Pre-Rejection Rejection

I wanted to write this weeks ago when it happened, but I decided it would be better for the sake of anonymity (for both me and the agent) to wait. I think anonymity is the reason agents are so vague when they tweet their Ten Queries. Now that I’ve experienced it, I’m glad they do it this way.

For those who aren’t writers or aren’t on Twitter, agents occasionally do what they call Ten Queries (or some variation of the name). They grab the slush—query emails sent to them by writers who want an agent—and randomly choose ten queries. They then tweet about these queries: they’ll give the genre of the MS and say within Twitter’s 140 character limit what they think about it. They’ll say PASS if they’re not going to ask for more material from the writer and ACCEPT if they are.

These tweets give me the opportunity to see what agents are looking for and what they don’t like to see in queries. They’ll say they don’t accept an MS in that genre, an automatic PASS. They’ll say the voice or writing is weak, another PASS. They’ll say the writer’s query salutation is impersonal or too personal, which right off is another PASS. They’ll also say they love the characters, the writing is clear, and they can’t wait to read more, an ACCEPT.

One afternoon I was scanning one such agent’s Ten Queries while riding with a friend to a movie. I don’t remember the number of this specific tweet, but the genre caught my eye. The MS I was querying (FOR PARIS, FOR LOVE) was a contemporary YA. The tweet was about a contemporary YA. I was eager to see what this agent thought of the genre. What I didn’t expect was that the tweet would be about me. Of course, the words were general and nothing concrete could tie my MS to this tweet. Still, I knew. This agent was tweeting about my query. The three words that I remember from the tweet? GOOD NOT GREAT.

I know the tweet didn’t prove that this agent was talking about my MS; the proof came soon after in the form of a form rejection email. It said nothing about GOOD NOT GREAT. It said nothing specific aside from my name. Still, I knew. And do you know, it was actually a relief? The agent, without knowing it, had given me specific feedback about my query and MS, even though that feedback had been less than 140 characters. Those that are querying know that specific feedback is a rare thing when an agent’s rejecting you and your work. Those on Twitter know that you can say A LOT in 140 characters. This agent did both.

Now, the question is, did I think this agent was right? Did I think that when the agent said my MS was GOOD NOT GREAT that I should quit querying immediately? In theory, if my writing wasn’t great, its chances of being published were nowhere close to GOOD, let alone GREAT. But of course I didn’t stop. I love that MS. Someone else will love it, too. Every agent is different. Every agent has certain likes and dislikes. This agent wasn’t the right one, but there are hundreds of agents out there. I’ll find the right agent someday.