The literary agent is also a practicing author - say what?

[Username]

Jessica Faust lost all credibility with me this summer when I sent her an e-mail in which I inquired if she would accept an unsolicited query for a novel in hard-copy - I was hoping for an enthusiastic response, and wrote that the submission was right here on my desk, good to go, and that all she had to do was give me the word and I'd send it right away. She responded by saying that she was no longer accepting 'printed materials' as this was 'damaging' to the environment.

I read that e-mail five times in utter astonishment. A literary agent... not accepting a submission... because it's printed on paper... just completely unbelievable.

So what? I'm not supposed to use paper anymore? I've read a few of her blogs since that 'incident' - and honestly, I cringe... just cringe at the thought that this woman has power in the publishing business.

[charlotte49ers]

Well, if you think about how much crap is in an agent's slush pile, electronically sent queries really are the green thing to do.

That way, paper is used for quality. Harsh, but it makes sense if you are the environmentally friendly type. :)

[Kirril]

No shirt, no shoes, no service.

In other words, businesses are generally able to conduct business and refuse service on their own terms unless it breaks the law. Her agency is a business. She's taking a calculated risk that she won't miss out on something great from someone who doesn't use email.

On the other hand you have a choice to submit via email...or not.

Either way, there's no wrong or right to this. It's her business decision and there's not much you can do to influence it. There are plenty of other things to be frustrated with in this business.

So unless she demands all queries be written in 12-point font atop a cream-filled strawberry pastry, I wouldn't sweat it. Even then, I would simply eat it.

[Username]

No shirt, no shoes, no service.

In other words, businesses are generally able to conduct business and refuse service on their own terms unless it breaks the law. Her agency is a business. She's taking a calculated risk that she won't miss out on something great from someone who doesn't use email.

On the other hand you have a choice to submit via email...or not.

Either way, there's no wrong or right to this. It's her business decision and there's not much you can do to influence it. There are plenty of other things to be frustrated with in this business.

So unless she demands all queries be written in 12-point font atop a cream-filled strawberry pastry, I wouldn't sweat it. Even then, I would simply eat it.

The submission was ten pages long. I had already printed it and placed it into a manilla folder, and had even addressed it to her. Part of the reason I sent the e-mail was to feel her out. All I wanted was an enthusiastic response. How difficult is it to say yes for a change? I had even explained to her that I had already printed the submission, and that it was just sitting there on my desk waiting to be dispatched.

After learning about her desire to preserve the environment, and that she simply wasn't accepting 'printed materials', I inquired, as pleasantly as I could possibly phrase it, if she would care to read my submission sent via e-mail. Again, I was hoping for a simple yes - just that. Why not offer an enthusiastic response to a struggling writer? Her response: "Unfortunately, I don't believe I would be the appropriate agent for you."

Wow.

I re-read the very small amount of correspondence I had sent to her, wondering if any way, shape, or form, I had written something that was even remotely offensive enough that would've caused her to respond as she did. I saw nothing, and even forwarded the communications to my sister (a business-person) and asked her for her opinion. She said she saw nothing offensive whatsoever.

This agent, in my opinion, without knowing a single thing about me - other than the fact that I was an unpublished writer - had virtually no interest in receiving a submission from me. Honestly, if John Grisham, JK Rowling, or Stephen King had sent her a submission in hard-copy, do you think she would have informed them that she wasn't accepting printed materials because she was concerned about the environment? I don't believe that for a minute. Not for one second.

Has the entire world gone mad? I've spent twenty years now, living in poverty, teaching myself how to write fiction. I've sacrificed everything... everything... in order to teach myself how to write commercial fiction - and a literary agent won't even accept a ten page submission of mine printed on paper.

[mirror-egami]

The submission was ten pages long. I had already printed it and placed it into a manilla folder, and had even addressed it to her. Part of the reason I sent the e-mail was to feel her out. All I wanted was an enthusiastic response. How difficult is it to say yes for a change? I had even explained to her that I had already printed the submission, and that it was just sitting there on my desk waiting to be dispatched.

After learning about her desire to preserve the environment, and that she simply wasn't accepting 'printed materials', I inquired, as pleasantly as I could possibly phrase it, if she would care to read my submissions sent via e-mail. Again, I was hoping for a simple yes - just that. Why not offer an enthusiastic response to a struggling writer? Her response: "Unfortunately, I don't believe I would be the appropriate agent for you."

Wow.

I re-read the very small amount of correspondence I had sent to her, wondering if any way, shape, or form, I had written something that was even remotely offensive enough that would've caused her to respond as she did. I saw nothing, and even forwarded the communications to my sister (a business-person) and asked her for her opinion. She said she saw nothing offensive whatsoever.

