As you can tell, I am new. So firstly I would like to say hello to everyone.

After finishing my first novel, I thought my hard work was over. How naive and conceited was I? Yesterday I was given a reality check and I came down to earth with a bang. Three agents emailed back, and as you can see below, my novel wasn’t the success I had thought, hoped and dreamed about.

***

Thank you very much for your email and for giving us the opportunity to consider your work. We are sincerely sorry, but after careful consideration we regret that we are unable to offer you representation. However, publishing is a highly subjective business and we would urge you to submit to other agencies to gather further feedback.


Many thanks for this; I do appreciate your submission of this work to us.
Sorry to say, we are fully committed to our present list of writers, but I wish you every success in finding the right agent.


Thank you for sending us this material. But I am sorry to say that your novel is not something we would feel 100% confident of being able to handle successfully.

***

Three no’s in one day, my pride is dented, my wounds are been licked and by tears are threatening. I have suddenly realized my hard work is just starting.


I feel it may be my synopsis that has let me down.

So my questions are:

1. Are all submissions read, or do some agents just read the synopsis & cover letter?
2. Is your work based on your synopsis? (unenthusiastic synopsis, amateur book)


Thanks in advance,

Claire
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Hi Claire, and welcome. I'm very sorry you had rejections - they are upsetting even if you know that rejection happens more often than not for writers, and continues to happen even after you are published. Much sympathy!

Are all submissions read, or do some agents just read the synopsis & cover letter?

I can't speak for all agents, but I think they will read the chapters themselves first. Having said that, I suppose they might also look first at the synopsis to see if the idea strikes them as interesting/ commercial. Nowadays you sometimes are asked to send a pitch letter, which is a kind of synopsis, and based on that the agent requests a partial or full submission.

2. Is your work based on your synopsis? (unenthusiastic synopsis, amateur book)

I don't quite know what you mean by this, could you re-phrase?

Ow, ow, ow! Bad luck - an awful lot of us have been there! And welcome to WW

I think a lot of agents would say that they glance at the covering letter and look at the first page of the actual writing. If that grabs them, they read a bit more of the writing - maybe dip into the middle. Only if they're beginning to think they might be interested do they look at the synopsis, to make sure that you've got a functioning plot, and a story which gets steadily more urgent and important...

WW has a synopsis group, which you might find it useful to join, and you might find this useful too:

http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2011/06/relax-its-only-a-synopsis.html

But it may not be the synopsis - you might want to join a group and get some feedback on the writing, too.

Emma

Ouch! Welcome Lilly, and be assured that we've all been there! I remember sending my first novel off and dreaming of the letter that would plop through the letterbox, offering to publish it.

It took several more novels and ten more years and LOTS of rejection letters to get an agent, and there's still no guarantee of publication.

But these rejection slips are standard (in fact, if I check back through mine, I could almost identify which agencies sent which message!) and unfortunately give you no indication of whether you almost made it or whether you were 100 miles wide of the mark.

But don't be discouraged. Hey, you've written an entire novel! Which is more than most people can say What an achievement.

And WW is about the best resource I've found for improving your work, getting helpful feedback and support along the way.

I'd recommend posting your synopsis in the synopsis group, and then your first chapter in one of the other groups (whichever most suits your type of work). Then people will be able to give you more indication of how you can improve your chances of getting an acceptance letter instead of a rejection!

<Added>

ooops, just noticed you're called Claire, not Lilly! Sorry

Thanks for your quick replies. It’s great to know I’m not alone.
I think it has finally dawned on me; writing is a tough business.

Steerpike`s sister: Thanks for replying. Sorry I wasn’t clear when asking the question.

What I was meaning. Could a novel be judged on a synopsis alone?
If the synopsis isn’t up to standard would an agent dismiss or not even consider reading the sample chapters?

EmmaD: Thanks, I will check out synopsis group. I feel my synopsis is my downfall.
(Maybe I’m been naive again, blaming anything instead of my writing.)

Freebird: Thanks for making me laugh, although you probably didn’t mean too. I had to giggle when I read, (in fact, if I check back through mine, I could almost identify which agencies sent which message!)

Claire
-x-


<Added>

EmmaD: Thanks for the link. Very informative and helpful.

Hi, Lily and welcome to WriteWords

I feel it may be my synopsis that has let me down

.

Most agents read the synopsis last, after the cover letter and then the submitted chapters. There are many things that can stop an agent reading and reach for the reject button. First novels are a steep learning curve for us all.


- NaomiM

<Added>

As a part member you can join one group and upload one piece of work. I would suggest joining one of the writing groups and uploading the first 2000 words of your manuscript for feedback.

You don't say what genre your novel is, and it's best to join one of the more active groups.
If it's Childrens or Teen (Young Adult) fiction then I can recommend the Childrens group.
If it's Adult Fiction then Intensive Critique is currently very active.

We do have a synopsis group, but it usually takes at least 3 drafts, with 3rd party feedback, to edit a synopsis into shape, so probably a group to join if you decide to become a full member.

<Added>

You can find the Groups here:

http://www.writewords.org.uk/groups/

Oh poor you, claire, it hurts like hell, doesn't it? 6 years on i still remember my first ever rejection. The first of many. It was a shock that agents didn't think my work as good as i did

we have all been there and just try and view the rejections as another step along the path to improving your work. It is hard though. But well done for getting your work out there, it takes guts.

The synopsis group is very good - as are the other groups. Maybe it would be an idea to upload your first chapter (the first thing the agent sees after the cover letter, i would have thought) into one of the novel groups, or women's fiction group if that is relevant to you, to see if there is anything obvious there that is dampening your chances.

Chin up.

Petal

NMott & Petal: I think I will give your advice some considerable thought. It seems agents don’t give a reason to why they are rejecting your work. But I suppose with the amount of submission received each week it would be near on impossible for any agent to comment. So uploading my first chapter might be the way forward, to get some constructive feedback.

Claire
-X-

Hi and welcome.

It's almost impossible for a new writer to judge the quality of their own writing. And feedback from family or friends cannot be relied on as totally honest - it's in their nature, generally, to want to encourage you.

So the first thing I would do, if I were you, is to upload the opening chapter. Get some honest, constructive feedback that you can work on, and take it from there. You can only upload one piece of work while you're a trial member, but you should get a pretty damned good idea of where you stand, and then you can plan the next step.

Dee

I think Dee made a very valuable comment, “It's almost impossible for a new writer to judge the quality of their own writing.” So I have uploaded the first chapter.

Uploading is a great way to get started. Welcome to WW, I hope you have fun here.
G

Just wanted to say that you've been 'blooded' now you've been rejected and therefore a proper writer! It's a huge achievement even to get to the stage of having finished and sent it out. How many people say, 'Oh I'd like to write a book someday when I have time', which makes me want to scream!
Onwards and upwards Claire!