Love this. Brilliant! I'm an author. I've been rejected many times. :-D It's fascinating to see how an agent deals with the thousands of submissions. A glimpse behind the scenes... not at all offensive. More please! Honesty is valuable.
We found this to be incredibly useful and quite fascinating. Ultimately the reasons for rejection are ones we are already familiar with, but the thought process behind the rejection gave us useful insight toward tightening up our queries and our manuscripts. We would be very interested in seeing a lot more of these videos.
Ouch! Scary but essential viewing for the aspiring writer. I learned a lot from this, but as others have said, maybe a short one on how a YES gets handled, please.
This video is very useful. It allowed me to see the red flags that could cause my MS to get rejected based on the query. Knowing that will help me long term. Thanks very much!
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. The glimpse of the "other side" is wonderful. Also, I appreciated how respectful you were of the authors and their submissions. Thank you.
i would like to see more of those! But maybe don't predetermine if the following manuxcripts will be in a rejected or accepted video, make it be unpredictable
Thank you for taking the time and for your honesty. I thought my novel was ready, I thought I was ready, clearly not. I am a professional, that bits covered, however my cover letter and synopsis are not good enough. I now feel my novel-novel (80,000 words thereabouts) is currently 6/10, over the next few months this will improve.
This was perfect. Agents should know that behind the scenes most authors feel (quite strongly) that we prefer a quick "no" to "no response" or as Piers says "a long drawn-out no." We expect a literary professional to know what they want quite quickly. And weirdly--I agreed with the reasons he rejected! I think I would have done the same. Of particular value to serious writers who are being rejected is his comment re: the author is too inside the story. I get that. Cheers.
This is very awesome. I have appreciated seeing what this process looks like "in person" and I completely love his honestly. I wish there was more of this!!❤
Brilliant! What a great social service to show what happens behind the scenes, demystifying the process and demonstrating gently the methodical nature of what you do. Thank you very much - and well done for being brave enough to do this!
Well presented and simply shot videos that really do stand out. I had been doing an afternoon's surfing to educate myself about self-publishing (and whether to do it or not), when I stumbled on your site. I admire the risk that you took in this one, which demonstrates that you are doing more than merely selling your own services, but actually attempting to educate (and entertain) your viewers. I do a similar thing as a solicitor and it is reassuring to see that youtube works. Cheers
I like the fact that you're giving us an inside perspective. Being inundated with all the free ebooks that keep showing up by indie authors (for free I might add), I can understand why agents can't sit and read through every manuscript they receive. You have the additional knowledge of what you think has the possibility of selling. Thanks for the inside look.
This was fantastic. I think anyone serious about writing already knows--or will come to know, or will bail out before they give themselves a chance to learn--that this is how agents and publishers go about their work. It's nothing personal; it's just an expert looking at a query and asking himself "Does the author know how to write an engaging letter? Does this sound like a story I want to represent? Does it sound like something I could sell?" etc. Writing is hard, getting published isn't easy, competition is fierce... but no writer is forced into it. I think this video is particularly useful for my friends, who know I'm a writer but who don't quite get what the business is all about. Kudos!!
Painful but useful to see. I notice the video is quite a few years old and all I'd say is that there is plenty of advice online (much of it free) on how to structure a good covering query letter (maybe there wasn't so much back in 2014?).
Would have been great if he showed us what a "yes" looks like. People viewing this will still be in the dark as it seems his range on knows are arbitrary and unpredictable.
A lot of people have been asking Piers to tell us what makes a good manuscript. I have made some quick points that I gathered from this video which could help. Here's some quick pointers. - Display you are in control of your story. (That you understand where it will interest and hook an audience.) - Make sure you talk about your story, not yourself. - Make it quick and easy to read. The rest is pretty subjective. The first rejection is a personal reaction. While that story might not hook him, it could hook someone else. Ultimately it doesn't and if you're not interested in the project, why would you dedicate yourself to it? The one with the guy on the cell floor sounds like a personal reaction as well. (And by "personal" I don't mean that he hates the author, I mean that the reaction is one that can be attributed to Pier's personal taste and opinion, rather than the taste and opinion of a larger audience.)
