Really, if you can’t spend a couple hours learning proper format (because that’s all it takes to learn formatting of a query letter), then why should I spend my precious time on sending a response?
And like most everybody here, I’d mostly use form rejections, with the occasion personal rejection here and there.
Pages…I know some people think pages are practically essential, but I don’t think so personally. I actually talked about this on my blog recently, ironically enough.
And regarding an auto-response on receipt of the query, I agree with Sage. It’s frustrating to open your inbox and think, “OMG, I got a response! I got a response!” only to find out that it’s just a note saying your query has arrived. Several short story markets use this system, and I had the exact reaction I just described. But of course, that’s my personal opinion. The majority seems to think auto-responses are good.
Aimless Writer says
To do the automatic rejection in Outlook you need to go to Insert, then Auto text and make your rejection letter.Then all you have to do to reject is hit reply, insert, auto text and click on your rejection reply. However with this you can write a few standard rejections and pick and choose which one fits the MS best.
🙂
Furious D says
I’d use a form rejection, and it would come in the form of that big balloon thing from “The Prisoner” TV show to hunt down the query authors that annoy me.
But seriously… I’d probably end up having a “reply if interested” policy, but I’d have an expiration date on that policy, like if I don’t respond in 6 months, go find someone else. Because there’s nothing worse than being left hanging by an agent or publisher.
Jill Lynn says
I realize it’s not environmentally friendly, but I have trouble reading lengthy pieces on the PC screen, so I would give writers an option: e-mail query with only “yes, send more” responses, or snail mail query with first chapter. Those I would give personalized responses to.
Flemmily says
Okay–fine. I’d form reject, I admit it. Maybe toss in a personal note if someone’s work was really REALLY close to being request-able.
But, yeah, responding too personally didn’t work very well for me. I went the ‘cut, copy, paste’ route pretty quickly.
LateInTheGame says
First thing is to turn the process into a “pull” system vs a “push,” though given that this is a service oriented business, a beginning queue for queries is unavoidable.
I’d want to use electronic workflow to handle submissions from cradle to grave. Writer registers with site, logs in to fill out submission form, receives a workflow number/ticket number, and can use the number to check on status (ie, see their place in the queue). Form rejections generated by marking reject and closing the workflow, personalized comments are always an available option. If more material is requested, writer gets notice and has access to attach documents to the workflow. This basic back and forth repeats through acceptance, revisions, tracking submissions to publishers, etc. Workflow closed out at whatever stage is appropriate (including publication, if everything goes great!) and can be reopened if necessary.
Trying to handle queries via email would quickly sap my sanity.
This Agent for a Day exercise has been a great peek into the world on the other side of the desk.
Mira says
Okay.
Done. Phew.
I picked 2, 6, 15, 37 and 46. If anyone cares.
I cheated on one of those, of course, but not intentionally.
This was totally fun. What a blast.
I’m up for another 50 next week!
Rebecca Knight says
Hi, Nathan,
I would do a form letter with their name in it if it was a rejection, and personalized “give me more pages” requests :). Those are happy, so it seems fitting to spend a little more time on it.
I find it reaaaally hard trying to explain why you’re passing on something without feeling like I was crushing someone’s soul, so I totally and completely understand the form letter.
Being kind when you’re criticizing takes some pondering, and that is time you just don’t have as an agent. Form kindness totally works!
Serenissima says
I’d give form rejections. For queries where I was on the fence, but ultimately decided ‘no’, I’d try to provide a one-line reason.
For partials and fulls, I’d provide a couple of lines explaining why I’d passed.
Soratian says
Having done all 50 queries, it’s indisputable. The form rejection is a thing of beauty.
I would say you don’t need an auto-responder if you have form rejections, and I strongly, strongly, hope that agents will continue to issue form rejections.
Because it’s something for us writers, even if only to wallpaper our room with. It’s a tangible thing with which you can measure how hard you’ve tried- how many times your manuscript has been read. It’s cold comfort, but it’s still some kind of comfort.
There’s no closure with silence.
I totally understand the need to protect yourself from unwanted arguments or dialogue (I had the same thoughts myself when giving personalised feedback). So maybe on your form rejection, you could say “form letter, please do not reply.” and then set replies to go straight to the junk folder.
Good luck with the Outlook programming!
