Photo: WHYY

GHOSTED

Last December, an agent (let's call him Stuart) contacted me one day after I queried him!  In one day!  Finally after querying for over five years, I captured the attention of an agent.   

Stuart wrote that he liked my manuscript and wanted to see more of my work.  So, I sent two other pieces and he liked those as well!  Then, he asked me to contact the editor who had reviewed these manuscripts to find out if she would be interested in publishing them—which made me feel awkward,  like he was using me (wasn't he was supposed to do this?)  Anyway, I contacted the editor.  When she didn't answer my email, I informed Steve and...that was the last I heard from him.  

And on a similar note, I heard from another agent (we'll call her Liz) who wanted to know if the manuscript I had queried 11 months earlier was still available.  When I replied that the manuscript could be provided, Liz never wrote back.  Even after I politely followed-up.

What gives?  Stuart and Liz got my hopes up and let me down.  I was ghosted and I was crushed. 

An agent's interest-then-disinterest got me thinking.  Was this kind of behavior common?  Here is an IA Overview: 

It can be incredibly frustrating when a literary agent expresses interest in your manuscript and then goes silent. This is often referred to as "ghosting," and unfortunately, it's not uncommon in the publishing industry.  

Several factors can contribute to an agent's lack of response after requesting a manuscript or expressing initial interest: 

• Heavy workload: Literary agents, especially established ones, receive a high volume of submissions and have a primary focus on their existing clients. They may be behind on reading or get overwhelmed with other tasks.
• Not the right fit: Even if the initial query was strong, the agent may have determined after reading more that the manuscript isn't a good fit for their list or doesn't have the commercial appeal they seek.
• Priorities shift: Their agency's focus or their personal interests may have changed.
• No "no" response: Some agents, unfortunately, operate under a "no response means no" policy, meaning they won't reply unless they are interested in moving forward. 

What to Do:

• Be patient: Literary agents often have long response times. Give them a reasonable amount of time to review your submission, according to their stated guidelines or general industry averages.
• Check the agent's guidelines: Look for information on their website or in their auto-reply emails regarding response times and follow-up policies.
• Send a polite follow-up (if appropriate): If the agent's guidelines don't prohibit it and a considerable amount of time has passed (generally 8-12 weeks for a query response, potentially longer for a full manuscript), you can send a brief, professional follow-up email.
• Continue querying other agents: Don't put all your hopes on one agent. Keep researching and sending queries to other agents who might be a good fit for your manuscript.
• Consider other avenues: If traditional agent representation doesn't work out, you can explore other options like submitting to publishers directly (if they accept unagented submissions) or self-publishing.
• Seek feedback: If you're consistently experiencing silence or rejections, consider getting feedback on your query letter and manuscript from other writers, critique partners, or professional editors to identify potential areas for improvement.  

Important Reminders: 

• Don't take it personally: Ghosting is common. It often has little to do with you or your manuscript's quality.
• Stay professional: Maintain a polite and respectful tone in all your communications with agents.
• Be persistent: Querying is a numbers game, and success often comes with persistence and refining your approach. 

There you have it.  Ghosting is customary practice in the publishing world.  It's how many agents prefer

to do business because they're swamped.  Or the market has changed and they don't feel they can sell the manuscript.  It totally sucks.  Agents have the power to buildup up hopes, and then dash hopes to pieces.  

Here's the thing:  Not all, but some agents have forgotten that writers are people with dreams and 

feelings, that writers take their craft seriously, that writers put their hearts and souls into their work, that writers want to be treated respectfully.  

It's said that writers have to develop a tough skin—so deal with this new form of rejection.  Buck up.  

We have to get used to ghosting even though it is cruel and cold.  Inconsiderate and downright rude.

It's the way it is.  But don't you think writers deserve better?

 

✌and ♥

                                                                                                                                                  Photo: constant-content.com

BEING A WRITER

We writers are creative folks and we're proud of the stories we've written. But when we receive a rejection, it can feel personal—almost to the point of making us wonder if we should change how we write in order to be accepted.  

This year I've faced a lot of rejections.  At times, I feel like giving up writing.  Maybe you've felt the same way.  

Despite the rejections however, I try to stay positive by writing new pieces, submitting to new agents, studying the market, and by attending webinars to learn more about the publishing business.  Occasionally, I run across inspirational articles.

On that note, I'd like to introduce you to an amazing article "Creativity as an Act of Defiance" by Grant Faulkner.  This piece is empowering, especially if you've faced rejection and are having doubts about your writing.  Below is an excerpt and a link for the entire piece.  May it encourage you and keep you on the writing path.