That was really great to watch! Thanks a lot Piers, you gave me a good laught with 'It's not Blofled it's Blofeld'. :))) Thanks for all the advice in your videos. Best of luck to you.
This was great. A lot of people take rejection too personally. This is a business. You have to sell your product well to the agent if you want them to take your proposal seriously.
Well said. Rejection isn't personal, how can it be? It's a mistake to get too close with a story that might very well only ever matter to you. Then rejection becomes an owie, when it should just be a moment to move on...or something like that.
Very cool video. I'll be sharing it. In one way it stings a bit to hear how quickly years-decades worth of work is dismissed, but its not unlike the atmosphere of the buyer at the book store. I look at title, then cover then I read the jacket and if all three sound good I "might" buy the book "if" I am in the mood. I find ways to quickly reject information as well and that is just about protecting my attention. Thanks for making this video. Would love to watch more. If you do this pretty much every time, you'll probably get tons of writers subbing to you just to hear what you think about their query on TH-cam!
This was very interesting and helpful for writers. This is something Creative Writing programs should add to their curriculum, so we can learn how to write and promote our work better! Very well done and I wish you did one of my letters on this video for I am hurting for some feedback! :)
That was great! That's your process obviously, but I hear some people ( agents/editors) go straight to the manuscripts. It's a good wake up call for us. We basically have 30 seconds or so to grab somebody's attention. This is especially tough for novelists who spent months if not years writing their book. Luckily I don't write novels. You are brave for sharing what goes behind the scenes, thank you for that.
You've told us why you do not accept manuscripts, in part, due to badly written cover letters and unsolicited manuscripts. Please let us know when you would accept a manuscript. Thanks. Kharis Macey
This is very helpful because the query letter is daunting and so easy to get wrong. I do wonder though about the novels you accept, and presumably you don't accept a novel on the basis of a query letter alone so I'd love to hear tales of novels that were so exciting you had to represent tham. But even more interesting would be those with really good query letters, exceiting synopses which you DO read and then still reject because of issues with the book.
As a first time novelist (book writer/crazy person) I appreciate the insight. I get the need to cut the pile down to a manageable size. I remember from my human resource days, looking through hundreds of resumes and using almost any excuse to reduce the pile including the font because it was hard on the eyes. How about a video on what it takes to craft a submission that would grab your attention and get you to invest those 10 hours. Or at least get you to read further?
This reminds me of editing, particular technical/scientific writing. Need a reason not to cut. In this video you rejected all unsolicited submissions. How often do you accept one? I agree with what others have said. I would enjoy a short video explaining your thought process in accepting a submission. Thanks for the video and I hope you post more.
47,500 words is most definitely a novel. Is The Great Gatsby not a novel? Child of God, by McCarthy is 32k. Sold and bought as a novel... Wide Sargasso Sea, Offshore, Hitchhikers guide, shall i go on???
A request along the lines of what RandomJacks said: Would you be willing to read some letters that *did* catch your attention? And tell us what grabbed you, please? (This is how it always goes: do something that helps a few people and everybody piles on, wanting more--sorry!)
I found this very informative and entertaining and it confirms my beliefs about agents. I suppose books about James bond or white cats will not go down well.
I am curious - as someone whom has been rejected several times so far - are these queries rejected exactly like this? Just by reading the query the manuscript is rejected without looking at the work? If so it further highlights the importance of the covering letter.
