70% Rejected

Well, I got another rejection on Friday. I know I should have posted about it then, but the man creature has two weeks off work and it’s messing with my routine. I haven’t been nearly as productive as I should have been in terms of updating this blog or getting actual writing done. Now, back on track:

I recieved a form rejection letter again, this time from one of my my top choices. So far I’ve gotten no feedback on anything, so I’m trying to remain distanced as I start thinking of ways to better the submission packet. Guessing what is turning people off is a difficult thing to do. If anyone has any experience in this department, I’d LOVE a few pointers. I’ll combine this problem with my morning writing sessions and write it all over from every perspective (which is a lot of perspectives).

What I am currently thinking I did wrong: I gave too much thought to the rules and not enough thought to voice. Well, seven rejections on, I don’t think I’ll be as hesitant to break a few rules. Time to make this submission packet stand out.

A Month On

Well, it’s been quite a few days, guys. Sorry about that. I was trying to update at least once every two or three days, but life happens. Sometimes, life happens really hard and fast, leaving you blindsided in an emotionally crippled heap on the ground. But time heals. Well, time and superhero movies. And alcoholic cider that tastes like apple pie.

Anyway, Four weeks and a day have passed since my last submission went out and I decided to look over the submission protocol for the remaining agents. Most of them still have plenty of time before they estimate I will hear from them, but one agent’s website says if you don’t hear from her in two weeks, she’s likely not interested. Well, it’s been four weeks and I’ve heard nothing, so I guess she’s out of the running. I guess that only leaves four.

This list is slimming rather slowly. Hopefully I’ll hear back from the others soon, but even right now it looks as if I’ll be making changes to the submission packet even if I get a request for a manuscript from one of the remainders. This is one hell of a way to learn!

5/10 Denied

So, I woke up this beautiful Saturday morning and, while waiting for my fritatta to bake, I decided to check my email. Lo and behold, there it was: another rejection, this one from my favorite agent. It was a nice little letter, but no matter how sweet, it was still a form letter and that kind of hurts a bit. Yet another letter to add to the rejection spike. Now is when I keep reminding myself that so many of the books I love today were initially rejected multiple times before they were published. Hell, Harry Potter was rejected a dozen times. Now, no, I don’t fancy myself as the next J.K. Rowling, but we do what we need to to keep our heads above the waters of depression. So, if you’re in my shoes and need a little reminding that not everyone is accepted on the first couple submissions, here’s some facts I dredged up from the internet:

• Beatrix Potter had to publish The Tale of Peter Rabbit by herself
• Tamora Pierce was rejected four times before someone recommended editing her manuscript for The Song of The Lioness into a young adult series. I have been unable to find how many times it was rejected after that.
• Gertrude Stein submitted poems for 22 years before one was accepted (This one’s for you, Tara and Olivia!)
• Carrie by Stephen King was rejected 30 times
• Rudyard Kipling was told he didn’t know how to use the English language
• A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times
• Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected 23 times
• Agatha Christie had to wait 5 years before being published
• And, of course, J.K. Rowling was told not to quit her day job

If you’d be interested in learning more, there is a website dedicated to stories of bestsellers and their initial rejections.

So, another rejection to add to my spike, but at least I have a lovely fritatta.

The Rejection Spike

So, my good friend Olivia once got the coolest writing present ever. Her grandfather (I believe) made her something called a rejection spike. It was the first one I’ve ever seen and if you do a google image search, it’s the only one that comes up. Well, mine might come up now, you never know. Anyways, when I started my submission process, she recommended making one so every time I got a rejection, I could print them off and drive them through on the spike. I thought about what I would want to make mine out of. Olivia’s is made from a plank of wood and a railroad spike. Wexford, being the great metropolis it is, doesn’t have railroad spikes just laying around, besides, that one’s Olivia’s. That night I was talking to the man creature and he recommended I try this catch-all shop in town. I was headed into the library and would pass by it anyway, so I popped in. I had to dig to the bottom of a crate of old, dirty, rusted garden tools (thankfully, I have an updated tetanus shot), but I found this long, thin file with the perfect point at the top. Even better? The woman sold it to me for a whole euro.

Next, I needed a base. It needed to be quite thick since the file is solid metal and heavy. Enter Irish charity shops. They always have books there and books can be quite thick. I thought, why not? Then perfection happened. They had a copy of Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m not a fan. I’m not one of the rabid anti-fans, but I never thought I would buy one of her books. Well, I did. I just also happened to drive a metal spike through it. I figure it can serve as a reminder that if Twilight can get published, so can I.

