Thursday, February 25, 2010

Is It A Rejection Or A Long Pause

So much detail, so much to ponder.

I haven't been submitting much through WEbook.com because I am running out of agents there to query. The letter or the hook aren't doing the job and I have to keep revising, which takes time, which I don't seem to have much of these days.

Not having a supportive family, the writing has to be done when no one is around to ask me what I'm doing and since I'm not busy can I run to the hardware store or find the drill bit or any other task that disrupts the flow of words.

I do sometimes check the status of the unopened submissions, though. If you want to find out how long it takes a literary agent to get to the cold calls, WEbook.com is the place to follow along at home.

Following all the rules and regulations, I put together a package for a few agents who are seeking historical fiction but only want a query letter. No manuscript samples, no five pages or three chapters.

What does it mean, then, if a literary agent opens the WEbook submission and reads the hook and then goes to the manuscript sample page that only lists the word count as per the WEbook submission rules?

To be more specific, what does it mean if this agent reads the hook and then does nothing? For two weeks and counting?

Is it a rejection? Is it a variation on the "no reply means no" theme?

Do I tally the submission as yet another rejection and move on, to maybe query the agent again next year if I have another manuscript finished?

Is it a case of the agent putting something aside because it's a maybe if time opens up or some editor at a publishing house happens to mention a need for some historical fiction that doesn't deal directly with the famous folks but with those who might have been around them?

No answers to be found in the tea leaves.

Better to pack up a pen and some paper and wander over to the public library where I can write in peace, without interruptions.

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