Christine Kelly Reads and Writes

No matter how you slice it, rejections suck. I hated getting them as an author and I have giving them as an agent.

As an author who is also an agent, I feel I have the unique experience of knowing what goes into the querying process. I get it- I’ve been there (before I became an agent too). But that doesn’t mean I can scoop up every project that comes in my QM.

For transparency’s sake, I want to explain a few reasons why I may reject a manuscript:

1. Word count.
2. Not on my MSWL
3. No book content in query.
4. The first pages
5. I am not sure how to sell it

Let’s address the first one. Word count. There aren’t many times I run into this, but it happens enough I want to address it. If your book is almost 200k words, it’s too long. If your book is over 100k words, but it’s a romance…it’s too long. You may think you are the exception, but I’m going to upset some people here… if you are sending me a 200k book, you’re telling me you haven’t listened or researched how to write a book and there are other aspects of your writing that may need more work that I can supply as an agent. Please Google, or use the endless resources about word counts for different genres. Also, these resources are out there for you to heed the advice from those who can before you. Listen to others.

There are a lot of tricky ways that you can submit something that isn’t on my MSWL. You can indicate a different genre in QM from what you’re querying and submit. I’ve gotten that. Please don’t do it. I hate rejecting books, but when my wish list isn’t be respected, that’s not a way I want to start a partnership. And also, generally my MSWL is there to indicate what I’m the best fit for to be the best champion. It’s going to be hard for me to sell something I don’t especially enjoy (IE why I also will reject and not take it on).

I’ve received many queries that do a great job of telling me themes of the story, why it was written and great information about the author. But I re-read, because I’m wondering…where is the blurb about the book itself? I have no idea about the stakes. No idea about the plot. Sometimes, I just get a bit about the author and that’s it. Without knowing about the story, it’s hard to get excited about reading the pages. Also, many times the query is used in the synopsis, which then leads me to miss out on the story arcs and how the story is crafted.

Many times I love the pitch in the query. I love the arcs in the synopsis. Then I get to the pages and it just isn’t flowing. Many times this has to do with having a prologue. When the opening pages are missing setting the stakes or lack of action, I’m not compelled to turn the pages. Also, many times the first pages don’t have writing at the line level I am looking for, or it’s missing the voice that hooks me. Cece Lyra and Carly Watters have done a class covering the first five pages. Follow them to hear about their next class. Also, their podcast with Bianca Marais, has a newsletter which they discuss what goes into the first five pages. Parker Peevyhouse has a first 15 page checklist that I have found useful in my own writing. Needless to say, there are a ton of resources out there (some free, some paid). The best free resource? Have amazing CPs that can help you set up those opening pages to be sure readers want to keep reading.

Lastly, and the one I think that can be the most frustrating, is hearing that an agent likes it but doesn’t know how to sell it. For me, I’m hoping this becomes rarer as I continue to make connections in the industry. But for right now, my network is very limited, so when I see something that I’m interested in, then check on who would be interested before requesting the manuscript. Many times I worry I won’t have enough editors or even any to send it to without having full faith I’m not sending it into the void, making editors annoyed with me (and by proxy having the author’s or the agency’s name attached to it).

I know I have already rejected stories I will be thinking about in the future. Some I know I’ll pre-order once they are available. But that usually means where it ends up is the right spot, rather than with me.

I hate sending rejections and usually I read through the query, synopsis or pages a few times before sending it. It’s not something I take lightly, but I hope this helps you understand my process.