AGENT IN FOCUS
Marcia Amsterdam Agency
41 West 82nd Street, Suite 9A
New York, NY 10024
Marcia still lives in the dark ages of snail mail. That was fine because when I sent her a query, I wasn't a big fan of email myself.
She replied within a few days. That was impressive. My own query letter came back to me with handwritten instructions. She wanted to see the ENTIRE manuscript. I should include the query with her handwritten request so that she would know it was requested material.
Since the manuscript was over 300 pages, she suggested FedEx or some other overnight delivery service since that would cost about as much as the postal service. I drove about 40 miles to the nearest FedEx facility and overnighted her my manuscript. That was a Tuesday.
She received it on Wednesday.
My SASE that I included was post marked Wednesday as well. I had my reply on Saturday.
Her reply was a rejection slip. It wasn't much. Marcia proved to be a real cheap ass when it comes to replying. The slip was an inch and a half long by four inches long. She had evidently copied it so that 14 of them could fit on a single 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. Marcia didn't even invest in either a paper cutter or scissors. She fucking tore the slips from the main sheet. Mine had three jagged edges.
Now I don't mind someone being a cheap ass. But when they request material be overnighted to them at a cost of about $15 and then they respond the same day with a shitty rejection slip, then I've got a problem. I'm guessing that she didn't even take the time to read the manuscript but rather just shuttled it off for the recycle bin.
I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet that if she took the time to read a few of the manuscripts she requests, and then actually SOLD one of them, she could afford rejection slips that were a little bit more professional. Heck, maybe she could even afford to have a letterhead so she doesn't have to use authors' queries anymore. Instead, she chose to look like a rank amateur.
I framed her rejection slip. I want to make sure I NEVER have contact with her pennypinching ass again.
Next up.... a little diatribe on agents who are too busy to respond.
Your post made me laugh out loud. Thirty-nine years ago Marcia Amsterdam sent me a rejection letter that contained a few paragraphs of razor-sharp, blood-letting criticism where I learned how much she hated my novel but nothing about why, not even a hint of why. No matter. It really was a bad novel that never should have raised any initial interest as it did by two NYC publisher first readers. I'm a much better writer now and I can only hope that Marcia is a much nicer human being.
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