Interesting! I appreciate the frame for this piece. You are endeavoring to give writers a glimpse into the process of tackling the slush pile and suggesting means for avoiding rejection of their work. No small feat and thank u for this, Feedback: 1. You use some standard shut off lines eg. "wearing the story". In workshops/conferences and as part of our own appeal as writers' we learn to write what we know and imagine deeply (fiction). We get very very, in fact ,extremely close to the story so as to replicate reality in a truly meaningful way. -Good selling point if you are using this method for engaging on larger issues/themes concerning the many. I saw more in the piece that you discarded but I am not an agent. :) The problem here is the inconsistency between what is taught, encouraged and expressed on the creative side and what is accepted on the agent side. 2. If you are having a bad day and a spelling error in your name is cause for rejection, you should take some pause as this would be more about mood than good lit. OK ? We all have those days ,though, and I have had to go back and redo for that reason as well. I do think your effort is sincere and brave. The fact that you are looking for feedback assumes that you are also wanting to take the whole agent process to the next level as well as show what you do now. I would ask that you also include a couple of letters that are not in the rejection pile, however this may entail a slight title change to your vid. My last question , in the interests of connecting processes and people for great(large definition) books... is would you accept a video clip along with a query letter from writers? You could set the time frame, teach the process, and request also a short query letter. This would enable you to see quickly while also allowing more to be shown. The visual sense is quite strong as a receptor to the brain. We would want to keep the letter also, of course. 3. Do you ever star/mark a piece for further reflection? I saw hesitation in a couple of your decisions and I noticed you seemed to be searching for the critique component on one or two. Would this just slow you down or make for a better system? - a bit of intuition gaining hold to balance the need for the measure of cynicism that must overtake you, at times. The level of rejection for work is, understandably, far higher than acceptance given the cm height of the pile vs the number you can pragmatically choose to promote. I will not go on further at the risk of adding too many words to the comment pile for a puddle or pond that adds to the slush. Thank you for the work that you do towards bringing books LIVE. I see you have quite the book collection on your shelves.
I haven't braved it yet to send in a query letter yet but this so interesting and entertaining made me smile on a wet dreary day in Lockdown World Nanny K seesingsay
Piers is my agent, and he's a decent and unassuming guy. If you follow his advice regarding submission letters etc, you will get looked at properly. Onward, ever onward, Kate!
This video demonstrates an agent/publisher’s expeditious approach to the slush pile. Left with insight, I’m also left giggling. Most every agent/publisher demands to be solicited exclusively. A writer is lucky to receive a reply after six months evaporates and its valuable time is lost. If this represents slush pile standards, no need exists for soliciting to one slush pile at a time. Demand some mutual respect, writers! Distribute as many solicitations as possible, all at once. Beyond the quality of your work, time is of the essence - as this video shows. Claim your own.
Piers, you are such a character.......I found this both entertaining and informative (kinda like a Simon Cowell or Piers Morgan). I get why though (ultimately, you are in business, not there for sentimentality. At the end of the day ,commercial viability is critical .... authors can't just be mere writers...... you have to be an Authorprenuer
I want this man to be my agent. He is blunt, honest, and to the point.
Piers is my agent, and he's brilliant. Keep going.
Love this. Brilliant! I'm an author. I've been rejected many times. :-D It's fascinating to see how an agent deals with the thousands of submissions. A glimpse behind the scenes... not at all offensive. More please! Honesty is valuable.
We found this to be incredibly useful and quite fascinating. Ultimately the reasons for rejection are ones we are already familiar with, but the thought process behind the rejection gave us useful insight toward tightening up our queries and our manuscripts. We would be very interested in seeing a lot more of these videos.
This was unintentionally funny. Helpful. But there was something humorous about it. More like this please.
Thank you Piers. This was really enlightening.
This is so kind of Mr. Blofeld to offer.
Really great. Still relevant today, of course.
This is brilliant, made me laugh out loud! In fact I love it so much I'm sending you my submission :D
Good man. You have given me new hope.
thank you. Great clip, really on the money.
I like how you’re direct and give an answer quickly.
Ouch!
Scary but essential viewing for the aspiring writer. I learned a lot from this, but as others have said, maybe a short one on how a YES gets handled, please.
This video is very useful. It allowed me to see the red flags that could cause my MS to get rejected based on the query. Knowing that will help me long term. Thanks very much!
Thank you for doing this. Really useful!
This is fantastic, a fly on the wall view of a literary agent working his way through the slush pile. A must see for any aspiring author.
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. The glimpse of the "other side" is wonderful. Also, I appreciated how respectful you were of the authors and their submissions. Thank you.
i would like to see more of those! But maybe don't predetermine if the following manuxcripts will be in a rejected or accepted video, make it be unpredictable
Thank you for the honesty and sharing the information.
Thank you for taking the time and for your honesty. I thought my novel was ready, I thought I was ready, clearly not. I am a professional, that bits covered, however my cover letter and synopsis are not good enough. I now feel my novel-novel (80,000 words thereabouts) is currently 6/10, over the next few months this will improve.
Great to learn about your process Piers!
