# of queries read this week: 148
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0 *
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: n/a

* That is to say, no requests on the queries read. However, a previously requested YA partial generated a request for a full manuscript.


First. A BIG thank you to everyone who follows submission guidelines and sends me those crucial _first_ five pages with their query and synopsis.

(And, yes, I'm still working on my synopsis post but got derailed by this fun Amazon / Macmillan thing. And then our email server decided to take some time off without actually filing a vacation request which resulted in random arrivals of backlogged emails for a couple days. All fixed now I hope.)

Second. Professional, articulate queries really do stand out from the crowd. But, here's a few examples from this week (all true) that seemed double-plus-ungood to me:

-- Sending an email to my personal email address and addressing it "To Whom It May Concern" (see also: sending a query via Facebook or any other social media)

-- An email requesting permission to send a query letter (this tends to strike me as similar to a conversation that starts with "can I ask you a question?")

-- Stating that our submission guidelines were carefully reviewed, and then sending the synopsis and (way more than) the first five pages as an attachment

-- Telling me you copyrighted the book already (bonus points for telling me that the reason you did this was so I wouldn't steal your novel)


What do you wish you could go back in time and tell yourself about queries before you sent your first one?

Today is the official publication day for Cherie Priest's Fathom in trade paperback.

"A decidedly dark departure from Priest's Eden Moore saga (Four and Twenty Blackbirds, etc.), this stand-alone novel is equal parts horror, contemporary fantasy and apocalyptic thriller. During a summer vacation to her aunt's coastal Florida home, innocent teen Nia sees her cousin Bernice commit a brutal murder and then get dragged into the ocean by a monstrous water witch. Nia becomes inadvertently entangled in a conflict between primordial creatures that endangers the very existence of humankind. Entombed in stone for countless years, Nia eventually emerges from her cocoon transformed, only to realize that an old god is close to awakening and destroying the world. Priest's haunting lyricism and graceful narrative are complemented by the solemn, cynical thematic undercurrents with a tangible gravity and depth. This is arguably her most ambitious—and accomplished—work to date." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Since Tor is part of Macmillan, it is not currently available from Amazon.

However, it is available from
B&N.com, currently offering the member price to all comers.
Or, Powell's
If you want signed copies of her books from the University Bookstore in Seattle, see these details.
Or check out IndieBound.org to find a bookstore near you.


Cherie Priest is also the author of:
Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Tor, 2005)
Wings to the Kingdom (Tor, 2006)
Not Flesh Nor Feathers (Tor, 2007)
Dreadful Skin (Subterranean Press, 2007)
Boneshaker (Tor, 2009)
Those Who Went Remain There Still (Subterranean Press, 2009)
Clementine (Subterranean Press, 2010, now available for pre-order)

So.... did something happen over the weekend in publishing? Oh. And. My.

Friday evening, John Scalzi mentioned someone had expressed annoyance that his books weren't available via Amazon. Sure enough, when he checked, it turned out to be true. In the time it takes to tweet, many other authors of Macmillan imprints discovered the same thing. Another database glitch some wondered? (Like the GLBT one from last year.)

VentureBeat and NYT posted pre-emptive news bites, which made it sound as if the e-book pricing issue was at the root of the whole thing.

Discussion broke out over the blog-verse and the tweet-verse. You can see initial thoughts from my clients Jay Lake and Laura Anne Gilman, who summed it up with "This isn't about pricing; it's about control." The former's Tor titles were among those pulled and his on-going commentary throughout the weekend looks deeply inside the author perspective. In fact, among my clients there were over a dozen books missing from various imprints of Macmillan including the very recently released Short Squeeze [B&N.com, Powell's] by Chris Knopf.

On Saturday evening, John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan, released a statement confirming that he had offered Amazon the agency model pricing for e-books in an attempt to look ahead to how publishers would "insure that intellectual property can be widely available digitally at a price that is both fair to the consumer and allows those who create it and publish it to be fairly compensated."

De-listing Macmillan's titles was Amazon's definition of fighting back. Among other things, Amazon also remotely yanked preview chapters of Macmillan titles from Kindles. And it wasn't just e-books they took out of the sandbox. It was print and audio formats too.

