An agent turned my manuscript down but said “The voice in this sparkled, but she didn’t fall in love with the fantasy elements.” I’ll just take the first half of that as a compliment.
Don’t take any notice of these agents. This is standard chat by them. They reject everybody, I’ve come to the conclusion that these people are hired to stop peoples work coming onto the market. Just look what they did to JK Rowling. These idiots are still around in England. They’re still rejecting everything. Publish your work yourself. The agents often say that it’s ‘subjective’. which means they haven’t got a clue.
I watched crafting your query letter video (can't remember the title) and followed your advice. I just got a letter back from a literary agent who requested my full manuscript! Ahhh! Thank you for your tips!!!
I've been said: "I'm sorry that I didn't feel as though the character came to life as I had hoped they might" but also "this is some interesting writing, but you need a lot of work to get a more engaging opening". Editing time again, I guess. The funny thing is that this second line was the entire rejection. Like, just one line, not even the greetings. Straight to the point.
Hi, great video. Submitted my children's book to a few agents and got two polite rejections back so far saying they liked it but not for them. Honestly, I was over the moon to receive them, as it means I'm on the next stage of the journey!
Publish the book yourself Joshua. Agents are not the people to help you. I’ve published five books in less than a year. Four children’s and one adult. My children’s books have five stories of two thousand words each + sixteen colour illustration. They cost £2000. Each book to publish. This is a lot of money but the feeling you get when you see your book being sold all over the world is priceless! I’ve now hired a expert market promoter at a reasonable cost. This hopefully will get me to my final destination of seeing my stories on the TV.
I write non-fiction, but found this video very sharp and insightful. I tried to take a course in fiction-writing , but it was so terrible that I dropped out after a week. I got more from this video in five minutes than a week of that course.
Yes thank you for that. Tricky territory indeed and you walked us through it, pointing out the potholes along the way. Valuable for anyone needing directions in a crowded street.
Received a rejection on a test query I sent simply to get a feel for what to expect. The response came roughly six weeks after the submission. It came as a form letter that stated the my story, as presented, was not what she was looking for at the present time. I've changed my approach and am preparing to submit a round of six. This time I'm using different sample pages containing more intense dialog that takes the reader directly into the tension that drives the story arc. Thank you for all of your excellent advice and wisdom.
According to some of the advice you discuss here, the opening pages of my current book would be a bit of a hard sell. *Spoiler alert* It depicts a violent death in a contemporary setting which is revealed to be part of a virtual reality simulation. The simulations happen in the "real world" of the novel, which is in the near future, where completely immersive VR is being developed. The character who dies at the beginning doesn't appear again until the end. In my mind, it was just too good an opening and I was too invested in the structure to change it! I didn't have much success with agents, but I currently have the full manuscript with a couple of indie publishers. :)
That's a perfectly valid reason to keep an opening like yours! I'm really glad that your book is also finding its ground with some indie publishers too. It goes to show there are many, many paths to getting published, and so it never hurts to go beyond the traditional path. Thank you for sharing!
Querying is the toughest part. Five of my books went on query submission and only one of them got requests. None of them panned out. Working on my tenth book right now, second draft, and I’m just praying this, or one of the other new ones, hits an agent’s mark
I'm just going to do self-publishing because agents seem to say "No" to almost everything these days. And that's fine, some of the best stories get looked over the first time.
I wish they would give us these one sentence explanations in their replies so we know what to work on. A form rejection is not helpful at all. The most comment “reply” I get is that it’s not for them or they don’t think they could sell it in today’s market. I worked on developing my story and practicing the craft for ten years to get rejected for things out of my control? 😩
Hi Sara, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I've been racking a ton of non-personalised rejections as well, it's frustrating. Cheers and all the best either way
Would an agent rather see a super high concept pitch with a great title? Or a more common pitch that's a proven money maker but also with a good title and intense opening pages?
I have a question. If the first ten pages of the novel is the prologue and the main story arc starts in the first chapter, should I still send the prologue or send the first ten pages from the first chapter?
I have met published writers who were required to sell their books at malls, flea markets, etc. The authors had to pay for gas, food, and lodging. Unless you are with a top agency, this will be your fate.
