How To Decipher A Rejection

We've all been there...

One finger hovers over the mouse, ready to click open the e-mail that just popped up in your inbox from an agent you've queried. Your heart is hammering against your ribs.

Maybe it's a partial request! Maybe it's full request! Maybe it's an invitation to set up a call!!!

Or maybe *sad violin music* it's a rejection.

And when someone tells you they don't like your heart and soul, and all the blood, sweat and tears that go with it, you want a good reason, don't you?



unleashyourcalling.com

Dude, I feel you pain. I'm somewhat of an expert on rejections. Suffice to say, I've racked up my fair share. And with that experience comes wisdom.

Here are some actual rejections I've received over the years and what they really mean.


#1. Rejection on JUST JESSE from editor.

Thanks for sending this my way, but I'm afraid the story didn't hook me like I had hoped. Keep in mind another agent may feel differently.

What it means: Keep writing. Keep sending out queries.



#2. Rejection on JUST JESSE from editor.

I loved the setting and the pacing of the story, but I didn't fall in love with the main character to my satisfaction. Thanks for thinking of me and please keep me in mind for future projects.

What it means: Keep writing. Keep sending out queries.


#3. Rejection on query for NIGHT SHIFT by agent.

A YA paranormal from a male POV isn't selling well in this genre. Most readers are girls and want to live the experience through the protagonist. If you consider changing the POV to a girl, I'd be willing to take a look at the first three chapters.

What it means: Keep writing. Keep send out queries. Also, HARRY POTTER and PERCY JACKSON.


#4. Rejection on query for THE ASP by agent.

This is a unique premise and I love the unexpected twist, but unfortunately my client case load is such that I'm no longer looking for YA writers at this time.

What it means: Keep writing. Keep sending out queries.


#5. Rejection on query for JUST JESSE by agent.

Sorry, but your work isn't the right fit for our agency. Please forgive the impersonal nature of this email, but it is necessary to send a form rejection if we strive to respond to every query.

What it means: Keep writing. Keep sending out queries.


Hm...it looks like they're all saying the same thing, keep writing, keep sending out queries. And here's a bonus. DON'T GIVE UP!!!

The Other Face of Rejection



moviecity.com

 Being on submission is like being at the high school dance, standing all alone by the punch bowl, praying the cute guy will cross the gym floor and ask you to dance.

Getting rejections is when that same cute guy crosses the gym floor and asks the girl next to you—and then you have to hold her purse and watch as they fall in love.

Do any of these sound familiar to you?

"...just not right for me." 

"I didn't connect with the main character the way I had hoped."

"I'm not sure how we can make this stand out in our current list."

I am an unpublished writer trying to get my YA contemporary coming of age story noticed. It seems like there isn't even ONE editor on the planet who is willing to take a chance on me.

But I know I'm not alone. I read somewhere that only 2% of manuscripts get published. That means for every hundred novels an editor reads, they'll only pick two.

EGAD!!! I can't imagine having a job where I do 98% of the work for FREE.

I love my job. I'm a Nurse and it's very fulfilling, but I wouldn't do it for free.

Editors, I now realize, aren't people who start the day rubbing their palms together wondering which writer's dreams they shatter with a form rejection.

Editors are people who are SO in love with words that they're willing to slog through ninety-eight novels (think of the paper cuts!) not driven by a salary, but by the HOPE that they'll find a story to fall in love. Otherwise, what's the point?

So, while you're leaning against the refreshment table, trying to make googly eyes at the cute guy across the gym, remember he's looking to fall in love too.

I raise my glass to all the love connections that will happen this year. I hope you're one of them—and me too.

Best Ways To Survive Submission

Okay, just to clarify, this is NOT the kind of submission in Fifty Shades of Grey, but thanks for stopping by the blog anyway.

Submission is when you and your agent agree that your novel is in the best shape possible for editors to brood over its lovely pages. It's also a lot like being at a high school dance wishing the cute guy on the other side of the gym would notice you.



*Giggles*
photo credit, clarification.blogspot.com



At first, it was exciting to have people who are in charge of turning stories into real books, reading MY story.