Sunday brought Amazon's response on the Kindle forum, which generated a number of comments in the company's defense as they were forced to fold on their position.

Here's some other links to articles to read:

Jay Lake's thoughts after his weekend-long series of posts on the topic.
This very long post by Tobias Buckell which explains a whole lot
A solid overview of the issues from Scott Westerfeld
John Scalzi's morning-after post

I have a lot of different thoughts here -- as a reader/consumer... as an agent... And, as of this posting -- my clients' titles are still not listed as available. This certainly isn't helping me see Amazon as a fair player in this scenario. Agents have been struggling with publishers too, advocating for the authors to be fairly compensated. This is still on-going, and, yes, with Macmillan too.

Do I want readers to be able to afford books? Obviously, yes. As a reader, I want to obtain books, and as an agent, I want my authors' books obtained. And most of all read. What's a fair price? Everyone seems to have a different opinion about that. What's yours? How much do you think is fair to charge for an e-book and what share of that do you think the author should get? Any other opinions about all this (from either readers, writers, or those who are both)?

# of queries read this week: 208
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 1
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: thriller


I have no idea how I managed to read almost twice as many queries this week as I did last week. Still have another 200 and change to go....

In the most recent query wars post, a commenter asked whether feedback from a random test audience for their unpublished novel was useful in a query. Based on my reading of their comment, they don't mean professional referrals (see this entry for thoughts on those) or even their own friends and family. Just test readers from their target audience.

I may have written about this in the distant past but since I saw several queries this week that included exactly this sort of thing, maybe it deserves another look.

Getting feedback can be very helpful, whether from a critique group or other test readers. I've heard many writers explain how they are too far inside the story and too close to it to see things and that having another perspective gives them insight. The place to discuss this, though, is not in a query letter. Really, an endorsement works best if it's from someone that the person about to read the story knows (if not personally, then at the very least by reputation). The potential reader also has to have some kind of confidence in that person's opinion.

To be plain: The opinions of random test readers are incredibly unlikely to be relevant. I don't know them. So how much weight could their opinion -- good or bad -- possibly have for me?

Or, let me put it this way: If you were in your local bookstore and a complete stranger walked up to you and recommended a book, what would your reaction be? What would you feel or think, about either them or the book? What effect would it have on your decision to spend your hard-earned cash and rare-spare-time on that book?

# of queries read this week: 108
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 1
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: fantasy


Most confusing query this week -- the one that claims my webpage says I do not normally accept science fiction or fantasy...

So, a couple people took guesses on the # of queries I'd have on Monday morning after re-opening to queries on 1/15. And a couple people wanted to know the actual answer. My own guess was 196. Monday morning after email was sorted out, it was 169. Which represents Friday, Saturday, Sunday and ridiculously early Monday.

Thank you, mizkit - your guess made me laugh.

Yes, I did get one at exactly 12:00 AM on 1/15.

At this point, representing a week's worth of queries, the count now stands at 292. Which means, yes, based on the number above, I'm already lagging a bit.

Answering other questions posed....

....if you neglected to send a synopsis with your query (even if you said in the query that there was a synopsis), I still read the query and the pages and decided on that basis.

....on that issue of other questions about a synopsis and when it's requested, look for a post coming on the synopsis (the dreaded synopsis) in the near future.

....to those that asked about their pre-hiatus query. First, check your spam filters. I think everyone that has asked so far was sent a reply. Second, I have read - and responded to - all queries received prior to the hiatus. Which started on December 11 and ran up to January 15.

Meant to post this earlier in the week, but it's been really busy. Didn't want to miss pointing these out, though--

There's Post a Story for Haiti at Crossed Genres. Clients of mine participating include: Jay Lake with Not Much of a War; Martha Wells' Houses of the Dead; and step-client Sarah Monette with The Half-Sister. if you enjoy the free stories and want to show your appreciation, please donate to a charity involved in the Haiti relief efforts. I recommend Doctors Without Borders.

Cherie Priest has a really informative post on What Authors Do and Don't Control. Comments on this post also interesting.

Jay Lake's The Larval Stages of the common American speculative fiction writer is tongue-in-cheek. And entertaining.

Not to be missed is Laura Anne Gilman's Lady or the Tiger post on her notes taken during a seminar on the Google Settlement that took place earlier this week.

