Chris Parris-Lamb Writes Back After Rejecting Query

It's rare that I get a response from an agent that has this in the subject line "You know, you're right," but tonight that's exactly what I got, and now I know why I can't get rid of my literary blog, an idea I was toying with. Props to Chris Parris-Lamb and his wife ( I owe her a gigantic Frappucino, or one of those fantastic cupcakes from SoHo, or a gift certificate at the Jackson Diner--great Indian buffets).

CPL may not accept BLANK, but at least he's giving a brilliant and unorthodox novel a chance, and for that alone I'm happy + grateful.

This is what he wrote:

Jackson,

Apparently my wife is bored at work, because she googled my name and came across a blog post where you lamented the fact that I didn't even take a look at BLANK.

You're right; I should be more open than that. I confess that it came in while I was away on vacation, and I rejected it along with about 200 other queries that came in in my absence--I may have been so overwhelmed by all of them that I felt disinclined to give something a chance that I might have otherwise. So send me along the first few chapters as an email attachment, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Can I make a suggestion? Do not cite rejection letters from other agents and editors when you're querying an agent. If I had to point to one thing (besides my general mood at the time) that led me to pass on your query, it's that you cited kind words from people who nonetheless didn't want to take on the manuscript. Honestly, it's just too easy for an agent to assume, especially when they're swimming in queries, that if it wasn't good enough for their peers, it's not going to be good enough for them--we pay attention to the fact that they passed, not that they said nice things about it.

Yrs,

CPL

Yo, I have to say, this is great fucking advice.