Here We Go Again

So of the four queries I was brave enough to put forth, I received my first form rejection today.  I wasn't surprised.  It was an agent I had already queried, back when the manuscript had 6000 more words and the query letter flat out sucked.  And even though I used my new and improved letter, my much more desirable word count, and even changed the title, the answer remained the same.  Oh well.  One down, three to go.  Or, it could be two down.  Unfortunately, one of the agents I queried, who I am really REALLY hoping to hear from, only responds on projects she's interested in.

I know agents think this is great, time-saving idea, but I HATE it.  Especially since this agent in particular doesn't give a time frame in which to assume she's passed on your project.  So, I have no idea if I should be holding out hope for a couple more weeks, or if the two that have passed are my death knell with her agency.  And while I do realize the volume of letters agents receive, is it really so hard to send out an automated rejection?  Silence just leaves me wondering if they ever received my e-mail in the first place.  And quite honestly, I put a LOT of work into my query letter, and would at least like some form of acknowledgement, even if it's a polite "no thanks".

So while my confidence is one again teetering after that dreaded e-mail this morning, I have to say it still beats silence.  At least I know the letter - the one that took me four months to write - was received and read, and worth the two seconds to push the rejection button.  And that's exactly my point: four months writing the book, four months writing the letter, countless hours revising.  I have to wonder if agents forget that an author's time is valuable, too.  Have a little respect for that SEND THE DAMN E-MAIL.

Silence, to me, just has this air of haughtiness to it.  Like your writing is so exceedingly unworthy it's not even fit for a response.  Most of us have been dreaming about this since we were old enough to string cohesive sentences together, and if you're going to dash our dreams, at least do it in a polite and semi-encouraging manner.

Geez... Perhaps I hate the silent rejection a little more than I realized.  So I suppose what I'm really trying to do is thank the agent who rejected me this morning, because at least she had the consideration to do so.  And while it truly is discouraging each time someone tells you they're not the "right fit" for you, most of them will remind you that another agent may feel differently.  And right now, I am not giving up hope that I will find that person.  So, off I go to send more queries into the world.