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,
Nothing sucks for seventeen-year-old Jonah McNab. Life’s perfect. And he’s bored out of his freaking mind–tired of being healthy, comfortable, and stagnant. How is his upper-middle-class lifestyle training him to be a better person? Unlike his anaphylaxis-prone brother, who gets to fight death on a regular basis, Jonah isn’t evolving. He’s not getting stronger. If he wants to be improve, he’s going to need a challenge to overcome. Even if he has to create one himself.
And that’s where the broken bones come in. Everyone knows broken bones grow back stronger than they were before. So Jonah will break them all, one by one. Break a bone, grow a better bone. Break a body, grow a better body. Right?
But Jonah’s new habit–and subsequent distraction–exacerbate all that’s not well at home. His brother, deteriorating whenever he’s not under Jonah’s watchful eye, decides eating’s not worth the risk of an allergic reaction. His parents use Jonah’s broken bones as just
another prop in their power plays, until they become the suspects of child abuse. It looks like Jonah’s destroying more than just his bones…but how can he be sure it’s all going to grow back?
IF IT AIN’T BROKE is a YA for the Children of Fight Club, complete at 45,000 words.
Author
STATS: 31% request rate
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
s.koncilja says
Dear Author,
I received and read your query. Your story seems very interesting and unusual. Please send me the whole manuscript.
Agent S.K.
Kat says
Great voice, intriguing premise- I want to see more. Partial request, please send me the first three chapters.
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
publishingcareer says
Dear Author
Thank you for expressing your interest in our agency and submitting your query for your novel If It Ain’t Broke.
I read it with interest and would very much like to read the first three chapters with a view to consider representing you and your novel.
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
PCB says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query. We are not in a position to represent you at this time, but wish you all the very best in your writing endeavors.
Sincerely,
PCB
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)
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.
Agent FaD Jen says
Dear Author,
I have just finished reading your query and would love to read more! Both the premise and the voice intrigue me. Please send me the full manuscript.
Agent FaD Jen
Hildegarde512 says
Dear Author,
I am very pleased you chose to submit to us and am interested in reading more of your work.
If I were a real agent, instructions for sending the requested material would live here.
Kendra says
Dear Author,
The story and characters sound terrific. Please send the first three chapters for further consideration. I look forward to reading them.
-Kendra
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:
This was on my maybe list, but ultimately, the short word count knocked it out of contention (no pun intended). Otherwise, I was torn between wanting to read this and worrying whether the themes would be handled sensitively–but if I were an agent, I’d probably request some sample pages to see. Best of luck in finding representation.
Vic K says
Thank you for submitting to my agency, however I’m going to take a pass at this time.
Vic K
Reason; This was number six on my list, just missed out. I was looking for a hint of how it resolves in the query – mainly because it was such a dark premise. Good luck with this.
Heather says
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering our agency for IF IT AIN’T BROKE. I would like to request that you send the first 100 pages of your manuscript as a PDF attachment via email to my attention.
Best Wishes,
Heather
genkischuldich says
Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting your query to us. However, we regret to inform you that we are unable to accept you as a client at this point in time.
This is a case of something ‘not being the right fit’. The writing is strong, you have a clear sense of plot and conflict, it’s just that it just doesn’t appeal. One recommendation I would make is not to compare your book to ‘Fight Club’ even incidentally, because they don’t sound similar at all.
Thank you for thinking of us.
“Genki”
Rik says
Thank you for submitting your book – If It Ain’t Broke – for my consideration. May I say that I enjoyed reading your query. Regrettably, I do not feel that I am able to represent this particular book – a fact that has more to do with pressures on the time and resources at my disposal rather than on the book itself. Best wishes for your future endeavours, both with this book and with future projects. Agent Rik.
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
P.S. This was a very close call for me. A small writing sample with the query could have made a difference.
Martin Willoughby says
(form rejection)
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
Meggrs says
Request for partial + synopsis.
It’s extreme, but it got my attention, and I’d like to see how the story is handled.
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering me. Unfortunately I have to pass.
Best of Luck!
Agent X-9
SuzieQ Agent4U says
Dear Author,
I’m interested in seeing more. Please send the full manuscript as a Word doc to SUZIEQ@AGENT4U.BIZ.
Best,
S
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for considering me. I can see this being picked up elsewhere, but unfortunately I have to pass. Reason for rejection – personal taste.
Best of Luck!
Agent X-9
Sasha says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query. I’m interested in reading more of your work. Please send me the first 50 pages as an email attachment.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sasha
AndrewDugas says
Thank you for querying our agency. The premise of your novel is intriguing. Please send the first 50 pages.
Sincerely,
Andy
=======================
Broken bones out of boredom? Gotta see it!
Julie says
Dear Author,
Although I find your premise intriguing, I do not think I would be the best advocate for this book. Best of luck and please feel free to query me with future projects.
Best regards,
FakeAgent
Kathy says
Dear Author,
I must be honest. When you said that the main characters’ life was perfect, my first thought was: Nobody’s life is perfect.
I had trouble getting past that. I’m sorry I’ll have to pass on this project.
Best of luck to you.
Sincerely,
Kathy
ludwig snarf says
i’m sorry–we cannot help you
Madhat says
Dear Author:
I’m going to have to pass.
-Agent
Why: I don’t feel any empathy for your character. I like disturbed characters, but only smartly disturbed ones (you know, ones who hurt others). Breaking your own bones on purpose is stupid. Also, the fact that he’s angry about his youth and perfect health makes me want to break his bones. Sorry.
Dawn says
Thank you for contacting Dawn Ink.
Please send me the first chapter of IF IT AIN’T BROKE via email.
Sincerely,
Dawn
Anonymous says
Dear Author,
Thank you for taking the time to submit your query to me.
I was extremely intrigued by your voice and the premise of your work.
Therefore, I would like to request the FULL manuscript. Please send a reply to this e-mail with an attached Word document. Please change the subject line to: FULL / IF IT AIN’T BROKE / YOUR NAME. I will respond within one week.
Thank you in advance.
Kind regards,
Nicole34
2readornot says
I’m afraid this topic isn’t one I’d like to see in young adult novels. Good luck!
Anahita says
Dear Author:
Thanks for sharing your query. Sorry I can’t represent your work. Good luck!
Anahita
That Girl says
Dear Author,
After reading your query for IF IT AIN’T BROKE, I would like to read the complete manuscript. Please send it as an email attachment at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
That Agent Girl
Diana says
Wow, really interesting. A little bizarre. I think it would be too much for me.
Enusan says
Thanks for your query. While the premise is very interesting, I think it may simply be too much for a YA title. I’m afraid I’ll have to pass.
(This was one of the last titles I cut. I could turn out to be either very gratuitous or very sympathetic, but ultimately I had to stick with looking for what might sell.)
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
R. Markiam says
Dear Author,
Thank you for your query letter and for thinking of me for representation of If it Aint Broke. 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
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
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
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
Sara J. Henry says
Form rejection[Reasons: Ouch. Kids think of enough ways to hurt themselves on their own. (Don’t understand “Children of Fight Club”; googled it to no avail.]
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 “If It Ain’t Broke”.
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. For future reference, it would also help to know a bit more about you, the author.
Still, I am grateful for the opportunity to consider your work and wish you much luck in your future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Laura Martone
Linta says
Dear Author
Thank you for your submission. Unfortunately I’m not the right agent for you. Best of luck in finding your novel a home.
Regards
Agent for a day
[reasoning: an interesting premise, but one I find unappealing.]
chris says
Thank you for your query, but your project isn’t right for us at this time. Best of luck in your endeavors.