I love the honesty and directness of this. I would have liked to have seen an unexpected 'yes' at the end though.
Hilarious - I love it. This guy is a a natural comedian.
This was perfect. Agents should know that behind the scenes most authors feel (quite strongly) that we prefer a quick "no" to "no response" or as Piers says "a long drawn-out no." We expect a literary professional to know what they want quite quickly. And weirdly--I agreed with the reasons he rejected! I think I would have done the same. Of particular value to serious writers who are being rejected is his comment re: the author is too inside the story. I get that. Cheers.
Very cool. I appreciated it, and would love to see more videos about this. It would also be helpful to see what an accepted manuscript looks like.
Much respect to you you for this video.
This is very awesome. I have appreciated seeing what this process looks like "in person" and I completely love his honestly. I wish there was more of this!!❤
This video is helpful, straightforward, informative, and kind. Thank you for taking the time to create it and post it.
Very informative video, thank you
Brilliant, informative, funny video!
Thank you, Mr. Blofeld, for posting this. It's quite eye-opening.
Brilliant! What a great social service to show what happens behind the scenes, demystifying the process and demonstrating gently the methodical nature of what you do. Thank you very much - and well done for being brave enough to do this!
This is so helpful and entertaining, please do more of these
Well presented and simply shot videos that really do stand out.
I had been doing an afternoon's surfing to educate myself about self-publishing (and whether to do it or not), when I stumbled on your site.
I admire the risk that you took in this one, which demonstrates that you are doing more than merely selling your own services, but actually attempting to educate (and entertain) your viewers.
I do a similar thing as a solicitor and it is reassuring to see that youtube works.
Cheers
I like the fact that you're giving us an inside perspective. Being inundated with all the free ebooks that keep showing up by indie authors (for free I might add), I can understand why agents can't sit and read through every manuscript they receive. You have the additional knowledge of what you think has the possibility of selling. Thanks for the inside look.
Very interesting ... thank you for posting!
This was fantastic. I think anyone serious about writing already knows--or will come to know, or will bail out before they give themselves a chance to learn--that this is how agents and publishers go about their work. It's nothing personal; it's just an expert looking at a query and asking himself "Does the author know how to write an engaging letter? Does this sound like a story I want to represent? Does it sound like something I could sell?" etc. Writing is hard, getting published isn't easy, competition is fierce... but no writer is forced into it. I think this video is particularly useful for my friends, who know I'm a writer but who don't quite get what the business is all about. Kudos!!
Painful but useful to see. I notice the video is quite a few years old and all I'd say is that there is plenty of advice online (much of it free) on how to structure a good covering query letter (maybe there wasn't so much back in 2014?).
Very insightful video. Loved it.
Would have been great if he showed us what a "yes" looks like. People viewing this will still be in the dark as it seems his range on knows are arbitrary and unpredictable.
That was great! Thanks for letting us see you at work. Please do more.
Please do the same for letters you consider engaging!
A lot of people have been asking Piers to tell us what makes a good manuscript. I have made some quick points that I gathered from this video which could help.
Here's some quick pointers.
- Display you are in control of your story. (That you understand where it will interest and hook an audience.)
- Make sure you talk about your story, not yourself.
- Make it quick and easy to read.
The rest is pretty subjective. The first rejection is a personal reaction. While that story might not hook him, it could hook someone else. Ultimately it doesn't and if you're not interested in the project, why would you dedicate yourself to it? The one with the guy on the cell floor sounds like a personal reaction as well. (And by "personal" I don't mean that he hates the author, I mean that the reaction is one that can be attributed to Pier's personal taste and opinion, rather than the taste and opinion of a larger audience.)
Very useful, thank you. Love to see some more.
That was really great to watch! Thanks a lot Piers, you gave me a good laught with 'It's not Blofled it's Blofeld'. :))) Thanks for all the advice in your videos. Best of luck to you.
This was great. A lot of people take rejection too personally. This is a business. You have to sell your product well to the agent if you want them to take your proposal seriously.
Well said. Rejection isn't personal, how can it be? It's a mistake to get too close with a story that might very well only ever matter to you. Then rejection becomes an owie, when it should just be a moment to move on...or something like that.