The supplies

First, I had to clean the file with a wire brush. It was pretty dirty, so it took a while.

And as it happens, Netflix had just recently added Gilmore Girls. I never really watched it when I was younger, so I figured “Why not?”. I nearly lost it when baby Sam Winchester popped up, calling himself Dean. 

It took a while and I lost a few layers of skin on my hands since, you know, it IS a file and I had no drill.

The finished product on my desk with four rejections. And let me tell you, driving the rejections through is SO satisfying!

Another One Bites The Dust

And we have another denial. It was a short one line rejection that basically amounted to “Thanks, but no thanks.”

That’s Four down, Six to go.

To be honest, I think the self-doubt is really starting to take hold*. It took me four days just to write my submission for my writing group. And NaNoWriMo is starting in November. 50,000 words in 30 days might prove to be difficult but it could also prove to take my mind off the wait. We’ll see.

*Does not mean I am giving up. There is no surrender.

On Advice From A Friend

Hey guys!

So my first weekend waiting for replies has passed and it was suspenseful. Even though it was the weekend and I know agents get days off too, I still checked my email a dozen times or so. I also read a book and a half (which for as slow a reader as I am, is kind of impressive). Jonathan Stroud is currently keeping me company through my wait. I first read his new book, The Screaming Staircase, and since the library doesn’t have the sequel yet (I think it just came out), I’ve begun his Bartimaeus Trilogy. They’re great books. In depth worlds, snarky characters, full of adventure and misconceptions and bad guys. I can’t recommend them highly enough. Especially if you’re waiting for replies.

So, the point of this post: I have a good friend who is very cautious and she reminds me to be cautious until we know the rules. Last night, she pointed out to me that my naming the agents rejecting me and my reactions to these rejections might not be the smartest decisions. If they, or other agents, stumble across my page they might see a review of my encounters with them and think my post is an attack on them when, really, I am posting for educational purposes, so others might know the possibilities of what lies ahead (and so I don’t have to repeat my rejection notification a hundred times so everyone can hear. That just makes it worse.) So, under my friend’s suggestion, I have made a few edits to the posts which could be construed as negative. I’m not doing this so anything reflects badly on the agents or their agencies. So, from now on, unless I have a very positive experience with an agent, there won’t be anymore names. I’ll still cross them off on the Rounds page so you can see who is in the running, but no more names.

And We Have Another

EDIT: I have taken out the name of the agency who sent me the rejection as it was pointed out that this could be viewed as anger/bitterness instead of my real intention of just being as forthcoming about this for educational purposes.

I got another rejection last night. This one WAS a form letter. Not even a form letter disguised as a nice rejection. This one was a ‘Dear Author’. They did, at least, admit that it was a standard form rejection, so a little bit of self-awareness was nice.

So, I guess I have another rejection to add to my spike (pictures of which will be forthcoming).

Keep those fingers crossed ladies and gents, the odds are getting smaller every day.

Well, This One Stung

I got another rejection back this morning. It still wasn’t a form letter, so I suppose there’s that much comfort I can take from it, but it was far less encouraging than my first rejection.

Logical me knows agents only take on so many authors, so the ones they do take on have to have stories the agent is passionate about. I know and fully support this. Still, emotional me didn’t really like reading the words “I am not enthusiastic enough…” All that hurt I was surprised I didn’t have from the first rejection? Yeah… the flood gates just opened.

That will teach me to check my email before getting out of bed because I’ll tell you what, getting up and out of bed after being hit by that metaphorical wrecking ball was not easy. Paired with this morning’s gloominess, I have deemed today a pajama day until further notice. At least until my morning writing session is over.

Round One- Complete!

Aaaand the waiting game begins in full.

I sent out the last of my Round One queries this morning. While I wait, I’ll be gathering my information for Round Two options and checking my email every ten minutes!

Keep those fingers crossed!

First Rejection- John Wordsworth of Zeno Agency Ltd.

So, I just got home from adventuring out to find the bits and bobs of what I need to make a rejection spike (that will be a later post) and I have my first ever rejection. John Wordsworth of Zeno Agency Ltd. is off the list. I thought I’d be absolutely shattered, but it was a good first rejection. He gave me some positive opinions, but said that it wasn’t what they were looking for at the time. It made all the difference to me that he didn’t send a form rejection. It was tailored to me and let me know that he did actually read it.

It’ll probably hit me in a little bit, but for right now, I’m calm. It helps having friends bored at work who I can talk to….and a pile of dishes I need to get up to wash. Yay for having distracting things to do!