What We Are Looking For Is Not Just A Partial List

As I was answering submissions a couple of days ago, I ran into a string of submissions that left me questioning either the intelligence/reading skills of the authors, or my ability to clearly communicate what I acquire. The more I thought about it, and questioning my own abilities, I realized that it all fell on the shoulders of the authors. Let me explain. 

I am constantly getting submissions for projects that are far from romance or women's fiction. Heck, when you go to my website, it says "representing romance and women's fiction." But I still get everything from children's books, poetry, self-help books, memoirs, autobiographies and... you get the idea. I even get these submitted, not just as query letters, but people using the form, on my website. Why????

Now, for many authors, they are just pulling my email off of someone's website that lists "Agents accepting submissions." They don't bother to go to the website to find out what. They just assume we are accepting everything. 

But then there are others who are submitting projects because they seem to think, when someone like Scott says he is looking for romance or women's fiction, this is nothing more than a #MSWL. In other words, he is really looking hard-core for romance and women's fiction but is still looking for a lot of other things. 

If you don't want to keep getting rejection letters, you need to go to our websites. I know, I sound like a broken record, but it is true. When you see a list of what we acquire, this IS NOT a partial list, but the ENTIRE list. We do not have, a "secret menu" like Starbucks of manuscripts we acquire but we just are not telling you. The lists are clearly posted with no hidden secrets. 

Slow down on the submissions. Take your time. Read the submission lists directly from our sites and not from some secondary source. Read it carefully. Don't try to find some secret codes. You will be disappointed.