Thoughts on Thank You

In doing Query Recaps, you’ve noticed that I get a fair number of thank-yous in response to rejections. Not a ton, but about 3 to 5 for every 100 queries I answer. There’s been a lot of discussion on agent blogs about not doing thank-yous because it simply adds more to our in-box, and I agree. There’s a big part of me that thinks it would be easier if writers stopped sending thank-yous for every rejection. That being said, there’s a side of me that always feels a little more motivated to give some sort of feedback after receiving a thank-you. It’s nice to know you’ve helped.

So, if you want to write a thank-you, go ahead and do so. Let’s put it this way: no one is going to blacklist you for a thank-you. Unless of course you do the backhanded thank-you. Always a favorite of mine. Something that goes like this, “Thank you so much for providing feedback. It’s really too bad you can’t see the value in this. I thought after reading your blog you might be different, might have some guts. I see now I was wrong. I’ll keep plugging away and won’t quit until I find that agent who is willing to take a chance on a bestseller.”

Jessica

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