It's out of the way. I'm no longer a Query virgin. I have finally received my first agent rejection.
Yay!
Here's the whole response in its entirety. To read the other two dozen from fellow writers, one must go to misssnarksfirstvictim.com.
Secret Agent:
"I'm not hooked on this one, although the writing is good.
My major problem is that in the first 250 words of the novel, all you've given me is exposition. I don't have a character to identify, nor very much of a setting---at least, an intriguing setting.
And to top it all off, you start with what has to be one of the most anticlimactic first line ever. Just as note, A MURDER OF CROWS is a very similar title to George R. R. MArtin's novel, A FEAST FOR CROWS, and that threw me too."
(Okay, as an aside, the woman must not know, 1) the proper terminology for a grouping of crows or, 2) what irony looks like. And who is George R. R. Martin, anyway? Never mind, I'll look him up. But I really don't see the necessity of mentioning the working title in a critique. What writer gets to actually USE the title they come to the agent/publisher with anyway? It's always changed!
So ... it wasn't all that bad. Considering the agent said she was looking for "Epic Fantasy," yet chose the YA ice skater bit instead, I get the feeling she wasn't the agent for me anyway. YA and ice skating?!? Blech!
Strange thing is, even after tweaking the opening 250 words to include more "action" than previously written, I am STILL getting the rave reviews over writing style, but no bites on the story itself. Even the agent said the writing was "good." No suggestions or critiques on that part; just like on flogging the quill. Hmmm....pretty blatant clue, if you ask me, Quincey. I need to rewrite.
After all this, it sounds like I should be running around tearing my hair out and gulping Ben & Jerry's between crying jags, right? Wrong. Once I got over the fact that I wasn't really THAT much in love with the opening scene (which IS all exposition, I freely admit), the idea of redoing it was actually kind of appealing
That, and I'm addicted to writing. Nuff said 'bout THAT! *snarf*
So, here I am, in the middle of Chapter 20 of Book II, and I'm about to rewrite the opening scene of Book I. Just goes to show that creating is not all it's cracked up to be. Is that why I can believe in Creationism AND a wee bit of evolution at the same time? Who said God may not have wanted a rewrite on some things?? LOL!
Best of all, I've gotten my first rejection over and done with. I can get on with gettin' on. God knows there's going to be plenty more where that came from! Eek!
Okay, yeah, I'm commenting on my own blog. Get over it.
ReplyDeleteHave to eat some crow on the George R.R. Marin snark I left. (ha ha) I actually have his "Game of Thrones" on my bookshelf and have been wondering when the sequel was going to come out.
Still don't see why the Secret Agent felt it necessary to mention the title in reference to my own, though. I've had much closer combinations sitting side by side on my shelves before! *shrug*
Well done on getting your first rejection! Means you had the guts to try and thats more then a lot of us! As for the title being close to another title...aren't there a billion books with only one or two words different?
ReplyDeleteOkay, since I've already (sorta) told you about my first post, I'll just make the comment that I've got 3 books, all by different authors, with exactly the SAME title. "By the Sword", so who cares if it's a SIMILAR title?
ReplyDeleteT.
Thanks, guys and gals! I agree completely, which is why I thought it was so ignorant for the Secret Agent to even waste time mentioning it. I mean, she had 50 of these things to slog through! I was only #16, so I guess she was still a little fresh, but jeeze! Save effort for the important stuff!
ReplyDeleteJust goes to show that even snaring an agent doesn't mean you might not want to throw him or her back after you've gotten them in the boat. (^_-)