Andie says
– For most query rejections, ONE all-purpose kind and informative form rejection letter (i.e. not for me, could have been any of the following reasons, it’s a subjective business, thanks for adding art to the world, good luck). I’d include a link to a web page with query-writing guidance and other useful writing-and-publishing resources (an idea I stole from someone else here)
– For query rejections where I definitely want to be queried on the author’s next project, a different form letter that has room for an optional personal note.
– For query rejections where I might be interested in a revision of the current project, same thing. (i.e. to say something like “this doesn’t sound finished yet and I’d suggest a workshop/writing group… if you rework it significantly feel free to query me again”)
– I’d definitely think through the technology from the get-go to work out the most efficient system for me, but I’m not sure if that would be email, a web app, snail mail, or what. It might be nice to have a couch in my office (or a beach across the street) and be able to stretch out away from the computer to go through submissions.
– With email, I’d probably ask for the first 5 pages; with a web app, the first 50; with snail mail, the first two; and with all options, a one-page synopsis. The pages, to see if the person can write and if it’s my cup of tea. The synopsis, to see if the aliens show up in chapter 12 (thanks, Miss Snark) and to weed out submissions where the premise is interesting but the author is submitting way too early in the writing process.
– For those that I was interested in, I’d ask for 50 pages or the whole manuscript, depending on what it was. (For instance, my test of a good memoir is that I am compelled to read it in one sitting and I still love it and am glad to have spent my day that way at the end, while with fiction I can tell a lot more from the first few chapters.)
kdrausin says
Nathan,
My husband is working on the Outlook issue for you. If you have already found a solution, let me know and I’ll stop him. He’s great with computers.
Krista
Anonymous says
I like Slushgod's approach to slush for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction — he has three form rejections, each conveying a bit of info on how the submission worked or didn't work.
As I understand it from reading his blog and posts at the messageboard, the first level is a form letter with the words "Didn't grab me" which translates to he didn't read beyond the first page. In other words, there was no hook or the writing was too bad to read on. Second level is "Didn't hold my interest" which means he read past the first page because of a hook or good writing but stoppped soon after. Third level is "didn't work for me" which translates to "I read the story the whole way through but it wasn't what we're looking for" or words to that effect. If the story works for him, he shunts it up to Gordon Van Gelder, the editor of MF&SF, who then responds for himself.
Every submission to the slush gets a response, usually within a week or ten days. It's the first place I would submit to as a result of the fast turnaround.
So if I were an agent, I'd set up something similar but for queries instead of actual submissions. I'd read it and assign one of the three possible reponses based on why I rejected the query. This at least provides the writer with some kind of feedback without taking up too much of the agent's time. It would take time to set up the system but then it would be a matter of cut and pasting a canned response.
Mira says
Oh. One last thing.
Nathan, if you’re into the barter system, I would sit there and copy and paste for you in exchange for a signing contract.
Then you wouldn’t have to worry about that pesky Outlook program.
Just a thought.
Anonymous says
How important is slush to an agent? How many clients do agents get through slush vs. referrals, etc.? If slush is really a waste of time, why bother allowing unsolicited queries? If you do find clients through slush who then go on to make you money, I would think it would be considered valuable enough to spend time responding to it in a business-like mannter. IOW, put in enough time to reflect its value to the bottom line.
BarbS. says
Personalize. It’s always good form.
AgentMan says
Unsolicited queries? For Agents? So what, now I need an Agent to get an Agent?
Ridiculous.
Melissa says
I would use a form rejection letter in, probably, 99% of cases. It would be an absolute time suck to spend time giving feedback on the queries. If, however, a query was really, really, really close to something I wanted, or if it was great but not something I, personally, thought I could sell, I would want to provide that feedback.
My personal stats in this exercise:
On the first time through, I requested two partials: 12 and 46.
I had six on my short-list to review a second time: 9, 24, 33, 35, 38, 48.
Of those, I liked them all on reread,but I requested just one more partial: 24.
In the end, then, three partials: 12, 24, 46.
bveggie says
It is too hard to write a good letter each time. It would drive you crazy.
Janis says
Take Ritalin, or maybe heroine.
Seriously though, I’d end up going with form letter rejections — as much as I hate to receive them — because on too many it was hard to read past the first paragraph!
I like the idea, though, of grouping the major problems into query, presentation, concept, and checking off the boxes that seem most appropriate. This way we writers could learn something useful from our efforts. The standard rejection — maybe another agent will be interested — only encourages low quality submissions to be recycled and recycled and recycled.
Anonymous says
After grading papers as a college professor for years, I wouldn’t be an agent if you paid me.