The #1 Reason Writers Get Mad At Me
Inside the slush pile: why agents can’t reply to everyone.
This one is going to be… contentious. Today, I’m going to talk about the number one reason writers get mad at agents like me: our no-response or no-feedback policy to queries in the slush pile.
This topic can be frustrating and can tend to make people unhappy, but I think it’s worth peeling back the curtain and having an honest conversation.
When it comes to queries, writers are generally upset by two things: the lack of response (“no response within X weeks means no”), and the lack of personalized feedback or even a form rejection. There’s overlap, but not everyone who wants a response expects feedback; many would simply appreciate a form rejection.
I’ve discussed rejection on this blog before and wrote about how rejection is (in my opinion) the hardest part of being a writer.
I genuinely empathize with writers who feel frustrated by how the slush pile is handled. Writers pour time, effort, and emotion into their work, so it’s devastating not to get a response or clarity on why a project was rejected-especially from an agent you felt was a great fit. Most agents, (yes, even those who don’t respond to queries), understand where you’re coming from. We get it more than you think you we do. We work with writers every day and know the courage it takes to put your work out there. We also submit projects to editors who sometimes don’t respond to us, either!
Get ready for some hard truths…
The truth is: if we could give you thoughtful feedback in a sustainable way, we would. But we can’t. It’s not personal, it’s business.
The moment you take your book from the creative space into publishing, you’re commodifying your art. Publishing is a business-a billion-dollar industry where agents, publishers, and writers must make business decisions and assess books as products in the marketplace. These decisions aren’t about how hard you worked or your journey to get here; they’re about the quality of the product and its competitiveness.
Like any business, we have limited resources. The short answer for why I don’t respond to all queries is that I don’t have the capacity to do so.
The short answer for why I don’t respond to all queries is that I simply don’t have the resources or capacity to do so.
I’m honoured by every single query that is sent to me. I consider every query thoughtfully. I have a lot of respect for the people who send their work to me. But I’m only human. I try to remind myself that my job as an agent isn’t to give everyone feedback. My job is to give my clients feedback. That’s always my priority, and that’s my obligation. Those are the people I have contracts with, who are owed my time and my work. If I responded to every single query with personalized feedback, that would be time taken from my clients.
This is also an issue of unpaid labour. The majority of agents work on commission. This means that if I spend 10-15 hours a week responding to the queries I’m rejecting, that’s 10-15 hours I could have used for client work that could have paid me (eventually). For the record, I did the math with my inbox, and it would take me around 12 hours a week on average to send out rejections.
We always say it’s about time, and time is a valuable resource. But I also want to emphasize that in a commission-only job, where we spend our time is correlated with our income. It’s simply not sustainable to respond to everyone.
Another thing to note is the agent or agency’s technological resources. Whether an agent or responds to queries (and how detailed those responses are) is also dependent on the structure and tools they’ve got in place. For example, it might be easier to manage rejections if an agent/ agency uses a tool like Query Manager than if they were to send rejections through an email inbox. But that, too, would depend on the volume of queries and the volume of clients the agents have.
None of us enjoy this aspect of the job, but it’s the business model we have. While agents are gatekeepers in this industry, we’re not actually trying to keep you out of this business. In fact, we’re trying to work with as many writers as we can handle, in a way that benefits everyone.
Publishing is also subjective. And as agents, we’re quite aware of that. We know that sometimes getting subjective feedback isn’t actually the useful thing. What I might not like about a manuscript might be what makes it sparkle for another agent. We can be wrong sometimes, too. We can have takes that don’t align with someone else’s. We don’t love all the books in the world!
Where to go for feedback instead
If you want tailored feedback on your project or your query letter, an agent’s query inbox is not the place you get that. It’s the space where you make your sales pitch.
There are other resources available for that tailored feedback. The include: Freelance services, workshops, podcasts, critique groups, online forums, and more. Some are free, some are paid, but all of these options offer controlled environments where you can choose who gives you feedback, and those offering it are prepared to dedicate time and have a conversation.
For example, I offer consultations through Manuscript Academy. When I meet writers for consultations, we’re usually able to have a conversation. I’m able to ask if they meant something to read the way I’m interpreting it, what their intentions are, whether they’ve thought of or tried another approach, and ask other questions that can help me tailor my feedback with the writer’s vision and goals in mind.
That said, your frustration with query rejections is 100% valid. This blog post is not meant to diminish that in any way. In fact, the #1 reason writers get mad at me is also the #1 reason I get mad at editors (though I understand why it works that way and I’m not actually mad, but that’s a whole other conversation!). My goal here is simply to clarify a few things from the other side of the desk. I wish it weren’t this way, and I hope it changes one day. But for now, we do the best we can with what we’ve got.
