Query Friday: Auto Rejections

Happy Friday Querying Friends!

I'm deep in the query trenches and as such, I've had a lot of exposure to the concerns of my fellow queries- my people.  One of the things I've come across quite a bit lately is the concern over the instant rejection or auto reject.

What the scenario usually plays out like is, you've sent your query, three chapters, synopsis, and get a rejection less than 15 minutes later. How is this possible?

Well, there are a few things that can be auto rejects.

1. You're not querying what the agent represents.

With the increasing use of Query Tracker, this is harder and harder to do, but if you query a picture book agent with horror, they don't need to read your pages to know it's not a fit. 

2. You get the agent's name wrong.

Now some agents have said this isn't a deal breaker, but for many it can be, especially if they asked for personalization from the beginning.

3. You don't even bother with a name, you just shoot your shot with all agents in one mass email.

No. Don't do this. 

4. You're not following submission guidelines.

This can be lots of things:

    * Not including things you were supposed to

    * Including things you weren't supposed to (like attachments)

    *Querying multiple agents at a one at a time, or one and done agency 

    *Querying a closed agent

    *Trying to sneak your non-repped genre is as something else

5. They hate your comp titles. 

Comp titles are tricky, but if your work is the next PAT WEARS A HAT, and the hated the last PAT WEARS A HAT, it's not a good selling point

6. WORD COUNTS

This one is huge. Many times your query will be scanned for vital info and if they come across a 210,000 word debut vampire romance, you might get auto rejected. We can talk more about word counts later, but it is very hard to get a novel that is above average word count accepted for a debut author.

Maybe make it a standalone with trilogy potential.

7. Rudeness

That's it, folks. If you're not nice, don't expect anyone to be nice in return.

And a final note, even if your query is utter perfection, the agent is under no obligation to read all your pages. If they decide it's not for them after the first chapter, page, paragraph, then that's it.

And really, that's a good thing. You want an agent who will love your stuff and the next agent might be the one. Keep querying.

~B