Today is the official release day for Short Squeeze: A Mystery by Chris Knopf

Guilt can be a powerful motivator. After lawyer Jackie Swaitkowski ignores a call from pesky client Sergey Pontecello, who is found dead hours later, she becomes obsessed with determining how the recently-widowed man died. Eventually, her investigation turns up a tangled mess of strange financial transactions, dysfunctional family relationships, a fatal hit-and-run, mysterious body parts, and an extortion plot—not to mention that Jackie herself is threatened with disbarment by various big-wigs who prefer to leave the dirt under the carpet. She’s aided by her best friend, engineer-turned-carpenter Sam Acquillo, and her ex-boyfriend Harry Goodlander, but it’s Jackie, persistent to the point of bull-headedness, who sweeps up the dirt and puts the pieces together. This spin-off features the same vividly evoked Hamptons setting and the same crisp prose, brisk plotting, and sharp dialogue as Knopf’s critically acclaimed Sam Acquillo series, but here center stage switches from ex-boxer and construction worker Acquillo to a resolute first-person female protagonist who was widowed in her 20s but likes living alone just fine. More engaging hard-boiled crime fiction from a rising star. --Booklist

Chris Knopf is also the author of the Sam Aquillo mysteries:
The Last Refuge
Two Time
Head Wounds
Hard Stop

# of queries read this week: 146
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 1
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: YA

* I had mixed feelings about closing queries. I'd never done it before. But between my injuries and the holidays, something had to give, so I tried it out. And... I still have mixed feelings about it.

* I have now answered all the queries that came in before the hiatus. I didn't really get a "break" per se since I only completed those at the start of this week, but I must say it's nice to feel caught up on something for a few moments.

* Discovered that someone who goes through the same service provider as our agency must be using it in a spamming sort of way because I have been repeatedly blocked by comcast. So if you are using a comcast email, I can't reply to you. This has been going on for at least a week. I've filled out the form at comcast to remove us from the spam blocking list several times and by the next morning we are right back on there. Other than that, if you didn't get a reply and sent your query before Dec 11th, I didn't get your query.

* During the query hiatus, there were those who, for whatever reason, were not aware of this change of circumstance and sent queries regardless. I had a form response sent to them indicating they could resubmit after queries were open again. This form response included a link to our submission guidelines. Sure enough this morning someone resubmitted. And guess what? They didn't follow the guidelines. I just don't understand.

* So, now accepting queries again. Please follow these submission guidelines and send your query to our info email. I'm taking best guesses as to what number the recently empty query inbox will display on Monday..... (I'm told my own pick is too conservative.)

# of queries read this week: 156
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: n/a

Note: Still closed to queries and catching up from the sprains (which are better but still not fully healed). The queries referenced above pre-date the query hiatus. Any queries received during this time should be getting a reply indicating authors can resubmit after January 15th.



When I posted my 2009 query stats on Monday, I mentioned that out of the 47 partial- and full-manuscripts I had requested throughout the year, 3 of those had not garnered a submission, or, indeed, even a reply. In each case I sent a follow-up request a few days later just in case my initial request had been tagged as spam. In case anyone is curious, 4 of the 2008 requests remain MIA as well.

A number of people in comments seemed to be somewhat baffled about these non-responders. A few even seemed a little put out (not a reaction I anticipated). Other than the possible spam-trap, four things occurred to me:

(1) Upon receipt of this request, panic ensued and manic revisions commenced. I hereby reiterate (and other agents have said the same) -- don't query before you're actually ready. But, evenso, should this occur, one supposes the author could still get in touch when they are finally confident in the submission again. While it's possible the agent's circumstances may have changed and they will have to pass at that time, in most situations that probably won't be the case.

(2) Said author received a prior request for the material from elsewhere, and granted an exclusive. In this scenario, I recommend still letting those who have subsequently made requests know the situation. Agent Janet says "exclusives STINK" but I can think of reasons an author might grant one. Based on some horror stories I have heard, though, the author should be sure to set a reasonable time limit should they choose this route.