I am so glad I found your channel. I needed to research and get informed about the industry, but many novel/writing TH-camrs have an aggressive demeanour or squeaky scratchy voice that really put me off. Plus they keep ranting or pushing lgbtq/feminism onto the audience for some reason. While you have such a lovely voice, and relaxing face, and I love how you're friendly and connect with the audience all while being formal and not offensive/forcing ideologies onto people. Thank you Alyssa
One of my problems is that ive created such an alien world my inciting incident doesnt happen til much later than ten pages. Although there is much talk that eludes to why that incident happens, so maybe thats enough?
Most of the time...I was rejected Because of ' I am staying in Dubai.' Usually, I am querying to the agents who are staying in Europe and America. May be, they feel its not right to place.
Thanks so much for your insight and work you put into this video to help us :) I was wondering if you knew from your work in the industry if you sign with an agent for a single book with series potential and it didn’t do well enough for them to want to publish a sequel, could you self publish them later?
So having a book publisher write that he would publish a book by me based on my research is something not to be sneezed at? I thought I would have pay to get it published but according to him I would get paid!
So far I never got any clear message why they rejected my novels. Mostly the typical response, 'it not for me'. "can not see myself representing your story'. Thankfully you explained in one of your videos why so I know it's not my writing. With my WIP YA fantasy novel, I hope this will get agents attention as many want YA novels. Of course I make sure it has beta readers and my editor will make sure it gets the best treatment it can get.
Hey Rowan, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I'm at the same stage as you, racked up a few rejections, none personalised. Just let me know if you're interested, thanks!
if you have feel you are finished with your book do you have to get it professionaly efited before submitting a query? I feel like my editing process at home has mainly focused on refining the elements but the grammer is not impeccable. Would lack of proper grammer be reason to reject? Also you mentioned 10 pages for submission is that the standard?
Hi there - It is ultimately up to you to decide whether you want to work with an editor or not. I do have another video discussing the benefits of hiring an editor for your book before querying: th-cam.com/video/SyCCrCb5NH0/w-d-xo.html - I hope that helps!
I'm getting close to sending out a querying letter, maybe six month out. My target is young middle grade and even for this audience, my writing style is overly simplistic. By this I mean my sentence structure is similar to the point of being a distraction. I need to spice up my technique while still maintaining my voice.
Don’t bother to try and get an agent, you’ll be wasting your time. Save up your money and publish it yourself. This girl is talking a load of twaddle. She knows full well that most people wouldn’t stand a chance, no matter how good your story is. It will cost you about £1000, to get your book published. Then just hire a market expert to promote it for you.
@@alandavies3727 Hi Alan, I have a little experience being in a band. The issues musicians face are very similar to those by authors. You can almost swap out word for word "how to make it in music" with "how to make it as a author." So I'm sincere but I also know not everyone is out to help me. I'll play the game too to get a little free advice or a leg up. We all know the tell: "I have a course for $500.00 that will show you a insider's perspective on...."
Hi Alyssa, what does it mean when an agent says they “have no doubt that they think you will find a home for your book” do you think that’s a generic kind of form or do they actually mean it? Also when they give a short personalisation like “ I liked your main characters voice” does that mean the query is in good shape and was good enough to draw them in to read the pages? Thank you!
Nicole, even a short personalisation sounds like a great thing! I've racked up about ten rejections, all non-personalised, in my querying thus far. If you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in a query letter / 10-page swap? Either way, all the best!
Hi Alyssa! An agent asked for my full MS a couple weeks ago and I sent her the version that's a bit more politically toned down. I'm having a change of heart now and want to send her the version that's more political. Is it wise to contact her and do that?
No one knows what will sell. No one. It’s all guess work. You mention Harry Potter but it was rejected 11 times. Dune was rejected 23 times. Those two novels are the most influential fantasy/sci fi novels of the last century. I just read an article where they listed a dozen best-selling novels that were rejected 50-100 times. Agents have no idea what will work, full stop, because no one does.
I agree 100% with what you say. Agents are a waste of time, and a lot of them are very rude. It’s far better to save up your money and publish you books yourself. Then get a marketing company to promote your book. These agencies will soon close down. Thank goodness! People have got false hope believing that one day they will get an agent and then become very rich. It won’t happen. Just enjoy your writing and see how far you can get with your own endeavours.
