Learning From A First Rejection Letter

Having a query letter rejected is hard.
This time, however, it was the easiest rejection I’ve received.
Last month I finished a revision of The Dark Thorn, my high / contemporary fantasy. It is the strongest story I have written to date. As I’ve gone through the querying process before for my first novel, I knew what to expect this time and did not feel the daunting nature of the task. I prepared my query letter for the new book. I prepared my synopsis. I prepared my new biography and a sheet of marketing points.
Then I researched which agent to send these materials to.
Even though I have friends in the editorial departments at Del Rey, Spectra, Orbit, and Tor, I did not want to pitch The Dark Thorn to them directly. I could not. For all intents and purposes I am still a novice writer and I know my book is not ready yet. It needs to be the best it can be when it is read by these editors who will have the final say if I am published or not. I have taken it as far as I can. That means giving The Dark Thorn to agents who work hard improving a book before it takes that next step.
Finding the right agent to champion your book can be as difficult as writing the book, as writing your query letter. There is an art to it. So many new writers blanket the agent field without looking any deeper into the required steps to streamline the process. This results in writers sending their query and pages to agents who have no interest in the kind of book that has been written. In short, sending your fantasy to a horror agent probably isn’t going to pan out and is a waste of time for you and the agent.
I spent a day combing the internet(s), keeping in mind what The Dark Thorn is, trying to match up its contemporary fantasy tale with an agent who might be a good fit.
I compiled a list of great candidates, all of whom represent clients whose books have an urban / contemporary / high fantasy slant. Some of the agents I know, some I don’t. I have decided I will exhaust the list before contacting the editors I know and, beginning with the first agent I have some knowledge about, I directed my first query letter to her.
I settled on Jennifer Jackson at Don Maass Literary Agency.
Three weeks after sending her my query, first five pages, and synopsis, The Dark Thorn was rejected.
Here’s why.

Jennifer is one of the best agents in the business. If you look at her client list, you’ll see a surplus of great writers that she represents. I knew going in though that she would most likely be borderline when it comes to The Dark Thorn. She represents Ken Scholes, Cherie Priest, Jay Lake, and a number of other writers who don’t write urban fantasy or high fantasy. The closest client she represents that matches what I’ve done is Jim Butcher. The odds were not in my favor and in reflection I probably shouldn’t have started with her.
I chose Jennifer to begin my foray, however, because she works closely with her new clients to produce a stronger book to pitch. Two of the five Nebula Award nominated books this year are her clients. While in my home, both Ken and Jim have said wonderful things about Jennifer, about her communication skills, her attention to detail, how she can take a manuscript and improve it before sending it to editors, etc. She keeps two great blogs–one devoted to her clients, the other devoted to the agent life.
First, let’s look at the numbers that Jennifer supplies on her agent blog. In the last four weeks, she has read just over 700 initial queries. Out of those 700+, she only asked for three partial/full manuscripts.
3 out of 700 submissions.
As you can see, catching the eye of an agent is not easy—and shows how loony I am to try! Ha!
Second, here is her rejection letter to me, one that confirms my initial worries.

Dear Mr. Speakman:
Thanks for your query.
As to your material I’m afraid I must pass — I’m just not enthusiastic enough about the premise of your story to feel that I’d be the right agent for the project. I realize it is difficult to judge your potential from a query; nevertheless please know that I give serious attention to every letter, outline, and writing sample I receive.
Sorry I couldn’t give you a more positive reply. Thanks for thinking of me, though, and best of luck in your search for representation.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Jackson
Donald Maass Literary Agency

I have no doubt this is a generic response, one she sends out often to projects she knows right out of the gate are not for her. She is looking for something different from my contemporary / high fantasy. Jim Butcher is the aberration on her client list, not the norm, and I let that and the knowledge of what a great agent she is sway my decision to start with her.
It means I sent my query for The Dark Thorn to the wrong champion.
There are numerous reasons a book might not be right for an agent or editor beyond book quality. I remember when I was initially rejected for Song of the Fell Hammer years ago. I was angry. I felt I had written a solid book that would sell on a marketing platform that had thousands of built-in readers already. Sales are the name of the game after all, right? I quickly found out that while it was a good book it wasn’t a great book, and beyond that it was an epic fantasy in a market that was not really looking for epic fantasy.
What happens now?
Yesterday I sent my next query letter, first three chapters, synopsis, and bio accompanied with marketing points out to Matt Bialer. He represents Tad Williams, Diana Rowland, Blake Charlton, Patrick Rothfuss, among many others. As you can see, the client list he possesses has authors of epic fantasy, high fantasy, and urban fantasy. I think The Dark Thorn is the kind of book he may want to champion.
Time will tell. 6-8 weeks of time, to be exact. That is how long it will take in all probability for Matt to look over my materials.
This is a game of waiting.
If you’ve written a book similar in scope to those clients represented by Jennifer Jackson, definitely query her. She is obviously quite professional. She got back to me within three weeks, which is fairly short for an agent, and she extended all courtesies.
For you new writers out there, good luck finding your own champion!
I’m still searching…