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Running the Numbers #3

Small update – not much new that I haven’t posted about before – anyway, here’s the numbers for Coal Belly. I keep plodding along – staying busy with other projects while I play the waiting game. I know things are going to get more complex as I start adding in the numbers for The Stars Were Right (which I just finished.)

  • Total Agents Queried: 84
  • Unanswered Queries: 46
  • Query Rejections: 33
  • Partials Requested: 5
  • Outstanding Partials: 1
  • Partials Rejected: 4
  • Fulls Requested: 0
  • Fulls Rejected: 0

Oh! Almost forgot, I also submitted my full Coal Belly manuscript to the Harper Voyager‘s open call for manuscripts, not something they do very often, obviously if something comes of that you’ll be the first to know.

Keep on keepin’ on.

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Facing Rejection

One of my partials came back today: rejected.

That makes three of my partials that have been rejected. I see a lot of people lament this sort of response, and I get it, it came be tough. Writing a manuscript is hard, finishing it is harder, sending it out and watching the rejections roll in is the hardest. But… during these times one needs to remember that this is the name of the game. Partials get rejected, queries get rejected, heck even full manuscript requests get rejected. You face it and you keep moving, because in the end that’s the only option you have.

(Unless of course you’re a quitter, and you’re not a quitter.)

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Running the Numbers #2

I’ll try to do these running the numbers posts as long as I have new data to share. For even more up to date info: follow me on twitter. I tweet about a lot of things, often my writing. Not a huge swing in the count this week. I had a new partial request (yay!) and one rejection (boo!) anyway… the numbers as they stand today:

  • Total Agents Queried: 81
  • Unanswered Queries: 51
  • Query Rejections: 30
  • Partials Requested: 4
  • Outstanding Partials: 3
  • Partials Rejected: 1
  • Fulls Requested: 0
  • Fulls Rejected: 0
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Running the Numbers

I figured it might be of interest if I started documenting the numbers surrounding my hunt for representation. I keep all this in a spreadsheet, recording the agent’s name, their business, their email, and the date they were queried. It’s handy and helps me keep track of everything.

So without further ado, the numbers:

  • Total Agents Queried: 81
  • Unanswered Queries: 51
  • Query Rejections: 30
  • Partials Requested: 3

10% positive interest in my manuscript. Not bad. I’ll take it.

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Rejections

Sent out another wave of query letters a few days ago. Some egregious number, something like forty-five. That brings the total count (according to my handy query spreadsheet) up to eighty-five query letters sent. Eighty-five. Wow. Eighty-five people reading my words and debating whether or not they want to represent me.

Okay that’s not totally true. Technically it’s not eighty-five anymore. I have received twenty-four rejections.

Twenty-four.

Seems like a lot, hell, feels like a lot, but from what I read it’s fairly typical. I’ve seen authors, talk about forty rejections, sometimes fifty, and I know I’ll be there. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the rejected.

It happens. I do my best not to take it personally and I move on. I’ll keep sending out the letters, I’ll keep opening my email, and I’ll keep reading the rejections.

I would forever be a manuscript-ist and never a novelist if I didn’t put my work out in the marketplace. Eventually someone will be interested, and eventually I’ll published.

I know it.

Besides, I promised myself I’m going to buy myself something nice if I can get to 100 rejections.