According to Grant Faulkner: 

"The underlying purpose of deciding to write is to bring forth this mysterious and sacred gift within ourselves, to touch, revere, and express the truth of the way we see this crazy world.  

"Then we have to go even one step further. Being a writer carries with it its own assortment of masks. (What genre do you write in? Who are your favorite authors? Do you have an MFA?) We have to ask ourselves who we are as writers— what rules do we want to follow, and what rules do we want to break?

"If you put your story in a cage of others’ rules, your imagination will always reside behind bars. 

"Therefore, in order to feel the full strength of our creativity, I believe at some point we have to be defiant—defiantly ourselves, you might say. We have to declare, “I am a writer”—say it proudly and loudly, say it with grandiosity and verve, I AM A WRITER—and accept the circumstances of living in whatever Outsiderdom befalls us. 

"In fact, I think rebelling against the rules is actually an act of love and reverence for your voice. Pushing up against the supposed gatekeepers of taste can strengthen resolve.  A writer needs to create with an outlaw sheen to boldly escape the snares of others’ expectations."

I hope you'll look into reading the entire piece.  Most writers face rejection and have doubts about their writing.  Faulkner definitely has a way with words and his article may give you more confidence in  your writing. 

✌ and ♥

For the entire article: Grant Faulkner: Creativity As An Act of Defiance

Grant Faulkner is the co-founder of 100 Word Story, the co-host the Write-minded podcast, and an executive producer on America’s Next Great Author.

Spring Fling 2025

2025 Spring Fling Writing Contest - Honorable Mention

La Danse du Printemps – The Springtime Dance   

 

One spring day in a forest in France, Giselle laid flowers where she and Mama once 

danced. Mama used to pirouette around the lilac trees. Giselle smudged away 

tears, thinking of her mother's ballet:  

                                                               those leaping jetés,

                                                the quick-stepped piqués,

                                                                       the tippytoe pas de bourrées.

  

“Mama, I miss you and La Danse du Printemps.”

 Gisele felt loneliness as sharp as a thorn.  

 A breeze dried her tears. It tousled her hair. It tickled the brim of her hat.

Then the breeze whispered: Giselle.  

 “Mama?”

“Oui, ma chèrie. Yes, my dear.”

“I am sad without you.”

“Je suis toujours avec toi. I am always with you.”

“But I feel lost.”

 

Leaves unfurled and rustled. Treetops flowered. Lavender blooms perfumed the air.

Mama’s voice sailed through the breeze and Giselle rose to her feet. 

                                                             Jeté.

                                                                          Piqué.

                                      Pas de bourrée.

 

Giselle felt as light as a petal, pirouetting a lilac ballet.

                                                                                                                                          Photo by Nick Wignall

CONQUERING WRITER'S DOUBT 

I'm part of a fabulous critique group.  We call ourselves Friday Minds and we meet on Zoom once a month to discuss our manuscripts.  Over the past two years, Friday Minds has become a close-knit group that genuinely cares for one another.  We can count on each other for honest critiques.  

We are however, free to seek others for support and critiques.  That said, I connected with a writer on Twitter who helped me work on tweets for a picture book pitch session.  She helped me make my pitches stronger.  Seeing that she offered critique services and wanting to repay her for her time and efforts, I decided to pay her for a mini-critique of several picture books.  

The pieces I had chosen had already been reviewed by Friday Minds, and then revised and polished.  In fact, some of them were being queried.  I was curious to get another opinion and expected to hear good things about them. BUT... 

I was surprised and disappointed that she noted they were too heavy on lyrical language and not strong enough on plot. 

I WAS CRUSHED. I love writing lyrical picture books—a good number of agents have even complimented my style.  But her feedback had me reeling.  Feeling incredibly low.  Though I had been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, in The Christian Science Monitor and Highlights and had received awards from Writer's Digest, I began doubting my work.   

I couldn't return to my writing.  And I've been writing every day for over 20 years!  

I turned to the prolific Jane Yolen, author of Owl Moon and many other masterpieces.  We're friends on Facebook, but I wasn't sure she'd respond to a question.  Still, it was worth a try.  I sent her a message wanting to know how she felt about less than positive critiques.  And she wrote back!  Jane said, "I am in a critique group.  I always listen, often take notes on what was said and solve it their way or my way.  But just as often, I decide I prefer it my way."  

Her note made me feel better.  Two days later, my critique group met online.  When I shared my experience with the group, one of them said:  "That is ONE PERSON’S opinion. Your work has received so many “thumbs up” — not just from us, your CPs, but from the contests and other readers, etc. Take a deep breath. Try to look at the comments as objectively as possible.  Are there examples in your drafts where she had a point?  Are there examples in your drafts where she’s wrong?  Any work you potentially may still do on any of them is completely up to you.  An agent told me (in a workshop earlier this year), don’t make changes until your MS has been passed on/rejected at least half a dozen times."  