@@cjpreach That’s a heartbreaking truth. I don’t think it’s possible for an aspiring author to go all in without first being in a position where making money is optional. I personally don’t want to write on the side but that’s how it be I guess. Edit: Congrats on finishing despite the real life responsibilities. They can slow us down so much, it’s fantastic you had the dedication to see it through.
These agents haven’t got a clue of what will be a success or not. They turn everybody down. It’s almost a waste of time sending anything to these people. Best thing to do is publish your work yourself. Then get a PR professional team to market your work. The PR team will cost about £100. Per month. These people are better than agents, and you don’t have to pay them any commission. Don’t put up with these agents anymore.
How many books have you writing Alyssa? My guess is none. I really don’t know how anybody can give advice when they have never written a book themselves?
![[TH] VALORANT Champions Seoul - Grand Final - EDG vs TH](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WvObMc9VelI/mqdefault.jpg)
An agent turned my manuscript down but said “The voice in this sparkled, but she didn’t fall in love with the fantasy elements.” I’ll just take the first half of that as a compliment.
Haha, I would take it as a compliment as well!
They always say they didn't fall in love with your story. That's just a nice way of saying REJECTION.
Don’t take any notice of these agents. This is standard chat by them. They reject everybody, I’ve come to the conclusion that these people are hired to stop peoples work coming onto the market. Just look what they did to JK Rowling. These idiots are still around in England. They’re still rejecting everything. Publish your work yourself. The agents often say that it’s ‘subjective’. which means they haven’t got a clue.
Everyone's writing is unique. I like that. Thanks Alyssa.
I watched crafting your query letter video (can't remember the title) and followed your advice. I just got a letter back from a literary agent who requested my full manuscript! Ahhh! Thank you for your tips!!!
Congratulations - that's so exciting! I'm so glad you found my tips helpful!
Even with the best query letters and supporting material, bottom line is that Each Agent has their own author or writer they are looking for.
I've been said: "I'm sorry that I didn't feel as though the character came to life as I had hoped they might" but also "this is some interesting writing, but you need a lot of work to get a more engaging opening".
Editing time again, I guess. The funny thing is that this second line was the entire rejection. Like, just one line, not even the greetings. Straight to the point.
Hmm. Currently polishing a novel for querying. All advice helps. Thanks
This video addressed so many questions I had at the start of my querying journey. Glad other aspiring writers have this resource now.
I'm glad the video was helpful!
Hi, great video. Submitted my children's book to a few agents and got two polite rejections back so far saying they liked it but not for them. Honestly, I was over the moon to receive them, as it means I'm on the next stage of the journey!
Publish the book yourself Joshua. Agents are not the people to help you. I’ve published five books in less than a year. Four children’s and one adult. My children’s books have five stories of two thousand words each + sixteen colour illustration. They cost £2000. Each book to publish. This is a lot of money but the feeling you get when you see your book being sold all over the world is priceless! I’ve now hired a expert market promoter at a reasonable cost. This hopefully will get me to my final destination of seeing my stories on the TV.
Wonderful! I wish you the best of luck as you continue querying!
I write non-fiction, but found this video very sharp and insightful. I tried to take a course in fiction-writing , but it was so terrible that I dropped out after a week. I got more from this video in five minutes than a week of that course.
Your advice is incredibly helpful. Thank you, Alyssa.
Yes thank you for that. Tricky territory indeed and you walked us through it, pointing out the potholes along the way. Valuable for anyone needing directions in a crowded street.
Received a rejection on a test query I sent simply to get a feel for what to expect. The response came roughly six weeks after the submission. It came as a form letter that stated the my story, as presented, was not what she was looking for at the present time. I've changed my approach and am preparing to submit a round of six. This time I'm using different sample pages containing more intense dialog that takes the reader directly into the tension that drives the story arc. Thank you for all of your excellent advice and wisdom.
Thanks for the kind comment! Best of luck with querying!
I'll be submitting two in the near future. This is helpful
Best of luck with querying!
Incredibly helpful video and great examples. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
According to some of the advice you discuss here, the opening pages of my current book would be a bit of a hard sell. *Spoiler alert* It depicts a violent death in a contemporary setting which is revealed to be part of a virtual reality simulation. The simulations happen in the "real world" of the novel, which is in the near future, where completely immersive VR is being developed. The character who dies at the beginning doesn't appear again until the end.
