Rejections From a Literary Agent: Discouraging Writers, One Bad Query at a Time

Author: G. Randy Kasten

ISBN 978-1-949756-19-7 (softcover)

258 pages

Satirical humor books have built success on very serious topics — FURIOUSLY HAPPY by Jenny Lawson (mental illness), SHI*T MY DAD SAYS by Justin Halpern (awkward relations) and CALYPSO by David Sedaris (alcoholism, suicide) — but no one has yet written anything funny about the arduous process of trying to snag a literary agent. 

REJECTIONS FROM A LITERARY AGENT : DISCOURAGING WRITERS, ONE BAD QUERY AT A TIME includes the fictional Ribbons Literary Agency website, twenty-three invented query letters, sample pages from hopeful authors and blunt responses from senior agent Marcie Ribbons. 

Responding to queries for multiple genres and occasional bad querying etiquette, Ms. Ribbons shares her editorial wisdom with the impatience of a Judge Judy. Wounded aspirants sometimes write back after rejection and a story arc plays out. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

G. Randy Kasten is an attorney and former childhood television actor. He is the author of JUST TRUST ME: FINDING THE TRUTH IN A WORLD OF SPIN (Quest Books, 2011). The book presents methods for discovering truths behind advertising, politics, media, family and social relationships. Trade publication Publishers Weekly observed, "G. Randy Kasten explains how to discern fact from fiction in all your personal and professional dealings with others so as not to be taken for a ride."

He is also the author of A STEP AWAY, a young adult mystery (Black Rose Writing, 2019). Kasten's play, "The Perfect Step," had a five-performance run at the Fringe of Marin in November 2011. In 2012, two of his songs were featured in "Not Quite Opera," a production at the Alcove Theatre in San Francisco. His play "Supplementing" showcased at the Fringe in November 2012. 

Kasten studied writing with William Dickey at San Francisco State University and at Reed College with Peter Sears and James Crumley. He is currently at work on a book setting forth logical arguments for optimism about world peace in light of the intersection of current technology, politics and human nature. He is a self-declared expert on soliciting rejection letters from literary agents.