Auto-Reply

Today's post will be simple because I need the time to work on my guest post for Justine's blog that she will be putting up tomorrow. It will be just another query and what passed for a rejection. No time for much commentary.

May 14th, 2009

Dear REDACTED,

I am writing to you seeking representation for my young adult novel, which has the working title WARRIOR-MONKS and is complete. Warrior-Monks is intended for young adult readers ages 13-17, who are buying books in droves these days, but I am certain that once you read the manuscript you will find that it is also mature enough and compelling enough to enthrall even the most discerning adult reader. I am including a sample of the introduction/prologue chapter because that is what your website suggests.

The book is about a young man named Lee, who is from a broken family and who eventually ends up being sent to a unique reform school in Northern Idaho after he is expelled from a normal boarding school and kicked out of his aunt and uncle's home. He is very worried about what will go on at this school but eventually discovers that he enjoys the curriculum. They teach him things like Aikido, Meditation and Calligraphy and take him and several other students camping and backpacking in the mountains in Montana as he grows and puts his self-conscious and shy tendencies behind him. It is an introspective and character driven novel in which the plot is not necessarily the focus but still has enough interesting occurrences to move the tale along as the reader comes to know and love the characters.

I have never been published but I am confident that many authors like Christopher Paolini and Brunonia Barry have proved that you do not have to be a highly experienced or best-selling author to write an incredibly entertaining book.

Please feel free to reply to this email, or to call me on my mobile phone at any time at 206-555-1212, or even to write to me at home at:

ADDRESS

Thank you for your consideration of this proposal. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Matthew M. Rush

FIRST FIVE PAGES

Her Reply:

Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I am unable to respond to all queries that I receive. Therefore, my policy is that I will respond within six weeks, only if interested. In the meantime, thanks again for offering me the opportunity to consider your work.

I don't remember for sure, but I think I received this response right away, like an auto-reply. I never heard from her again.

Not surprising. This query IS better than some of the earlier ones but certainly still is not good enough. As you can see I left the word count out. This is not wise. Yes it might mean that I don't get quickly rejected by an agent's assistant after reading only the first sentence but it does not mean I will get offered representation. An agent is still going to eventually read your entire MS before offering to represent you. It's disingenuous and tricky to leave the word count out.

I guess I thought it was a good idea at the time because I was getting so much rejection (and because of that one angry response; see: First the Worst). It wasn't.