This agent, in my opinion, without knowing a single thing about me - other than the fact that I was an unpublished writer - had virtually no interest in receiving a submission from me. Honestly, if John Grisham, JK Rowling, or Stephen King had sent her a submission in hard-copy, do you think she would she have informed them that she wasn't accepting printed materials because she was concerned about the environment? I don't believe that for a minute. Not for one second.

Has the entire world gone mad? I've spent twenty years now, living in poverty, teaching myself how to write fiction. I've sacrificed everything... everything... in order to teach myself how to write commercial fiction - and a literary agent won't even accept a ten page submission of mine printed on paper.

JK Rowling and Stephen King both received many rejections. Agents aren't obligated to read anything from us or even acknowledge that we exist. Neither are editors. They're also not obligated to assist struggling writers or provide them with a boost of self confidence. Research the agent. Submit according to their guidelines. Move on. If they love your work, you'll hear from them. If they don't, you won't. Twenty years is a long time to go without learning that lesson.

[charlotte49ers]

Most agents expect you to research their submission guidelines and abide by them before querying. They receive sooo many queries (research some of Nathan's #s in just a weekend that he's posted before as an example), so if they answered every person who e-mailed them about how to query, can they make an exception, etc., etc., they wouldn't have time for their actual jobs, kwim? That's why the responsibility falls to us to know and do what they suggest. Not doing so just makes it easier for them to knock down their lists. C. Lindsay tweets about this a lot - don't follow her submission guidelines = instant reject.

I mean, you are 100% entitled to your opinion and you shouldn't submit to her if you don't want to, but you might want to think about it from her point of view, too. It's all about efficiency, I would think. Almost everyone who is sending her something to consider is a struggling writer. It's a business and she has to do what she has to do for hers to be what she needs it to be. :/

[maybegenius]

Out of curiosity, are you a member of a critique group? I think it'd go a long way on helping you develop thicker skin, because right now it sounds like you need it. If you are expecting everyone to respond to you with enthusiasm and encouragement, you're going to be disappointed.

It's more likely that Ms. Foust felt you hadn't read her submission guidelines and was turned off. Harsh, maybe. But it's a harsh business.

I understand that many people feel like agents make writers jump through hoops. It's fine to feel that way. Perhaps going with an agent is not the right path for you.

[Nathan Bransford]

Has the entire world gone mad? I've spent twenty years now, living in poverty, teaching myself how to write fiction. I've sacrificed everything... everything... in order to teach myself how to write commercial fiction - and a literary agent won't even accept a ten page submission of mine printed on paper.

I mean, there is a reverse perspective, which is that you spent twenty years learning how to write only to get terribly upset because an agent was trying to save you a trip to the post office.

[Username]

Her reason for not accepting my submission had nothing to do with her submission guidelines. Am I not making myself clear about this: the reason she stated for not accepting my submission was her concern for the environment.

Okay, does anybody here... and I mean ANYBODY... find it slightly odd, and maybe even a bit disconcerting, that a literary agent won't accept a ten-page submission printed on paper because she's concerned for the environment?

Yeah, everything that you guys have written - I get all of that. I wasn't born yesterday. (And I can assure that I have a very thick skin.) But whether or not she has an obligation to help unpublished authors is kinda beside the point here.

[Nathan Bransford]

Her reason for not accepting my submission had nothing to do with her submission guidelines. Am I not making myself clear about this: the reason she stated for not accepting my submission was her concern for the environment.

Okay, does anybody here... and I mean ANYBODY... find it slightly odd, and maybe even a bit disconcerting, that a literary agent won't accept a ten-page submission printed on paper because she's concerned for the environment?

Yeah, everything that you guys have written - I get all of that. I wasn't born yesterday. (And I can assure that I have a very thick skin.) But whether or not she has an obligation to help unpublished authors is kinda beside the point here.

I feel like you're verging on concern trolling here - deep breaths, friend.

I don't accept paper from people at conferences and I would vastly prefer that people send me an e-mailed query because, yes, I think paper is wasteful when an e-mail would be faster and more convenient. If that is your threshold for being fed up with the industry I think you're going to be in for some unhappiness.

[Username]

Has the entire world gone mad? I've spent twenty years now, living in poverty, teaching myself how to write fiction. I've sacrificed everything... everything... in order to teach myself how to write commercial fiction - and a literary agent won't even accept a ten page submission of mine printed on paper.