(3) Author netted an agent extremely quickly. Agent response times aren't all the same, and apparently some absorb manuscripts by osmosis off their desks. Wrist injuries aside, I do try to respond to queries within the 4 week window listed in our submission guidelines but I know my schedule for reading isn't always cooperative with other demands (you know, made by those client people). I think I would still respond to a request for submission in this case and let the agent know. I'm not sure why a person wouldn't do that.

(4) Just as writers may not be aware of certain things going on in an agent's life (unless they blog or twitter them and the writer happens to be following same), an agent may not know if something else has happened to cause a delay in responding. Unexpected events cause unanticipated effects. Life happens.

Anyone have any other scenarios to suggest?

Today marks the official release of All About Us #6: The Chic Shall Inherit the Earth

Lissa Mansfield has come a long way since transferring to Spencer Academy two years ago. She's made a great group of friends in Gillian, Carly, Mac, and Shani. She's strengthened and grown her relationship with God. She's even gotten over the Callum McCloud "incident" from her first semester. Now, she's ready to graduate and take on college life!

Or is she? With her parents' relationship still on the rocks and the girls about to separate as they head to different colleges, Lissa is faced with some of her biggest challenges yet in her last term at Spencer. Will Lissa put her faith in God to carry her through these difficult times?

Other books in the series....

Book 1: It's All About Us
Book 2: The Fruit of My Lipstick
Book 3: Be Strong & Curvaceous
Book 4: Who Made You a Princess?
Book 5: Tidings of Great Boys

"Adina does a good job realistically portraying characters who are not only growing up, but doing so with religion as a huge constant in their lives. Rarely, if ever, are the characters preachy, and Lissa and Gillian are fine role models for any religion.” --Romantic Times BookReviews

"I only wish Shelley Adina's All About Us series had been around in my day. I recommend it for any young adult who wants to escape to another world and find that they are not alone in their feelings and experiences." American Idol finalist, Contemporary Christian artist, and author Mandisa

Mean Streets, which includes a Dresden Files story written by Jim Butcher, is available in paperback today.

"Readers will be delighted with this collection of original novellas tied to popular crime/fantasy series. The standout is Sniegoskis Noahs Orphans, in which angel PI Remy Chandler must solve the murder of the biblical Arks builder, whose battered corpse is found on an abandoned oil rig. Sniegoski manages to make a far-fetched setup both plausible and moving. Butchers The Warrior hints at a mysterious ongoing war, while wizard detective Harry Dresden solves a case with typical dry wit. Green employs darker humor in The Difference a Day Makes, in which PI John Taylor assists a woman who wandered into the dark world hidden within London, while Richardsons The Third Death of the Little Clay Dog neatly merges noir conventions with a fantastical plot. All solid and suspenseful, these stories are sure to please." --Publishers Weekly

Hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year. Without further ado... my 2009 query stats...

# of queries read in 2009: 8004 (higher than last year's)

Which would have been higher without the wrist and ankle injuries that wiped out a chunk of December. Still not quite up to full speed from that. Continuing to work on queries received beforehand, and remain otherwise closed to queries until January 15th.

# of proposals/manuscripts requested: 47

# of requested proposals/manuscripts which did not garner any reply or a submission: 3

Genres/sub-genres covered by these requests:
mystery, fantasy, urban fantasy, historical fantasy, dark fantasy, steampunk, women's fiction, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, thriller, science fiction, YA fantasy, YA

# of new clients signed: 5

Of those five: Two of them were authors with previous novel sales. Three of them were debut novelists. One of the debut novelists had short story sales; the other two did not. Genres covered by these clients: romance, YA, mystery, literary, fantasy

# of proposals being read for charity: 2

# of queries to be received on 1/15/2010 when submissions re-open.....

# of queries read this week: 56
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0

As I mentioned last week, I am currently closed to new queries until January 15th.

However, I am still continuing to review, albeit somewhat slowly with my sprained wrist and reduced typing speed, those that were already in the queue. I've appreciated people's support and will, no doubt, continue to be thankful for their patience.

I'm seeing many of my colleagues mention that today is their last day officially at work until the New Year. Our agency is closed from December 24th until January 4th to celebrate the holidays (and probably get in some reading). In January there will be the now-annual query stats of the year, among other things.

Happy holidays.... And in the spirit of the season.....

Here's the last 3 weeks of stats....