Very cool video. I'll be sharing it. In one way it stings a bit to hear how quickly years-decades worth of work is dismissed, but its not unlike the atmosphere of the buyer at the book store. I look at title, then cover then I read the jacket and if all three sound good I "might" buy the book "if" I am in the mood. I find ways to quickly reject information as well and that is just about protecting my attention. Thanks for making this video. Would love to watch more. If you do this pretty much every time, you'll probably get tons of writers subbing to you just to hear what you think about their query on TH-cam!
can you show us some of the types of letters that interest you ? ones you may say yes to?
Really helpful. Honest and direct. Many thanks
This was an awesome video. Very fresh. More! More!
Do more of these please. Honesty, especially the sort intended to educate and help, is a vital thing.
VERY HELPFUL...THANK YOU.
I would buy a novel about a rock musician love story...
This was very helpful. Thank you
Honest and helpful, well done!
Perfect. I get it. But I wonder how often you find a "yes." Will stay tuned.
I love your comedy stylings! You, Piers, should do standup at writer herding conventions before the slaughter house.
This was very interesting and helpful for writers. This is something Creative Writing programs should add to their curriculum, so we can learn how to write and promote our work better! Very well done and I wish you did one of my letters on this video for I am hurting for some feedback! :)
Informative. Thanks.
Really really helpful. Thanks Mr Blofeld.
So good! You have helped me immensely!
That was great! That's your process obviously, but I hear some people ( agents/editors) go straight to the manuscripts. It's a good wake up call for us. We basically have 30 seconds or so to grab somebody's attention. This is especially tough for novelists who spent months if not years writing their book. Luckily I don't write novels. You are brave for sharing what goes behind the scenes, thank you for that.
Great video. This should be a teaching tool for the majority of would-be / wanna-be / up-and-coming writers. Well done!
Why has no one mentioned you are Hugh grants twin?
You've told us why you do not accept manuscripts, in part, due to badly written cover letters and unsolicited manuscripts. Please let us know when you would accept a manuscript. Thanks. Kharis Macey
Really useful, thank you.
MORE!!
Loved this. Four minutes of apologies. Genuinely useful though.
Hello. Very interesting videos. One question, please. How many words a thriller should have? Thanks un advance!
This is very helpful because the query letter is daunting and so easy to get wrong. I do wonder though about the novels you accept, and presumably you don't accept a novel on the basis of a query letter alone so I'd love to hear tales of novels that were so exciting you had to represent tham. But even more interesting would be those with really good query letters, exceiting synopses which you DO read and then still reject because of issues with the book.
As a first time novelist (book writer/crazy person) I appreciate the insight. I get the need to cut the pile down to a manageable size. I remember from my human resource days, looking through hundreds of resumes and using almost any excuse to reduce the pile including the font because it was hard on the eyes. How about a video on what it takes to craft a submission that would grab your attention and get you to invest those 10 hours. Or at least get you to read further?
This reminds me of editing, particular technical/scientific writing. Need a reason not to cut. In this video you rejected all unsolicited submissions. How often do you accept one? I agree with what others have said. I would enjoy a short video explaining your thought process in accepting a submission.
Thanks for the video and I hope you post more.
This was helpful! Hope to see more!
This is great insight. Thank you sir for your time in sharing. More please periodically - like every week :D
Very thoughtful, actually
this is great!
I need some contrast: Can you show 'the ones that got through' version?
I'm doing a workshop on what it's like to be a literary agent and I'd really love to pick your brain!
This was helpful! Thanks!
Please keep doing this.
Very interesting indeed.
Thank you!
This was useful, thanks.
Total common sense, but even if you get everything right you will probably sink under the mass of submissions or be rejected by an intern.
Honesty is best response. Sort of thing I do.
47,500 words is most definitely a novel. Is The Great Gatsby not a novel? Child of God, by McCarthy is 32k. Sold and bought as a novel... Wide Sargasso Sea, Offshore, Hitchhikers guide, shall i go on???
If you are Fitzgerald or McCarthy or Hemmingway, hell yes! Otherwise, hell no!
This cracks me up!
I agree with all of those rejections.
I write quite a bit and none of those ideas really stood out.
I think the one about the NHS not being fit for purpose definitely "stands out". But Piers said he would struggle to sell it.