I mean, there is a reverse perspective, which is that you spent twenty years learning how to write only to get terribly upset because an agent was trying to save you a trip to the post office.

Nathan, I think you're missing the point. From where I sit, based on the correspondence I sent to her, this agent just didn't want to read anything of mine, period. In my opinion, her reason for not wanting to accept my submission - namely, to preserver the environment - was just a cop out.

You either see that or you don't I guess.

[Nathan Bransford]

Has the entire world gone mad? I've spent twenty years now, living in poverty, teaching myself how to write fiction. I've sacrificed everything... everything... in order to teach myself how to write commercial fiction - and a literary agent won't even accept a ten page submission of mine printed on paper.

I mean, there is a reverse perspective, which is that you spent twenty years learning how to write only to get terribly upset because an agent was trying to save you a trip to the post office.

Nathan, I think you're missing the point. From where I sit, based on the correspondence I sent to her, this agent just didn't want to read anything of mine, period. In my opinion, her reason for not wanting to accept my submission - namely, to preserver the environment - was just a cop out.

You either see that or you don't I guess.

I can't speak for her, all I'm saying is that your level of anger about this is vastly disproportionate to the situation. There's only one way to survive the publication process, and that's to let things slide.

[charlotte49ers]

We all read that part.

Her submission guidelines state she doesn't accept paper queries and it IS more green, no matter which way you look at it. Books that are published (on paper and bounded) are quality for the most part. More than half of submissions are total crap, thus a waste of paper (in essence) despite her position in the publishing industry. Unless she is closed to submissions, she does want to read your stuff - in the manner in which she explicitly states.

Times are a changin', my friend.

And ditto to NB...let.it.go. So not a big deal in the big picture and you are going to stop before you even get started if you let stuff so small bug you like this.

[Jaime]

There is a process:

Research the agent you want. Do they accept your genre? Yes? OK. Check their website for submission guidelines. Do they accept snail mail, or email queries? Jessica Faust clearly states on her website that they will only accept proposals via snail mail if they have specifically requested that proposal.

"Like most agencies, BookEnds now only accepts queries or e-queries . . . This is actually something we’ve discussed for quite some time. We like proposal packages because we like having the chapters in front of us. However, the amount of paper we are recycling on a weekly basis is astounding. Therefore we will now be accepting only those proposals we’ve requested.

So, if you have an unsolicited proposal with us already, that’s fine. We’ll read it. And if you are about to send one that’s been requested, continue to do so (via snail mail). However, if you are about to send an unsolicited proposal, stop. Send a query instead.

Hopefully this will help cut down on our submission response times and of course save the planet."

Her reason for not accepting my submission had nothing to do with her submission guidelines. Am I not making myself clear about this: the reason she stated for not accepting my submission was her concern for the environment.

Guess what? That is included in her submission guidelines! If you emailed her to see whether she would accept your snail mail package, she has to assume that either you can't read, or you think the rules don't apply to you - neither of which are awesome qualities in a prospective client. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm simply saying that there are rules, and there are certain ways to go about getting the agent you want. So you didn't get her. Move on. There's no point in getting angry about it.

[Username]

There is a process:

Research the agent you want. Do they accept your genre? Yes? OK. Check their website for submission guidelines. Do they accept snail mail, or email queries? Jessica Faust clearly states on her website that they will only accept proposals via snail mail if they have specifically requested that proposal.

"Like most agencies, BookEnds now only accepts queries or e-queries . . . This is actually something we’ve discussed for quite some time. We like proposal packages because we like having the chapters in front of us. However, the amount of paper we are recycling on a weekly basis is astounding. Therefore we will now be accepting only those proposals we’ve requested.

So, if you have an unsolicited proposal with us already, that’s fine. We’ll read it. And if you are about to send one that’s been requested, continue to do so (via snail mail). However, if you are about to send an unsolicited proposal, stop. Send a query instead.

Hopefully this will help cut down on our submission response times and of course save the planet."

Her reason for not accepting my submission had nothing to do with her submission guidelines. Am I not making myself clear about this: the reason she stated for not accepting my submission was her concern for the environment.

Guess what? That is included in her submission guidelines! If you emailed her to see whether she would accept your snail mail package, she has to assume that either you can't read, or you think the rules don't apply to you - neither of which are awesome qualities in a prospective client. I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm simply saying that there are rules, and there are certain ways to go about getting the agent you want. So you didn't get her. Move on. There's no point in getting angry about it.

As I stated, part of the reason I sent the e-mail to begin with was to feel her out. I've sent e-mails to other agents, asking them the same question, and many of them have responded with an oh so simple: Yes.

Guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree here.