This was Thanksgiving week
# of queries read: 77
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0

This was recover from Thanksgiving week
# of queries read: 38
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0

Current week:
# of queries read this week: 81
# of partials/manuscripts requested

This was get-unjustly-attacked-by-an-immovable-object week which has resulted in a severely sprained ankle that I am supposed to stay off of, as well as a sprained wrist that I am not supposed to use. I am typing one-handed which is laborious and frustrating.

With much regret, between this and the holidays, I have concluded that I will have to close queries for a short while. So, as of today, I am closing queries until January 15th. I will do my best to work on queries currently in the queue so please do not feel you need to re-submit at this time. However, I anticipate being a bit behind the four week response time listed on our official website. Your patience is much appreciated.

Today is the official release day for Jim Butcher's First Lord's Fury, the sixth and last volume of the epic Codex Alera series.

For years he has endured the endless trials and triumphs of a man whose skill and power could not be restrained. Battling ancient enemies, forging new alliances, and confronting the corruption within his own land, Gaius Octavian became a legendary man of war-and the rightful First Lord of Alera.

But now, the savage Vord are on the march, and Gaius must lead his legions to the Calderon Valley to stand against them-using all of his intelligence, ingenuity, and furycraft to save their world from eternal darkness.

Also available today, Princeps' Fury -- now in paperback.

The Codex Alera series:
Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera, Book 1)
Academ's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 2)
Cursor's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 3)
Captain's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 4)
Princeps' Fury (Codex Alera, Book 5)
First Lord's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 6)

# of queries read this week: 112
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 2
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: fantasy (1), YA (1)


Unless you were hiding under a rock these last couple days in the publishing world, you will have heard of Harlequin's new venture Horizons. There are plenty of comment threads about it: Absolute Write, Dear Author, etc.

RWA responded by revoking Harlequin's approved publisher status (text on Kristin Nelson's blog). Then MWA got into the mix (text of their statement on Lee Goldberg's site). Harlequin responded by.... changing the name of the venture, which, imo, doesn't address the points that RWA and MWA were raising. Or, as SFWA put it in their statement: "does not believe that changing the name of the imprint, or in some other way attempting to disguise the relationship to Harlequin, changes the intention."

Here's how some other agents feel about it:
* Ashley Grayson - Harlequin Horizons, a mug's game
* Janet Reid - here and here.
* Rachelle Gardner - a self-publishing rant.

Jackie Kessler's version of the author/Harlequin conversation over the last couple days is a must-read!

Some quick definitions:

Self-publishing -- Writer as publisher. The writer undertakes to arrange editing, printing, distribution, etc. without a third party holding any rights or share of the proceeds.

Vanity/subsidy publisher -- A company that publishes books at the author's expense. A vanity press derives its profits from authors. Sometimes provides additional services -- for a fee -- for design, publicity, etc. These fees can generate many thousands of dollars for the press. It's pay-to-play.

Traditional publisher -- Pays an advance/royalty share to authors on the sale of their books. Money flows towards the author. Profits are based on sales. The publishing company's overhead covers editorial, production, distribution, etc.

What these things mean in a query....

If the query mentions a book that has been published, but does NOT mention the publisher, the tendency is to assume that it's either self-published or from a vanity publisher. On some occasions, a google search might turn up the information, but that depends on whether one has the time or inclination to look.

As far as I'm concerned, a book that has been self-published rarely has much impact in a query. I'm not against self-publishing. There are times when it makes sense for the author (see this interview with Wil Wheaton, for example). And, indeed, there are books like The Shack or Eragon, which show it can sometimes lead to more opportunities. And this isn't a new thing either: The Joy of Cooking was originally self-published in 1931 (3,000 copies by a company that printed fancy labels but had never printed a book before). Those success stories are still a decided minority. Then, again, it depends on the author's definition of success and what the author is looking for in the experience. But the same holds true for an agent looking for new clients.