Another critique partner knew the critic and pointed out that she had not been published nor was she represented by an agent.  This got me questioning the critic's expertise.  

As I sorted out my feelings on the less than glowing critiques, a sad memory popped up. When I was nineteen-years-old, I was interviewed by three professors to determine my eligibility for the prestigious Medical Technology program at the University of Kentucky. Only 25 students would be selected.  After the fifteen-minute session had ended, the professor accidently left her comments on the desk, and...I took advantage to read them.  She had written that I was aloof.  Seeing that word made me freeze.  Aloof?  That was so not me.  Yet, that's how she saw me in the short time we had spoken. She never took into consideration that I was young and scared.  Luckily, the two other professors were warmer and easier to chat with and long story short, I was admitted into the program.  Nonetheless, that one opinion troubled me for a very long time.      

It took me years to figure out that some people's assessments may be way off and totally incorrect.   

After listening to Friday Minds and feeling more encouraged after reading Jane Yolen's advise, I decided to edit a few lines of my stories, but only the parts that I thought actually needed some attention.  Gradually, I regained my confidence to return to writing, every day, like I always had.  

I learned a lot from this situation.  In the future I will check credentials to see if a critic is qualified to give thoughtful reviews.  I will be weigh the remarks carefully and trust my heart on how to revise.  I won't let a negative critique ruin my day.  Should self-doubt raise its ugly head, I only have to remember what my critique partners have said and what agents have told me about my work.  I only have to remember it comes down to believing, believing in my writing and trusting the gut feeling that tells me: YOU have created something wonderful.  

And nobody can tell me otherwise.  

✌ and ♥

SHOULD YOU (or how can you) GET A REFERRAL?

When I query a picture book using a Query Manager form, sometimes there's a section that asks: "If this query is a referral, who referred you?"

I had always left this blank.  I never even considered getting a referral.  But when an agent I'd been wanting to submit to opened her inbox, I began to think about what could happen IF I had a referral.  

Most writers know that a referral can open doors by making a quick introduction to an agent.  

I racked my brains trying to think of who could write me a referral and when I was about to give up, my husband suggested that I contact my former agent.  Mel and I parted amicably when she left agenting to start a publishing company.  I reached out to her politely and she wrote back that she'd be happy to send a referral.  But, she was so swapped with submissions that she asked me to write a draft that she could edit and then send.

I had no idea how to do this.  

So, I searched online and found some basic referral templates.  I discovered the letter should have a greeting and introduction, the writer's qualifications and the relationship to the referrer, and the contact information.  

For my referral letter, the greeting was a simple polite "I hope you're having a great day."  This was followed by a line which explained my connection to Mel.  The second paragraph listed my strongest working traits and accomplishments.  The last paragraph closed with a thank you and Mel's contact information.

All was going well.  The letter looked great and Mel approved it, edited it and sent it to the agent.  Within four days, the agent replied to both me and Mel.  I was surprised to hear back so fast since the general response time is about three months. And though she replied quickly, the news wasn't so great.  The agent appreciated the referral but said that her agency was not open to picture books.

I felt embarrassed and foolish to have asked Mel for a referral.  So, I looked at the agent's guidelines again and confirmed the wording: no picture books would be considered without an industry referral.  Okay, that's exactly what I did.  I sent a referral.

I don't feel awful about this rejection.  Seeing how this all played out made me wonder if this agent was on top of things.  I have my doubts that we would have made a good team.  However, I learned about writing referrals and the benefits of having one.  In this case, it sped up an agent's response time. 

If you're submitting to an agent who uses Query Manager, there may be a section about a referral.  Give this section some serious thought.  Think about who could write you a referral: an editor, a publisher, or a published writer.  Be sure this contact is someone you've worked with and is familiar with your writing.  Ask them politely if they would write you a referral.  

Though having a referral is not necessary when querying, it can set you apart and give you an amazing opportunity.  It's like having a golden ticket.  I know because I've seen how it works.  A referral can speed up the process, introduce you to an agent, and give you the edge on the competition.  So, give it some consideration.  Who do you know who can write you a referral?  

✌ and ♥

At Indeed, you can see some templates for referral letters: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/letters-of-referral

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Alfred Edward Chalon

SHOULD YOU PERSONALIZE YOUR QUERY LETTERS?  

Before we jump to the answer, let's define personalization.  According to Query Tracker, a personalized query is when you give a specific reason as to why you are querying a certain agent, such as "I saw you post recently that you like [these books]." Or "Since you represent [author] I thought you might be interested in something similar." 

