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;
Not only do I follow your blog, but I also recommend it to all of the writers I meet as a necessary checkpoint before beginning the querying process. It would be an honor for you to consider my work.
Young Macs finds a magical book tucked away in his grandfather’s library entitled The Keeper. When Macs opens the book, it trembles in his hand as watercolor fairies and elves pop up and walk around on top of the pages using the book as a stage. Macs, able to interact with them, is deemed the prophesied “Keeper,” and he spends the majority of the living book’s story trying unsuccessfully to save the village’s inhabitants from danger. In the end, he watches helplessly as the characters settle in for an eternal sleep. When Macs attempts to “re-read” the book, it opens only to the closing scene, and Macs soon discovers what the title The Keeper really means.
The End is a 15,000 word mid-grade novel about a boy who, unlike Peter Pan, wants to grow up, yet he finds himself caught up in a magical world having to decide between being the hero of his own proverbial Neverland or ignoring the story in order to maintain his “cool” status.
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literary Writing, and I have spent seven years both in America and abroad teaching middle and high school English. I have also published articles in a regional magazine, and I am a freelance editor for two publishing houses. I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc.
A complete manuscript is available upon request. Thank you for taking time to consider my project. I look forward to hearing from you.
Author
STATS: 6.6% request rate
The Spidrmonkey says
Thank you for your query, which I have considered carefully. Unfortunately I’ll have to pass.
Thed book which comes to life is too much of a cliche, I’m afraid.
Of course this is a personal opinion and others may disagree. Good luck!
Kate H says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. I’m afraid I’m not the right agent to represent you, but I wish you the best of luck.
Kate H
Reba says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, it is not the right fit for me.
Best,
Reba
s.koncilja says
Dear Author,
I received and read your query. Unfortunately it is not something that I’m looking for at the moment.
Keep me informed about your future work and good luck!
Agent S.K.
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
I regret to inform you that I am not interested in representing your story. I hope you have better luck in the future.
Best of luck,
Arkham
publishingcareer says
Dear Author
Thank you for expressing your interest in our agency and submitting your query for The End.
I read it with interest and would very much like to read the manuscript with a view to consider representing you and this piece of work.
Please email me or post (with a SAE) these to me at your earliest convenience.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Robert Sullivan, AFAD
P.S. How are you illustration skills?
Nifaerie Noven says
Hi,
I would love to represent The End, however 15k words is only about 60 pages max. This is too short to be considered for sale. If you decide to lengthen this work (40k-60k words), please query me again.
superwench83 says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, your manuscript isn’t right for me. Best wishes in your search for an agent.
Sincerely,
Agent for a Day
Hallie says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query to My Imaginary Yet Successful Literary Agency. I receive many queries each day, and I request only a small percentage of manuscripts that I’m interested in representing. I have decided not to request one for your book because I don’t feel that I’m intrigued enough to be its best representative.
Should you need resources for querying, finding writing resources and groups, or if you’d like to know more about how I choose manuscripts, please visit (this section of my agency’s website) for more information. I wish you the best of luck in finding a home for your writing. Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to consider your work.
Warm regards,
Hallie
__________________________________
And if I were fortunate enough to be able to give some feedback to each and every author I declined, I’d note the following:
I thought this was too short to work as a middle-grade book, and that it would be a hard sell. I couldn’t quite reconcile the idea that being cool and taking care of the book’s characters are incompatible. Finally, there were some places in the query where I had to reread to figure out what you meant. For example, “Young Macs finds a magical book tucked away in his grandfather’s library entitled The Keeper.” It sounds like the library has the title, not the book, and “The Keeper” should come right after “magical book” to keep me on track as a reader.
Good luck!
SuzieQ Agent4U says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. However, I don’t feel this is right for me. Good luck with your search.
Best,
S
Nikki Hensley says
Dear Author:
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, I don’t think I am the right agent for this novel. Best of luck in your search!
Agent Nikki
Seus is not MG says
Gregory:
You said that it was ridiculous for people to comment on the length of this novel because “The Cat in the Hat” is only 350 words.
Um, what’s your point? “The Cat in the Hat” is a PICTURE BOOK. Not a novel.
15,000 words is not a picture book or a novel.
Melissa says
Form rejection:
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately it doesn’t meet my needs at this time.
Thank you and best of luck,
Melissa (Ximera)
Rebecca Knight says
Dear End,
Thank you for your query, and for thinking of my agency. Unfortunately, I feel that I’m not the best fit for your project. This industry is highly subjective, so I’m sure others will feel differently. Best of luck to you in all your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Knight
Dave says
Sounds interesting. Please send it along.
vicariousrising says
Thank you for your submission. I regret that I don’t feel this project isn’t right for me.
I wish you the best in your writing endeavors.
Hildegarde512 says
Thank you for submitting however [If I were a real agent, a GENTLE FORM REJECTION would exist here].
Kendra says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your work. Concidering my current workload, I can only take on projects I feel truly passionate about. While the world and main character sound interesting, I didn’t find myself truly drawn to the idea. I have to pass. Good luck in your writing.
Kendra
Jada says
Form rejection.
Reason: It sounds quite short, even for an MG novel. Also, you mention at the end trying to maintain his ‘cool’ status. If this is part of the conflict of the story, I’d recommend going into more detail about this.
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering me. Unfortunately I have to pass. Reason for rejection – personal taste.
Best of Luck!