In my mind, it was just too good an opening and I was too invested in the structure to change it! I didn't have much success with agents, but I currently have the full manuscript with a couple of indie publishers. :)
That's a perfectly valid reason to keep an opening like yours! I'm really glad that your book is also finding its ground with some indie publishers too. It goes to show there are many, many paths to getting published, and so it never hurts to go beyond the traditional path. Thank you for sharing!
Querying is the toughest part. Five of my books went on query submission and only one of them got requests. None of them panned out. Working on my tenth book right now, second draft, and I’m just praying this, or one of the other new ones, hits an agent’s mark
It really is! I wish you the best of luck with your querying process!
Thank you@@AlyssaMatesic. I really appreciate that.
I'm just going to do self-publishing because agents seem to say "No" to almost everything these days. And that's fine, some of the best stories get looked over the first time.
I wish they would give us these one sentence explanations in their replies so we know what to work on. A form rejection is not helpful at all. The most comment “reply” I get is that it’s not for them or they don’t think they could sell it in today’s market. I worked on developing my story and practicing the craft for ten years to get rejected for things out of my control? 😩
Hi Sara, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I've been racking a ton of non-personalised rejections as well, it's frustrating. Cheers and all the best either way
Why does everyone seem to put so much value on the query letter?
Would an agent rather see a super high concept pitch with a great title? Or a more common pitch that's a proven money maker but also with a good title and intense opening pages?
I have a question. If the first ten pages of the novel is the prologue and the main story arc starts in the first chapter, should I still send the prologue or send the first ten pages from the first chapter?
What does it mean interesting didn’t fall in love with opening pages
You had such a cool job!
I have met published writers who were required to sell their books at malls, flea markets, etc. The authors had to pay for gas, food, and lodging. Unless you are with a top agency, this will be your fate.
Flea markets? I undertsand the idea that you might have to show up at a book store, but my god-a flea market? It doesn’t seem worth it.
@@brambledemon1232 I have seen authors at many places where people gather. Is it worth it? It depends on your motivation.
I am so glad I found your channel. I needed to research and get informed about the industry, but many novel/writing TH-camrs have an aggressive demeanour or squeaky scratchy voice that really put me off. Plus they keep ranting or pushing lgbtq/feminism onto the audience for some reason. While you have such a lovely voice, and relaxing face, and I love how you're friendly and connect with the audience all while being formal and not offensive/forcing ideologies onto people. Thank you Alyssa
One of my problems is that ive created such an alien world my inciting incident doesnt happen til much later than ten pages. Although there is much talk that eludes to why that incident happens, so maybe thats enough?
Most of the time...I was rejected
Because of ' I am staying in Dubai.'
Usually, I am querying to the agents who are staying in Europe and America.
May be, they feel its not right to place.
10 pages single-spaced or double-spaced?
A senior editor once told me, "If the word "had" is in the first sentence, move on." Sometimes it's the person's pet peeves.
Thanks so much for your insight and work you put into this video to help us :) I was wondering if you knew from your work in the industry if you sign with an agent for a single book with series potential and it didn’t do well enough for them to want to publish a sequel, could you self publish them later?
I was rejected because the agent didn't like my mix of magic and technology. They're very picky.
So having a book publisher write that he would publish a book by me based on my research is something not to be sneezed at? I thought I would have pay to get it published but according to him I would get paid!
So far I never got any clear message why they rejected my novels. Mostly the typical response, 'it not for me'. "can not see myself representing your story'. Thankfully you explained in one of your videos why so I know it's not my writing.
With my WIP YA fantasy novel, I hope this will get agents attention as many want YA novels. Of course I make sure it has beta readers and my editor will make sure it gets the best treatment it can get.
Hey Rowan, if you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in doing a query letter or even 10-page swap? I'm at the same stage as you, racked up a few rejections, none personalised. Just let me know if you're interested, thanks!
@@arnoldtanjunhan i will keep it in consideration. currently, my writing has been very slow as i need to take care of some person stuff.
I worry that while my story and writing is strong, my subject matter isn't mainstream enough. Am I better off submitting to indies?
if you have feel you are finished with your book do you have to get it professionaly efited before submitting a query? I feel like my editing process at home has mainly focused on refining the elements but the grammer is not impeccable. Would lack of proper grammer be reason to reject? Also you mentioned 10 pages for submission is that the standard?
