Thanks for being so nice! We blog readers appreciate you.

Reading your post today has changed my thinking.

I am one of those you asked to send a proposal. You turned it down but said you liked my writing and suggested I send it to others. That was very encouraging to me. However, I did not send an email to thank you for considering my proposal.

Why? Because I thought you would not want to be inundated with emails from all the hundreds of people to whom you send rejection emails. This post has made me decide to go ahead and send the emails. If other agents are like you, they will appreciate us doing so. If not, they can delete it without bothering to read it!

Andrew’s idea is a little scary. While an agent with a full client list might say, “I’m not considering queries at this time,” if an agent is looking for even one new client it is in the agent’s best interest to have more queries, not less. Given that “good” manuscripts are about 1 in 100, having a larger slush pile increases the chances that there is one worthwhile manuscript in the bunch.

When the target count is reached the inbox refuses to admit more.

There are potential problems…spam jamming, for one (a writer sending one query and a few hundred spam emails). But I think the problems are solvable.

I've decided not to query any agents with a 'no response means no' policy because to me it shows a lack of empathy for the writer. That's not the kind of person I want representing me for the long haul.

I have respect for those who send them too. It tells me they are people who are considerate enough to think about the other person, and if I ever do manage to land that agent I can be confident they will work with me.

God Bless.

I’m reminded of the verse in the Bible that talks about working on what has eternal merit—those things God considers “gold”. The things WE often deem as important without taking time to evaluate their eternal worth may actually be considered “hay, wood and stubble” and will quickly burn away when the work of our lives passes through the fire of testing. Kinda makes me look twice at the way I spend my time.

We are here with each other for a short time compared to eternity, and while here, I believe we are to practice what God deems important: reconciliation and relationships (you can tell it’s important to him when you read his best-selling novel). The way we relate to people around us is something we take with us into eternity.

Stopping in the midst of our busyness to offer a compassionate touch is “gold”, something that will pass through the fire and last, as opposed to getting that next task done, that next contract signed or raking in a couple more dollars. Those things will be toast in the blink of an eye.

All that to say this: don’t take your desire to be kind in spite of the time it takes away from pressing duties lightly. It may be one of the most important things you accomplish in a day.

BTW, I’d like to read the article you mentioned.

In my agent search, I came across some agents that said if a writer did not hear back from them in about a month it meant they were not interested. I really understood why. It must take so much time to go through every query and respond to each and every one of them.

On the other hand, the agents that sent me personal responses pushed me forward, so I didn’t sit around waiting. Several of them sent me suggestions, and one went so far as to write on the sheets of my manuscript what she liked and what improvements I could make. I was taken back that she would take the time out to do such a thing. It took me to the place where I looked at each personal rejection as a stepping-stone. These agents motivated me to improve my novel, resulting in a publishing contract, which I obtained without an agent, with Abingdon Press.

So, please know that all your readers view you as an agent that goes above and beyond the call of duty. The fact that you keep up a daily blog on top of everything else is mind blowing!

You deserve a nice spa vacation!

Do people often respond to you when you send them rejection letters? Doesn’t that — both the positive “thanks, Rachelle, for your time” and the negative “silly agent, you don’t know what kind of opportunity you’re passing up” — take up even more of your time?

I guess I’m old-school in the idea that if you receive a rejection then that’s it. Don’t hit the reply button, just treat it as the same as if you’d sent the query through snail-mail with an SASE.

I can understand how overwhelming the emails can be. At my day job I’m known to get over 150-300 per day, depending on the day…. It’s so hard to prioritize sometimes, but I can tell that you seek God first in all you do, so not to worry, you can’t go wrong when you seek Him first.

Have a great day