Thanks for writing this detailed guide, Devon! This is priceless. A friend told me about the time she pitched agents. If I remember right, she got the "not in love with your voice" critique. She felt extremely upset about it, not understanding what the agent meant, and feeling like the agent doesn't appreciate it anyway. I sympathized with her, but honestly I thought it was a great achievement to get a specific rejection, rather than a generic "not the right fit."
Sure it's painful to hear a critique of our baby, especially when the feedback is so vague that it's hard to understand. I find that when people give me specific examples of what they're complaining about, I feel a lot less defensive. If people give me a vague critique where it's not clear what they really mean, then I feel more defensive, thinking that they must have misunderstood. (Or, worse, I guess at what examples they meant, guess wrong, and over-correct and make it worse.) Of course, agents don't have the time to give specific examples, and it could lead to some debate from the author that they're not interested in getting into. This is reader taste, after all, not some court of law.
This is a fantastic post! Thank you for sharing it! I'm not even out on submission, but it addresses some agent feedback too, which I'm sure is a reflection of editor feedback! So again, thank you!!
Would you say that whenever the issue is easier to remedy, like a language tic, an agent would mention it directly, and when the issue is too deep, to the point where the book needs to be rewritten and editing work won’t help, they would use more general terms?
I think it’s true that when an issue is really deep (or when the manuscript has a ton of issues), an editor will just pick something generic to say and walk away. And if the issue is really small, most editors will try to articulate it. But there are other factors at work. I noticed that newer (less senior) editors tended to write overflowingly kind rejection notes, with extremely gentle allusions to whatever the issue was. But some of the more senior editors would write blunt and direct rejection letters: “I just didn’t like the characters sorry. Thanks for sending!” So it’s not just your book that affects the letters—it’s where the editor is in their career and how cautious they are about their reputation.
Thank you SO much for this post! I'm about to go on sub with my agent for the first time in 14 years, and I feel like I should print this out and tack it above my desk.
Honestly, I think that’s a cop-out—the editor hasn’t done enough work to understand what it is about this novel that didn’t work for them (or they know, but are unwilling to mention it). With these you can try to read between the lines a bit—what did they praise? What did they leave out of their praise? If they enjoyed the characters, the setting, the premise, but they just didn’t fall in love with it… maybe the writing is the thing that didn’t work for them.
Of course, that’s a lot of guesswork, so there’s a limit to how useful that can be. If I were getting a lot of “just didn’t fall in love” rejection letters, I might ask my agent if they’d be willing to call/meet up with one of these editors and see if they can get the real story. The editor might have some reservation they’re unwilling to put in an email but willing to say aloud.
This is helpful. I'm new to the game and am still learning all of the roles in publishing. This response was a reply from querying agents, one asked for a full manuscript, received it, then gave me that feedback, that they "just didn't fall in love with it enough" and nothing else. I thought it might have meant the story didn't have enough of an emotional pull (historical fiction, I put a lot of effort on capturing historical events). I've submitted to a publisher and might have a bite from an editor, so I'm eager to see what feedback I get now that I've revamped the story with more tension and emotion. Thanks for helping me get some more insight into what might have been behind that first feedback from the industry!
Thank you so much for this. I always wondered what it all meant. My second novel has been out on submission for two years. My agent and I have had some of this gushing feedback, but no consensus, not even any caveats that really fit into any of these. One editor said she didn't like young narrators, but clarified that this was definitely her personal taste. Others have said different things, including "we may take it on if this other bestselling book we've published continues to do well" which I find the most confusing statement of all. My manuscript does not fall into a clear-cut genre, so where to place it on the shelf adds to the risk of taking it on, I think, but it's all very difficult to work out from the writer's perspective 🙏🏼
Man—what a strange mix of feedback! You’re making me think I should do a post about what to do if there is no consensus from editor responses. But I’m not sure I have a good answer to that yet… I’ll think on it. Really I just wish editors would be a little more forthcoming!
I have a cache of these letters after being on sub for a year. There is no consensus, and so my agents have said we'll hold onto the MS to hopefully sell it as a second book, rather than trying to edit it. Not having a specific problem that I can fix is hard. I hope I'll have more success with the next book.
That lack of consensus is tough—it’s hard to know what lesson to draw from the whole experience. As you and your agent know, the only possible response is to keep writing and keep trying new things until something hits. Maybe by the time the second novel sells, you’ll have more clarity about the first? Fingers crossed!
Amazing thank you! Out of curiosity, do you have a guide like this for lit agent rejections?
Saving this - thank you!!!
Thanks for writing this detailed guide, Devon! This is priceless. A friend told me about the time she pitched agents. If I remember right, she got the "not in love with your voice" critique. She felt extremely upset about it, not understanding what the agent meant, and feeling like the agent doesn't appreciate it anyway. I sympathized with her, but honestly I thought it was a great achievement to get a specific rejection, rather than a generic "not the right fit."
