Getting a Nice Rejection for a Romance

:emember those two agents I mentioned in my last blog?  Not only did I get a nice personal acknowledgment from one when she received my query, she read my submittal and replied back on the very next business day.  What a classy lady!

Unfortunately, her ultimate decision regarding my western historical romance wasn’t the one I was hoping for, but the rest of her letter was so kind and complimentary, I almost didn’t mind.  Hers was the nicest rejection letter I have ever seen.  Believe it or not, in this business, there is such a thing as a “good” rejection, and hers was one of the best.

You see, when a writer is starting out and just beginning to learn their craft, the first few rejection letters are likely to be brief form letters.  Later, the writer might start getting rejection letters which are slightly personalized in some way – a sign that the writing has improved.  Still later, the rejection letter might have suggestions for improving the story or indicate the agent/editor nearly accepted it.  This is the next milestone on a writer’s path to becoming a published author – a “good” rejection.

I thought I would share the body of the letter with you, so you can see what I mean:

Isn’t this a nice letter?  Best of all is the line near the end, where the agent stated she would be happy to look at other stories I write.  I will continue to submit to other agents, but if I don’t have an agent by the time I get a portion of my next story written, I will definitely take her up on that offer.  Who wouldn’t want to work with a person who is not only highly-skilled, but also down right nice?

I’d love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on the query process and “good” rejection letters.

- Karen