Hi there - It is ultimately up to you to decide whether you want to work with an editor or not. I do have another video discussing the benefits of hiring an editor for your book before querying: th-cam.com/video/SyCCrCb5NH0/w-d-xo.html - I hope that helps!
@@AlyssaMatesic Thank you! 🙏 Very helpful 😀
I'm getting close to sending out a querying letter, maybe six month out. My target is young middle grade and even for this audience, my writing style is overly simplistic. By this I mean my sentence structure is similar to the point of being a distraction. I need to spice up my technique while still maintaining my voice.
Don’t bother to try and get an agent, you’ll be wasting your time. Save up your money and publish it yourself. This girl is talking a load of twaddle. She knows full well that most people wouldn’t stand a chance, no matter how good your story is. It will cost you about £1000, to get your book published. Then just hire a market expert to promote it for you.
@@alandavies3727 Hi Alan, I have a little experience being in a band. The issues musicians face are very similar to those by authors. You can almost swap out word for word "how to make it in music" with "how to make it as a author." So I'm sincere but I also know not everyone is out to help me. I'll play the game too to get a little free advice or a leg up. We all know the tell: "I have a course for $500.00 that will show you a insider's perspective on...."
If your writing feels repetitive and simplistic try learning how to “show don’t tell”.
@@Ruwen.S Thanks.
how are you gonna get to the inciting incident of the book in 5-10 double spaced pages? lol
I think the inciting incident is the catalyst that gets the story moving e.g. inheriting a spooky old house, going on a holiday with an ex, etc.
You should always be starting with the inciting incident! And naturally blend character and situation details into it as it goes along.
Hi Alyssa, what does it mean when an agent says they “have no doubt that they think you will find a home for your book” do you think that’s a generic kind of form or do they actually mean it?
Also when they give a short personalisation like “ I liked your main characters voice” does that mean the query is in good shape and was good enough to draw them in to read the pages?
Thank you!
Nicole, even a short personalisation sounds like a great thing! I've racked up about ten rejections, all non-personalised, in my querying thus far. If you're doing sci-fi/fantasy YA, would you be interested in a query letter / 10-page swap?
Either way, all the best!
Hi Alyssa! An agent asked for my full MS a couple weeks ago and I sent her the version that's a bit more politically toned down. I'm having a change of heart now and want to send her the version that's more political. Is it wise to contact her and do that?
♥️
No one knows what will sell. No one. It’s all guess work. You mention Harry Potter but it was rejected 11 times. Dune was rejected 23 times. Those two novels are the most influential fantasy/sci fi novels of the last century. I just read an article where they listed a dozen best-selling novels that were rejected 50-100 times. Agents have no idea what will work, full stop, because no one does.
I agree 100% with what you say. Agents are a waste of time, and a lot of them are very rude. It’s far better to save up your money and publish you books yourself. Then get a marketing company to promote your book. These agencies will soon close down. Thank goodness! People have got false hope believing that one day they will get an agent and then become very rich. It won’t happen. Just enjoy your writing and see how far you can get with your own endeavours.
I had a few see the full manuscript but say no can you tell me where I went wrong
Hey Azia, if you're doing YA sci-fi or fantasy like me, would you like to do a query letter/10-page swap? Cheers
@@arnoldtanjunhan i would
Hey I’m wondering how I’m supposed to find the time to write a whole manuscript before submitting it to an agent. This stuff takes so much time to do.
Me, too. I'm 13 years into my current WIP. My previous novel took 11 years. Some of us have real-life responsibilities. Keep on Truckin' Friend!
@@cjpreach That’s a heartbreaking truth. I don’t think it’s possible for an aspiring author to go all in without first being in a position where making money is optional. I personally don’t want to write on the side but that’s how it be I guess.
Edit: Congrats on finishing despite the real life responsibilities. They can slow us down so much, it’s fantastic you had the dedication to see it through.
@@TheBobby2legs Thank you for your kind words.
The Godfather stakes are established on page 67.
These agents haven’t got a clue of what will be a success or not. They turn everybody down. It’s almost a waste of time sending anything to these people. Best thing to do is publish your work yourself. Then get a PR professional team to market your work. The PR team will cost about £100. Per month. These people are better than agents, and you don’t have to pay them any commission. Don’t put up with these agents anymore.
How many books have you writing Alyssa? My guess is none. I really don’t know how anybody can give advice when they have never written a book themselves?