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Friday, June 29, 2007

Melanie Jackson, Out of Reach


I don't know what got into me. Querying Melanie Jackson was like applying to Harvard when you know you're going to end up at Oberlin. But I let some friend (whose friend was an MJ client) convince me to give it a shot. What the heck; I had her email address; I had my query with bold subject line announcing a recent literary honor. I was actually pleasantly surprised that she bothered to write back: "Thanks but I'm not taking on any new clients at present. best of luck finding the right agent" I think that's polite agent-speak for You are way out of your league, little writer.

6 comments:

BlondebutBright said...

You just gave away your gender for the first time! Or maybe you're fooling us - I never know.

Writer, Rejected said...

I think of myself as third-gendered. (Just kidding). I didn't mean to spoil it for you, bbb, but I think that some of the rejection letters refer to me using third-person pronouns. I didn't think it was much of a secret, but I'll re-post so that I can maintain my mystery and allure.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm.... I have a box full of rejections. They all are worded differently, yet ultimately say the same thing: NO.

Editors and agents are inundated with queries. As a writer, ditch the rejection and move on.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^^^
Sorry. I should have said "had a box full of rejections years ago."

Writer, Rejected said...

Good advice, my friend. That is precisely what I am trying to do. (It takes some people longer than others.)

Franzine Kafka said...

i'd love to hear more about your querying process.