Brutal but funny!
Ps. I checked the spelling!
A request along the lines of what RandomJacks said: Would you be willing to read some letters that *did* catch your attention? And tell us what grabbed you, please? (This is how it always goes: do something that helps a few people and everybody piles on, wanting more--sorry!)
You weren't clear on what you said for the first book
I found this very informative and entertaining and it confirms my beliefs about agents. I suppose books about James bond or white cats will not go down well.
I am curious - as someone whom has been rejected several times so far - are these queries rejected exactly like this? Just by reading the query the manuscript is rejected without looking at the work? If so it further highlights the importance of the covering letter.
Of course. They don't have the time to read every manuscript. That's why the query system is there.
Interesting! I appreciate the frame for this piece. You are endeavoring to give writers a glimpse into the process of tackling the slush pile and suggesting means for avoiding rejection of their work. No small feat and thank u for this,
Feedback: 1. You use some standard shut off lines eg. "wearing the story". In workshops/conferences and as part of our own appeal as writers' we learn to write what we know and imagine deeply (fiction). We get very very, in fact ,extremely close to the story so as to replicate reality in a truly meaningful way. -Good selling point if you are using this method for engaging on larger issues/themes concerning the many. I saw more in the piece that you discarded but I am not an agent. :) The problem here is the inconsistency between what is taught, encouraged and expressed on the creative side and what is accepted on the agent side.
2. If you are having a bad day and a spelling error in your name is cause for rejection, you should take some pause as this would be more about mood than good lit. OK ? We all have those days ,though, and I have had to go back and redo for that reason as well.
I do think your effort is sincere and brave. The fact that you are looking for feedback assumes that you are also wanting to take the whole agent process to the next level as well as show what you do now. I would ask that you also include a couple of letters that are not in the rejection pile, however this may entail a slight title change to your vid.
My last question , in the interests of connecting processes and people for great(large definition) books... is would you accept a video clip along with a query letter from writers? You could set the time frame, teach the process, and request also a short query letter. This would enable you to see quickly while also allowing more to be shown. The visual sense is quite strong as a receptor to the brain. We would want to keep the letter also, of course.
3. Do you ever star/mark a piece for further reflection? I saw hesitation in a couple of your decisions and I noticed you seemed to be searching for the critique component on one or two. Would this just slow you down or make for a better system? - a bit of intuition gaining hold to balance the need for the measure of cynicism that must overtake you, at times. The level of rejection for work is, understandably, far higher than acceptance given the cm height of the pile vs the number you can pragmatically choose to promote. I will not go on further at the risk of adding too many words to the comment pile for a puddle or pond that adds to the slush. Thank you for the work that you do towards bringing books LIVE. I see you have quite the book collection on your shelves.
I haven't braved it yet to send in a query letter yet but this so interesting and entertaining made me smile on a wet dreary day in Lockdown World Nanny K seesingsay
Piers is my agent, and he's a decent and unassuming guy. If you follow his advice regarding submission letters etc, you will get looked at properly. Onward, ever onward, Kate!
@@HaveMonkeyWillDance thank you I will look into doing this next year for sure
Piers, if your name's 'BloFLED' then why does it say 'BloFELD' in the name description? You failed the audition, Piers. I don;t want you as an agent.
@Michael Myke Is is Blofled or Blofeld?
This video demonstrates an agent/publisher’s expeditious approach to the slush pile. Left with insight, I’m also left giggling. Most every agent/publisher demands to be solicited exclusively. A writer is lucky to receive a reply after six months evaporates and its valuable time is lost. If this represents slush pile standards, no need exists for soliciting to one slush pile at a time. Demand some mutual respect, writers! Distribute as many solicitations as possible, all at once. Beyond the quality of your work, time is of the essence - as this video shows. Claim your own.
Most agents don't require exclusivity at the slush pile stage
Brutal
Piers, you are such a character.......I found this both entertaining and informative (kinda like a Simon Cowell or Piers Morgan). I get why though (ultimately, you are in business, not there for sentimentality. At the end of the day ,commercial viability is critical .... authors can't just be mere writers...... you have to be an Authorprenuer
3:15 Triggered. Douglas Adams would like to have a word with you.
Cutthroat process, but honest I suppose.