Sure it's painful to hear a critique of our baby, especially when the feedback is so vague that it's hard to understand. I find that when people give me specific examples of what they're complaining about, I feel a lot less defensive. If people give me a vague critique where it's not clear what they really mean, then I feel more defensive, thinking that they must have misunderstood. (Or, worse, I guess at what examples they meant, guess wrong, and over-correct and make it worse.) Of course, agents don't have the time to give specific examples, and it could lead to some debate from the author that they're not interested in getting into. This is reader taste, after all, not some court of law.
only 120 likes?? this post is solid gold!
Thank you for this straightforward explanation! So helpful and much appreciated.
This was helpful as I go into editing draft #4 🩷 thank you
This is a fantastic post! Thank you for sharing it! I'm not even out on submission, but it addresses some agent feedback too, which I'm sure is a reflection of editor feedback! So again, thank you!!
This is one of the best articles ever. Thank you so much for sharing it!
You have some great tips here. Thanks.
Would you say that whenever the issue is easier to remedy, like a language tic, an agent would mention it directly, and when the issue is too deep, to the point where the book needs to be rewritten and editing work won’t help, they would use more general terms?
I think it’s true that when an issue is really deep (or when the manuscript has a ton of issues), an editor will just pick something generic to say and walk away. And if the issue is really small, most editors will try to articulate it. But there are other factors at work. I noticed that newer (less senior) editors tended to write overflowingly kind rejection notes, with extremely gentle allusions to whatever the issue was. But some of the more senior editors would write blunt and direct rejection letters: “I just didn’t like the characters sorry. Thanks for sending!” So it’s not just your book that affects the letters—it’s where the editor is in their career and how cautious they are about their reputation.
That makes sense! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you SO much for this post! I'm about to go on sub with my agent for the first time in 14 years, and I feel like I should print this out and tack it above my desk.
Any ideas on "just didn't fall in love with it enough" might mean?
Honestly, I think that’s a cop-out—the editor hasn’t done enough work to understand what it is about this novel that didn’t work for them (or they know, but are unwilling to mention it). With these you can try to read between the lines a bit—what did they praise? What did they leave out of their praise? If they enjoyed the characters, the setting, the premise, but they just didn’t fall in love with it… maybe the writing is the thing that didn’t work for them.
Of course, that’s a lot of guesswork, so there’s a limit to how useful that can be. If I were getting a lot of “just didn’t fall in love” rejection letters, I might ask my agent if they’d be willing to call/meet up with one of these editors and see if they can get the real story. The editor might have some reservation they’re unwilling to put in an email but willing to say aloud.
This is helpful. I'm new to the game and am still learning all of the roles in publishing. This response was a reply from querying agents, one asked for a full manuscript, received it, then gave me that feedback, that they "just didn't fall in love with it enough" and nothing else. I thought it might have meant the story didn't have enough of an emotional pull (historical fiction, I put a lot of effort on capturing historical events). I've submitted to a publisher and might have a bite from an editor, so I'm eager to see what feedback I get now that I've revamped the story with more tension and emotion. Thanks for helping me get some more insight into what might have been behind that first feedback from the industry!
this is a treasure trove for writers on sub
Thank you so much for this. I always wondered what it all meant. My second novel has been out on submission for two years. My agent and I have had some of this gushing feedback, but no consensus, not even any caveats that really fit into any of these. One editor said she didn't like young narrators, but clarified that this was definitely her personal taste. Others have said different things, including "we may take it on if this other bestselling book we've published continues to do well" which I find the most confusing statement of all. My manuscript does not fall into a clear-cut genre, so where to place it on the shelf adds to the risk of taking it on, I think, but it's all very difficult to work out from the writer's perspective 🙏🏼
Man—what a strange mix of feedback! You’re making me think I should do a post about what to do if there is no consensus from editor responses. But I’m not sure I have a good answer to that yet… I’ll think on it. Really I just wish editors would be a little more forthcoming!
Totally connected with this voice, premise and plot! 😄
Thank you, Devon - I haven’t even started thinking about querying yet, but this advice is helpful even while still in the process of writing.
Your voice and content are so appreciated! 🙏🏻♥️
I have a cache of these letters after being on sub for a year. There is no consensus, and so my agents have said we'll hold onto the MS to hopefully sell it as a second book, rather than trying to edit it. Not having a specific problem that I can fix is hard. I hope I'll have more success with the next book.
That lack of consensus is tough—it’s hard to know what lesson to draw from the whole experience. As you and your agent know, the only possible response is to keep writing and keep trying new things until something hits. Maybe by the time the second novel sells, you’ll have more clarity about the first? Fingers crossed!