Query Tracker Founder Patrick McDonald says, "A recent post on Twitter/X asked about the effectiveness of personalized queries, so I thought I'd crunch some numbers.  QT collects successful query letters (which you can view at https://querytracker.net/offers/show_interviews). Out of the 400 or so queries there, only 23% were personalized. Which means the majority of successful queries are not personalized. So if you are not sure how to personalize a query, don't worry about it. Just send it."

Okay then, if a writer chooses not to personalize, what would the beginning of a query letter look like? 

Many winning writers of 2024 PB Party pitch contest didn't personalize and started their letters with: 

• memorable lines from the book
• the book title and its themes
• a compelling book description
• the book title, genre, word count, and audience and a question that asks how the story will play out

Here's an example that hooked agents: 

Dear [agent],

I’m excited to send you INCOGNITO BURRITO, my 497-word metafiction picture book. INCOGNITO BURRITO brings cultural foods to the forefront of a thought-provoking conversation that transcends the ages: are most foods just burritos in disguise? It is perfect for fans of burritos who also enjoy reading Tara Lazar’s Private I series and Julio Torres’ I Want to Be A Vase.

However...agents have different opinions when it comes to personalization.   

Recently, I attended a webinar where the agent encouraged personalization.  She said that if you met an agent at a conference, subscribe to the agent's newsletter, are familiar with a client's book, or found a connection through X (Twitter) this could be an excellent way to begin the letter.  

In fact, literary agent Adria Goetz says most agents appreciate sincere personalizations like mentioning the reason why you're querying them. Perhaps they worked on a book that you love, or you saw a recent deal of theirs that sounds right up your alley. Maybe you watched or listened to an interview with them and something they said resonated with you.  Adria says, "Don't force the personalized bit, though, or say anything that you don't actually mean!"  She goes on to say that a simple, "I hope you're having a great week" or "Thank you so much for considering my materials!" goes a long way. 

Making the decision to personalize can be worrisome.  But the good thing is, personalization doesn't seem to be as critical as it once was.  I think it's because agents want to get to the meat of the matter.  That is, they want to find out about your book.

So, relax.  You have a choice.  Either way, your goal is to grab the attention of an agent by writing a polite and professional letter with a compelling hook.  And you can do that with or without personalization.  

✌ and ♥

                                                                                                                                                                Photo: Freepik

THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR BOOK  

It's a good idea to include the inspiration for your book in a query letter.  

Briefly, a query letter is usually composed of three paragraphs that introduce the title and the hook, give a description of the story, and present the writer's biography.  Whether you begin the query with the inspiration for your book or place it later in the letter, mentioning why you created this story has the potential to show agents that you are the person qualified to tell the story.  

Let's focus on how to reveal the inspiration for a book.  I'm willing to bet most would take the easy approach and write:  This is book was inspired by... blah, blah, blah (pick one: my pet, an occasion, a vacation, a person, another book, a movie, etc.).  

Doable, but predictable.  And boring.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, to quote Jerry Seinfeld.   

But here's the thing.  When you query an agent, you have to stand out.  There are tons of people vying for an agent's attention so, why would you write the basic "I was inspired by" when you can be more creative?  Find a way to bump it up a notch.  You've got to go the extra mile and strive to be more imaginative. 

Okay, now back to your query letter.  Your goal is to state the reason for writing your book in an engaging way.  Let's see if you can avoid using the word "inspired."  

Here are some ideas.  Reveal the reason (a vacation, a person, a pet, an event, a tradition, or a book, etc.) that...

• helped to plant a seed for (title) 
• sparked the idea for (title)
• launched the idea for (title)
• moved me to create (title)

Let's try using a couple of the suggestions as examples:  

I depend on a service dog for mobility assistance and he sparked the idea for CHARLIE IN CHARGE.

My visit to Dubrovnik, where cats are treated like royalty, launched the idea for THE MAGIC CAT. 

Now expound on the reason you wrote the book.  Give compelling details why you wrote this book.  I repeat: compelling!  Speak to the heart of the agent.  Something that might make her laugh or tear-up. Lastly, add the takeaway.  Reveal the message you want to convey to readers.  What do you want them to get out of reading your book?  

To be honest, you have very little time to pique the interest of an agent.  The way you present the inspiration for your book could make a huge impact on impressing an agent.  It could actually seal the deal.  

So, don't get lazy or take the easy way out.  Be original.  Be imaginative.  Be unique.  Give the agent the captivating reason as to why you wrote your book.  This is your chance to show why you are the one and only person who can tell the story.      

 

✌ and ♥