Hello, dreamers. So I received another rejection this past week. I’m still waiting to hear back from the remaining seven, and don’t expect to for a while.

That said, I have grown concerned. I received some positive feedback from agents on my last round. This time I’ve received a few fairly quick rejections and none personalized. As such, I’ve already begun casting a critical eye at my query materials. I’m wondering if the changes to my query letter, much as all my CPs loved them, may actually be working against me. And now that I’m reading The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, I’m starting to think it’s not a suitable comp for my novel. I’m also considering changes to my manuscript, including the opening pages, though since I still have outstanding queries I’ll be holding off on that for now.

On the bright side, given the number of queries I still have going, I’ve probably found my way into a couple “maybe piles”. And readers who don’t know much about the query process may be wondering, “What the heck is a maybe pile?”

The “Maybe” Pile

It’s important to note that there’s no law about how, exactly, an agent should deal with their queries. They don’t have to review them in the order in which they’re received (though most do). After they’ve reviewed them, they’re not required to immediately provide a “yes” or “no” before moving on. As I’ve said before, if an agent finds anything about a query package they immediately dislike, they’ll swiftly reject it. On the flip side, if something immediately grabs their attention, they’ll waste no time in making a full request.

However, those two extremes are separated by a vast, uncanny valley. Most queries agents receive don’t garner an immediate response. Rather, after initially reviewing them, they set them aside and move on. This uncanny valley is known to querying writers as the maybe pile.

Now, readers might have one question above others regarding ending up in the maybe pile, so I’ll address that right now:

There’s nothing wrong with being in the maybe pile.

As I always say, the most important thing to remember about the publishing industry is that it’s subjective. Agents don’t have a hard-and-fast checklist they use to judge queries or manuscripts. If an agent doesn’t immediately say yes (or even if they say no), that doesn’t mean your book or query is bad. It just means it’s not flashy enough for them to jump at it immediately. It could simply be that your story falls into a niche market (I know all about that).

And to address the next question readers are liable to ask:

Writers see nothing wrong with being in a maybe pile.

This is important to remember: not only is there nothing wrong with being in the maybe pile, but querying writers don’t care. Trust me. Querying is a grueling, drawn-out, emotionally-draining process. After getting enough no’s, if you find yourself in a maybe pile you’re just relieved to have an agent not reject you outright.

So, you’re in a maybe pile. What do you do next?

Nothing.

While it might feel nice to know your work is receiving deep consideration from an agent, as a writer your responsibilities haven’t changed. There’s nothing to do but wait. A lot of writers begin to agonize, knowing they’re in the maybe pile. But really, why waste your energy worrying? As I’ve said before, once your query is out, it’s not up to you anymore. Until (or unless) you receive a request for more material, your role in this process has ended.

Many writers begin obsessively checking QueryTracker, trying to suss out an agent’s behavior, but it’s largely pointless. As I said, every agent has their own system. Some will read through all their available queries before going back and looking at the “maybes”. Others work in batches. It’s entirely up to them.

The whole query process, from beginning to end, is not for the faint of heart. But it’s important, as a query writer, to always remember that this process isn’t just hard on you. There’s a lot of pressure on agents. They don’t want to be the one who passed on the next great author. And they don’t want you to think their passing on your work takes anything away from it. They know you worked hard. They know how much your story means to you. But this is a business. Their job is to find skilled authors with promising novels. Your job is to convince them that means you. – MK