A Different Kind of Rejection.
I've noticed a trend in the searches that bring people to my page. Many, many, many people are looking for an outlet as witnessed by this small sampling of my monthly stats:
proposal rejection letter ask the reason rejection letter client rejection letter copy of rejection letter free rejection letters letter in response to rejection professional rejections query rejections rejection letters reply letter to rejection letter reply to rejection letter response to rejection letters screenplay rejection letter thank you for rejection letter what to do with agent rejection lettersThank you for rejection letter??? Who would do such a thing, I wonder, and turn to fellow writer and beloved editor, Zendra."Zendra," says I. "Would you ever send an agent a thank you note for a rejection letter?""I have," she replies.My head did that Linda Blair/Exorcist thing before I managed a throaty, "Why?" (This was, of course, on chat. Zendra actually lives on the planet of people who write for a living...a place I can only hope to visit some day... so you'll have to imagine my throaty, "Why?" and the accompanying horror. ;-)"Because they gave me feedback."This is the Grand Canyon that separates me from Zendra. She's REALLY GOOD and agents tell her why they're rejecting her.They love her work, but... The writing is excellent, but... That sort of thing.You've seen the replies I get. ^___^;;But all this is beside the point. What I wanted to say and am, as usual, nattering on, is that while yes, you might wanna write an agent and ask why they rejected you, either A) out of a desire to poke at them again or B) in the hopes they'll tell you this time and you can eliminate whatever offended their sensibilities at whatever hour of the AM they began sending out their unaddressed rejections for the day while sipping their $tarbuck$...But the fact is, they've already forgotten you. If your rejection letter didn't warrant your name being cut and pasted into the salutation, then chances are they didn't make it past your opening sentence. Oh, says you, suddenly you know what agents are thinking, Pattie?Sadly, yes.Here's a little known fact for ya: my wife is a publisher. Now don't get all excited and think about submitting. My wife publishes lesbian comics and won't make an exception for ME; she certainly isn't going to make one for you. But this does put me in a position to see the other side of rejection. The wife tries to be tactful (after having listened to my raggings), she tries to be kind, but she says, "You get three sentences to impress me. If you can't get my attention in that time, I'm busy. I have to move on."And were you to send her a reply to her rejection, she would ignore it. She maintains it's not her job to hold your hand through the process.So my advice to you is, if you're thinking of sending a note to an agent who rejected you without addressing you, don't bother. Put your energies to better use. Keep writing and imagine the time when you'll get to show other aspiring authors your collection of rejections.My wish for you is that the collection is tiny.