This query is part of the Be an Agent for a Day contest. Rules and Regulations here
Please post your rejection or manuscript request in the comment section!
Dear Agent for a Day:
A young girl falls and undergoes a CAT scan. Physicians find a small spine fracture, but that is the least of her worries. She’s just been exposed to radiation 100 times more powerful than a chest x-ray and by the time she’s 50, she will undergo many more CAT scans and nuclear medicine tests, thus dramatically increasing her chances of developing cancer at an early age.
As a medical editor for the last 12 years, I have written extensively about the risk of cancer from imaging tests and I have talked with physician and industry experts. While experts debate the extent of risk, the public is largely ignorant of any such risk. I propose to write a simple, comprehensive book that lays out the problem, the raging debates and the solutions.
The New York Times and other mainstream newspapers have written about this problem, but no one has compiled a simple-to-understand book. The book I propose—“The CAT (scan) is Out of the Bag”—will allow people—especially parents of young children—to take action now to prevent the harmful effects of radioactive medical imaging.
I know physicians who were unaware of these dangers. The FDA wants people to carry a “radiation exposure” card. Manufacturers have dose-reduction techniques, but these are largely ignored by imagers. What is the public doing about this? Nothing, because people simply aren’t aware of the problem!
Doctors order more than 62 million CAT, or CT, scans a year, and 20 million nuclear medicine tests. Children and young adults get radioactive scans for many complaints when other nonionizing tests will suffice. The public should know how to protect itself.
I can send you a proposal that details each chapter, along with the experts to be included in the book. I can have a finished book 5 months from go-ahead. Thanks for your time; I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Author
STATS: 13% request rate
Dear Author,
It’s an interesting idea, and normally I would have requested a proposal. However, my list is full at this time.
Good luck finding an agent.
Sincerely,
Agent for a Day
Dear Author,
I am very intrigued. Please send your full manuscript at your earliest convenience.
Best regards,
FakeAgent
Dear Author:
Despite seeing potential here, I’m going to have to pass.
-Agent
Reason: Your platform. I’m not sure if you have the credentials to write this book, and that’s important for non-fiction.
Thank you for your query. I’m out of requests, but would have definitely asked to see this if I were able to. Your proposal was well-written, and sounds very interesting.
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission. Your writing is solid, your credentials are impressive and your idea has the potential to be quite marketable. I don’t typically represent nonfiction work, but in this case, I’d love to see more.
Please send me a proposal with chapter details for THE CAT(SCAN) IS OUT OF THE BAG as a Word document attached to an e-mail.
Sincerely,
L.C. Gant (Agent for a Day)
Dear Author,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to consider your work. I regret to say that I don’t feel that I’m the most appropriate agent for this project at this time. When the book is completed, feel free to drop me an email.
Best wishes,
HHS
Thank you for contacting Dawn Ink.
Please forward your book proposal to me.
Sincerely,
Dawn
i’m sorry–we cannot help you
Dear Author,
I think you have a very relevant and sellable concept here. Please send me your full proposal.
I used to work in clinical research, and know that many doctors don’t know themselves what the consequences are of some of the procedures they perform. I think that medical testing has become a huge business, and has itself become one of the causes of health problems in this country. I feel that my background and passion for this subject would help me sell this book for you in a timely manner.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Owl Sprite
(word verification: panical. That says it all.)
Dear Author,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your query to me.
At this moment in time, however, I choose to pass on your project. This does not automatically mean your query is not good enough. It simply means that I am not the right agent for this project. This can be for a number of reasons.
If you would like to know why, you can send a reply to this mail. Please change the subject line to: FEEDBACK / THE CAT (SCAN) IS OUT OF THE BAG / YOUR NAME. I will respond to your request within two weeks.
Good luck with finding representation and keep on writing!
Kind regards,
Nicole34
Although I do not have the expertise to represent nonfiction works, your proposal sounds intriguing. I hope you find a good home for it!
Dear Author:
Thanks for sharing your query. Sorry I can’t represent your work. Good luck!
Anahita
Rejection[Reasons: Just don’t see an entire book here – it seems like a good article, though – has been covered in chapters in other people’s books]
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I do not feel your book is right for me. Good luck with your search.
Best,
S
Note: I was on the fence for this. Sounds like a publishable idea, but I didn’t see a strong platform.
Dear Author:
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I do not feel that your proposal is the right fit for me.
Best of luck.
Saint_Fool
Interesting but the author does not appear to have a platform and therefore I need to pass. If he/she does have the medical/scientific background, the query needs to be rewritten to include that information.
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I will have to pass at this time.
Best of luck,
That Agent Girl
Thank you for your proposal. Unfortunately I an unable to take on new projects at the moment. I wish you luck on your agent search, as this book seems to have a lot of potential.
(This title was on my short list and was one of the last to be cut. I’d happily request a synopsis if I did not have that five title restriction.)
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query letter and for thinking of me for representation of The CAT (scan) is out of the Bag. While your novel sounds intriguing, I’m sorry to say I won’t be able to pursue it further with you. I wish you all the best in securing other representation.
Regards,
R. Markiam
I believe this has some potential. Please send me your manuscript for further review.
Sincerely,
Placebo Publications
Dear Author:
Thank you for submitting your query for consideration. I appreciate the time, energy, and passion that it will require to complete “The CAT (scan) Is Out of the Bag”.
Unfortunately, given the thousands of queries that I receive annually, I can only request a small percentage of manuscripts for possible representation. While I find the subject matter of your book intriguing, it does not meet my editorial needs at this time.
I am grateful for the opportunity to consider your work and wish you much luck in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Laura Martone
Thank you for your query, but it is not a good fit for me. Best wishes.
Livia
Dear Author
Thank you for your submission. Your idea sounds interesting, but I’m not sure it can sustain an entire book, especially when written by someone who isn’t actually an expert in this field. Perhaps you could consider writing something that covers a range of unncessary or dangerous procedures.
I’m going to pass on this one.
Regards
Agent for a day
Please send your proposal.
Sincerely,
Lowly Scribe