Then the rejections came. But that was okay, I told myself, it's a subjective business, right?

Then months passed.

Then the calendar year turned.

Um...all right. Let's buckle down and send out another story.

Then more rejections came.

Then more months passed.

See the pattern?

Each path to publication is different. Mine feels like it's uphill and in the dark. And even though I realize my path may not end with a book deal, I keep moving forward—mostly because I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

Incredibly, after all this time, whenever the phone rings my first thought is that @rivetingrosie is calling with amazing news!

I still hit emotional potholes of doubt along the way. I've posted about it here, and here. But I've learned a valuable lesson while being on submission these many eons—It doesn't matter if you think you'll never be published or if you're the next J.K. Rowling...rejections still roll in.

And I've discovered it's more fun to dream while I wait.

Here are the top five things that help me survive submission.

1. Instead of waiting for a book deal to celebrate, treat yourself each time you get a rejection. It doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate, just enough to make you smile.

2. When you're reading the latest deals in Publishers Marketplace, remember all of those success stories were years in the making. Did you hear that? YEARS.

3. Keep writing. The best decision I recently made was to enter a short story contest on  @GeekChic42's website. Creating a story with a beginning, middle, and end in less than 1000 words, was an excellent exercise. Also, I discovered I love making book covers and trailers.

4. Step away from the computer. Engage in the life around you. Family and friends are the best balm after a rejection and they're a reminder your happiness shouldn't only be determined by your writing successes.

5. Cupcakes. See number 1.

And here is the bonus.  DREAM BIG!

So hold the shampoo bottle while reciting your Oscar speech for 'Best Screen Play' in the shower. Create a Pinterest board with actors who will star in the movie adaptation of your book. Smile secretly when the guy at Starbucks looks exactly like your MC's love interest. And always, ALWAYS pick up the lucky penny you see on the sidewalk.

Consider New Radicals, "You Get What You Give", substitute 'music' with 'stories' you've got the perfect writer's anthem.

What are some tips that help you through submission?

If you like this, click the Google+1 button below and help share the awesome.

How To Deal With Rejection

photo credit wiredfaxblog.com

It was exactly two years ago, the week between Christmas and New Years, when I received my first request. At that time, I had sent out around twenty queries for my YA paranormal mystery. I remember doing a little dance and then agonising in front of the computer trying to figure out how to e-mail the first three chapters NOT as an attachment—I was completely clueless about the whole process.

I checked my e-mail obsessively until four weeks later I received a form rejection. "Unfortunately the project is not the right fit for me, but this is a subjective business and I'm sure another agent will feel differently."

I was devastated.

I would read that phrase, and others gently rejecting my story, many, many more times. Each stung a little, but as Rod Stewart says, "the first cut is the deepest."

I kept writing and finally landed not one but two agents! If you want the low down on that wacky tale, click here.

After two years, I've become an expert on handling rejection. Here are some of my tips if you need a little boost to your writing ego.

1. DON'T take it personally. Truly, when they write 'it's not a good fit for me', it's because they didn't connect with the story. It doesn't mean you can't write. And why would you want someone working on your novel who doesn't totally love it?

2.  Be grateful to get a response at all. Seriously, I don't know how agents manage to even read queries let alone send a reply. Take a deep breath, file that rejection away, and send out a few more queries.

3. DON'T Google how many rejections Stephanie Meyer or JK Rowling received. It's ridiculously low. I think Twilight got eight in total. Eight! I got eight rejections in one day! It's great when success happens so quickly for some authors. Take comfort that the pressure is off you, and that you're meant to find your agent through a little more time and effort.

4. Check out websites for aspiring writers. My favorite haunt is Query Tracker. Also, you may want to join a local writing group. Sharing rejection stories with other writers is good therapy, and you might get a few beta readers.

5.  Lastly, you are your characters best advocate. If you quit, then who will tell their story? And remember, getting an agent isn't the only way to get published. There are loads of great self-published paperbacks and e-books. Start researching local/small publishing companies that take queries directly from authors.

Now stop reading this and go write something.

Cheers!