Agent X-9
abouttothunder says
Dear Author,
Thank you for the opportunity to represent your work. Unfortunately, it isn’t a good fit for me. Since you deserve an agent who will fully support you project, I will have to pass.
I wish you the best of luck in finding representation.
Sincerely,
Agent-for-a-day Sara
Heather says
Dear Author,
Thank you very much for taking the time to query our agency. I have given your project thoughtful consideration; unfortunately, it is not a good fit for us at this time because, although the project is very well conceived and well written and another agent might be able to sell it, I do not believe that I would be the best agent to make this sale.
Sincerely,
Heather
Rik says
Thank you for submitting your book – The Keeper – for my consideration. Regrettably, I do not feel that I am able to represent this work for you. Best wishes for your future endeavours. Agent Rik.
farmlanebooks says
Dear Author, Thank you for your submission, but I’m afraid we will not be able add you our author list at this time.
Best wishes,
Jackie
Leis says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. While I think your story has potential, it is not something I feel confident taking on at this time.
Please feel free to query me with future projects.
Sincerely,
Agent for a Day
L.C. Gant says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your submission, but I’m afraid your story isn’t right for me.
Although your work shows potential, the premise doesn’t stand out enough for me to request sample pages.
Take heart, however–another agent may feel differently! Good luck with your continued search for literary representation.
Best wishes,
L.C. Gant (Agent for a Day)
Sarah says
Dear Author #42,
I regret that I cannot offer representation- and that my other obligations necessitate using this form letter.
Tastes and opinions vary, so I encourage you to query widely. I wish you the best of luck as you continue to pursue publication.
Warmly,
Sarah, Literary Agent for a Day
Reason:
The setup for the story (Mac discovering the book) was described better than the conflict. I wanted to know why Mac should care about these creatures- and why I should as well.
donnas says
Thank you for your submission, but I’m afraid this is not what I am looking for at this time.
Best of luck.
Hilabeans says
Deat Author –
Thank you for your submission and for reading my blog.
I appreciate the opportunity to consider your work. Regrettably, I don’t feel that I’m the most appropriate agent for this project.
Best wishes,
HHS
Dawn says
Dear Author,
Thank you for contacting Dawn Ink. Unfortunately, The End is not what we’re looking for right now.
Best of luck in finding representation.
Sincerely,
Dawn
GuyStewart/DISCOVERCHURCH says
Dear Author:
Thank you for your query, but I’m going to have to pass. I do not feel strongly enough about your story to represent it well.
Sincerely, Guy Stewart
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your query to me.
Your story sounds promising.
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 END / YOUR NAME. I will respond to your request within two weeks.
Good luck with finding representation and keep on writing!
Kind regards,
Nicole34
2readornot says
I’m afraid this story idea didn’t resonate with me. Good luck with it!
Kathy says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to pass.
Best wishes to you.
Sincerely,
Kathy
Sara J. Henry says
Form rejection[Reasons: The sentence “It would be an honor for you to consider my work” tells me this author isn’t ready – it’s a nice thought, and I’m sure it’s true, but you’re wasting the agent’s time and worn-out eyeballs. The manuscript is far too short at 15K words, and you need to considerably tighten your bio paragraph. And you just haven’t made the story itself sound compelling enough – never mind that it seems to suggest that Macs fails at his task and all the book’s characters die.]
Anahita says
Dear Author:
Thanks for sharing your query. Sorry I can’t represent your work. Good luck!
Anahita
Saint_Fool says
Dear Author:
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I do not feel that your story is the right fit for me.
Best of luck.
Saint_Fool
Enusan says
Thank you for your query. It seems that you intend to have your book end on a negative note, with the failure of the protagonist to protect his little charges. This is an interesting angle to take in a YA title, but there is too little about what happens in between the protagonist finding the book and the eternal sleep of the village. I was on the verge of requesting this but have to pass for that reason.
That Girl says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. Unfortunately, I will have to pass at this time.
Best of luck,
That Agent Girl
Anonymous says
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately, this project is not a good fit for me. I appreciate your time and consideration, and wish you luck in finding representation.
Best,
Agent M
Jenn S. says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. It’s not right for me, but please keep me in mind for future submissions.
Regards,
Jenn S.
(Reason: I’m not familiar with much YA, but I’m I’ve heard of this basic plot before–child[ren] + magical book. How is this version different? Need to play up the them more and show it first in the book summary. For instance, tell me that Macs first struggles to accept the reality of this magical book before he starts trying to save the characters.
One other note: the MC’s name is distracting. “Max” or “Mac” would be less distracting. )
R. Markiam says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query letter and for thinking of me for representation of THE END. 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
ludwig snarf says
i regret that we cannot help you
MonkBoy says
Thank you for your query submission, but I’m afraid we’re not interested in your material at this time.
Best of luck,
Placebo Publications
Linta says
Dear Author
Your story sounds interesting. However, 15000 words is not long enough for this genre. Please consider expanding your tale and resubmitting it.
Regards
Agent for a day.
Laura Martone says
Dear Author:
Thank you for submitting your query for consideration. I appreciate the time, energy, and passion that it required to complete “The Keeper”.
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 novel 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
Livia says
Thank you for your query, but it is not a good fit for me. Best wishes.
Livia
Livia says
Thank you for your query, but it is not a good fit for me. Best wishes.
Livia
chris says
Thank you for your query, but your project isn’t right for us at this time. Best of luck in your endeavors.