Pet Hates from an Agent's Point of View

1.  Submission of an ENTIRE ms that wasn't asked for.

2.  Submission not adhered to the guidelines.

3.  No SAE.

4.  Requesting payment ASAP.

5.  Paperclips.

6.  Staples!

7.  Begging/threatening/soppy letters.

8.  Handwritten submissions (does happen).

I've (I admit to this now only because I was young and ignorant, and now I'm old and clever...ish) done numbers 1 and 2. Number one because I thought it'd save time for when they (obviously) requested my full ms. Number two because I just knew they'd fall in love with my sci-fi even though it was clearly a romance list I'd submitted to.

My Pet Hates - from a struggling writer's point of view.

1.  Agents/publishers that do not respond even when ms is neatly presented with SAE and correct postage.

2.  MS returned with my cover letter. (Rubbing it in that they didn't even take the blimming thing out of the envelope.)

3.  MS returned with my cover letter and the words: no thanks, scrawled across. (ouch!)

4.  A standard rejection, but then advertising their own books for successful publication.

5. Getting my name wrong.

6.  Ending the rejection letter with the words: Better luck next time. (I didn't enter a raffle!)

7.  A rejection letter in shape of a form. The reasons are listed, and my particular one is ticked or ringed.

8.  "I only accept new clients that already have published success." (Grrr.)

Rejections can be very devastating at times and you should avoid falling into depression, or overuse of alcohol/drugs. Saw this warning here, and thought it funny. I dunno, I'm still POSITVE I'll get a three-book deal sometime soon, so maybe there is a chance I could be hitting the bottle or worse within the next couple of years.