A book that is published by a vanity or subsidy press.... this can be a bit more complex. Many say it's a negative mark on the writer's reputation to have been involved in this approach. Why moreso than self-publishing? Perhaps it's just the sour taste it leaves behind as these types of publishers tend to prey on an author's hopes and use them to their own advantage. In this scenario, it feels like the publishers are making the writers pay for their dreams, often with little hope of any return due to lack of distribution and poor design quality. On top of that, many of them will often take a cut of the profits (sometimes most of it), so the author is not only footing the bill but then paying the publisher a share of the proceeds too. In this case, what motivation does the publisher have to help the author succeed? As for an agent's feelings on this -- well, see those links above, but in most cases it provides a sheen of unprofessionalism, shows a lack of understanding the workings of publishing, and would put the author in the position of starting with a poor hand on a publishing field that is already anything but level.

Would I tell an author not to self-publish? Not necessarily. But I would tell them to employ due diligence and research what it entails and what they are likely to see in return for all their hard work. The author really needs to understand publishing and reaching their readers in order to decide if this is the right path for them to take.

# of queries read this week: 272
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: n/a


A lot of people have good luck rituals. Lucky ties, shirts, jewelery, etc. Throwing salt over their shoulder. Not stepping on cracks. And so on. Many people believe that Friday the 13th is unlucky. For me, however, this day seems auspicious: it's the first time my query folder has been under 200 since early April (pre London Book Fair). On the other hand, I can remember a time that I used to be surprised that it got over 100.

On this day, Friday the 13th, I bring you some query letter superstitions:

* What time of year a query is sent makes a difference.
* A random sampling of people liking the book guarantees it will sell widely.
* Spell-checking and proof-reading are done by copy-editors and therefore the manuscript doesn't need that beforehand.
* Arguing with a rejection will change the agent's mind.
* Sending the same exact query 3 weeks later will get a different reply.
* In the same vein, repeat queries over the course of many months will wear an agent down until they agree to representation.
* Agents never remember who they meet and what they've requested, so it's okay to lie about that. This is particularly successful if referencing a conference the agent has never attended.
* You can't get published without an agent; you can't get an agent without being published.

Some agent superstitions about queries:
* It is bad luck to read queries on vacation, on birthdays, and during the holiday season.
* Burying a query at the cross-roads means it won't come back to haunt you.
* Don't feed them after midnight or get them wet.
* They breed while you sleep. (Oh, wait. That one's true.)

What query superstitions can you think of? Or, do you do anything that smacks of ritual when you send a query out? What is it and what is it supposed to augment/prevent?

# of queries read this week: 209
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 1
genre of partials/manuscripts requested: fantasy


Writers who take their approach to seeking traditional publication as seriously as writing the novel itself seem to do an awful lot of research. Not for them the rush to dash off a spurious query lacking in the information it should provide. They do everything possible to give their submission an advantage. But even the most dedicated sometimes misses something.

And then there are those just starting out. They hardly know where to look and are quickly overwhelmed by the myriad suggestions on agentquery.com or the many writer forums, or from their critique groups, etc. --- if they are even lucky enough to find such sources. Sometimes there are those that seem to come across agent contact information in mysterious ways (voodoo?) that give no hint or clue as to the best way to start.

The veterans were all new to it at one time, and eventually the new ones will become more experienced. If you could go back in time and share with yourself information about the query process -- What is the one thing you have learned that you wish someone had told you when you first began?

via Teresa Wilde

Dear Writer who thinks you deserve more of my time and attention than the other 200 or so people querying me this week:

Quit it.

Query letters in which you tell me that your book can't possibly be appreciated in the mere five pages our submission guidelines request so therefore you have sent me many unsolicited chapters do not endear you or your novel to me. They tell me you have no respect for the other writers submitting. I have news for you. Some of them are better writers than you are. Some of them are worse. Many of them may not be writing something I want to read. But they are all just as special as you are. They have worked hard and finished their novel. They are amazing for doing that. Each and every one of them.

Don't you think I know that five pages isn't enough to fully appreciate a story? Certainly anyone could agree with that sentiment. But that's not the point of the query package. It's a presentation. An invitation to read. To be enticed.

And I have news for you. This attitude means I would rather work with them than you. I would rather read their book than yours. So your book would have to be hands down, 8000% better than theirs for me to consider it.

Because, I repeat, they are just as special as you are.

To everyone out there who follows submission guidelines, who takes the time to send what an agent asks for, who helps us in our constant search for new books we can love and clients we can adore: THANK YOU.