Rejection by Maryann Miller

I had one of those rare experiences recently that only happen to a writer once or twice in a lifetime.

A rejection that didn’t hurt.

 I was talking to an editor who had to turn down an idea I have for a book, but he was so nice about it, it was hard for me to remember he was saying “no.” That was such a pleasant change from the rejections that would send me reeling…

 “How dare they not LOVE my book?”

 “My life is ruined.”

 “It’s a conspiracy. I know it is.”

 Sounds a little paranoid, I know, but for a long time the only thing I had to attest to my credibility as a writer was my basic insecurity.

 Writers are insecure for a lot of reasons. Some of us were born that way, but for others it’s accumulated over the years like a fringe unbenefit.

 Not only do we have to deal with the possibility and reality of rejection on a continuing basis, we also have to work in a professional vacuum. We don’t get to discuss the latest Idol reject at the water cooler, or get some direct feedback on the day to day ac­complishments of our job. Nobody here to pat me on the back except my cat, and he’d rather sleep in front of my monitor.

 Sometimes this isolation is so intense, I feel like I’m in the middle of a desert, and one kind word about my work can be as refreshing as a drop of nectar.

 This morning I got a whole six pack of refreshment. Not only did this editor give me one kind word, he gave me another, and another, until my head was practically swimm­ing in nectar.

 We all know that we write because we think we have something to say, hopefully, something important and meaningful. Even when we get discouraged, we seem to still be drawn to the keyboard, if the cat will let us,  to impart some other words of wisdom or finely crafted prose.

 But if that was all there was to it, we wouldn’t care if our words ever saw print. And I have yet to meet a writer who didn’t care. It’s good to want to say all those nice things, but the whole process would undeniably be meaningless if no one was ever going to read what we write. 

The added bonus comes when someone reads the work and thinks it’s good. Or bet­ter yet, great, wonder­ful, fantastic and ter­rific. 

Family members don’t count since they may be more than a lit­tle prejudiced, especial­ly if they think dinner may hang in the balance.

 

Maryann Miller
www.maryannwrites.com

 

A diverse writer of columns, feature stores, short fiction, novels, screenplays and stage plays, Maryann Miller has won numerous awards including being a  semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute for her screenplay, A Question Of Honor.  Her work has appeared in regional and national publications, and the Rosen Publishing Group in New York  published her non-fiction books for teens, including the award-winning Coping with Weapons and Violence  In School and On Your Streets. A novel, One Small Victory, was released from Five Star in June 2008. Play It Again, Sam is a July release from Uncial Press as an e-book. Other experience includes extensive work as a PR consultant, a script doctor, and an editor.  She is currently the Managing Editor of WinnsboroToday.com, an online community magazine. She has been writing all her life and plans to die at her computer.

 

What Keeps You Reading–Or Makes You Put a Book Down by Christine Duncan

Michelle’s post about reading the other week got me thinking. I tend to put books down for all sorts of reasons–sometimes there is nothing wrong with the darn thing at all–I’m just in the mood for something else.
Have you ever felt that way? This week with all of the news about the Iranian election and the test nukes from North Korea, I can’t read what I think of as simple or sweet books. There has to be a complexity of character or plot to capture me right now. Otherwise, I’m drifting into other thoughts.
But other times, when life is overwhelming, it is the simple, the sweet, and the cozy that draws me.
I guess even though I always say that I’ll read anything, I’m a picky reader.
As a rule, I don’t read hobby mysteries, even when I like the hobby. I don’t usually read horror because the images stay in my mind. I’m not the type to read bestsellers just because they’re bestsellers either–a book has to be about something I’m interested in. But I will sometimes read best sellers to see why others are enthralled. I tore apart a couple of Dan Brown’s books just to see what the deal was. I concluded that his style read so quickly because he tended to keep it short. Short chapters, short paragraphs. There was always something going on–always more excitement but it was terseness that kept the tension. Or so I decided.
Lately I’ve put books down for too much terseness. There seems to be a trend where authors skip on description so that I can’t really see what is going on. It made me drop one book. She described a car as a “big ass pimp mobile.” And I couldn’t see the darn car at all–thus making some of the action obscure.
Conversely, another author who went on and on about every leaf in a field (or so it seemed) lost my interest. There can be too much.
As a writer, though this might seem discouraging, I think the opposite is true. Someone not being interested in your book is not a personal rejection. It’s not really a rejection at all. Sometimes, we crave ice cream, sometimes we want roast beef. What do you think?

The hunt for a publisher continues

In my last publisher update I mentioned that we had received a ‘full’ request within days of submitting the query.  Just the other day we received a rejection from that publisher. 

I was gutted.  I litterally feel like I’ve been kicked in the guts every time I receive a rejection for my work.  It hasn’t gotten any easier with practice. 

It generally takes me between 24-48 hrs to process and recover from a publisher/editor rejection.  I usually can’t even talk about it until this period passes.   The next part of my rejection recovery is to put on some good music and create two more queries. 

As I stood in line at the post office today, I wondered if one of the packages I was holding would result in a deal.  Fingers crossed – again, still.

Querying and selling your work

Well, it’s official – my vacation is over.  While the weather is still very much summer – 38 degrees here in Sydney - the return of my students today marked the end of my vacation.  

Along with my break from the kids and blogging – I’m now faced with a return to querying and trying to land an agent/publishing deal. 

This is only my second attempt at selling a manuscript.  This time last year, I attempted to sell my fiction manuscript Plan B to the American agents.  No success there.  In fact, by about mid year, I reached a point where I stopped querying because I’d had enough rejection.  Yes, I know…rejection is part of the journey – I get it – but there’s only so much rejection this little black duck can take.   The net result of all that rejection was positive, I realised I needed to do more work on the MS, which is still in progress.  Thankfully I scored a couple of writing wins towards the end of the year which have boosted my confidence and willingness to try again. 

Along the way I co-wrote a non-fiction how-to/job success manual (which I fully believe will sell) so that’s what’s on the sales agenda now.  

I plan to blog-ument my querying and sales journey each week.  I’m going to share the process I use to select publishers, how many queries I make and the responses I receive.  I’ll also share the other side of it – the emotional journey.  I plan on being open and honest about how I’m feeling throughout the sales process.  I’m doing this as a form of rejection therapy and in the hope that my honestly will help others who are going the through the same gut wrenching process.

Buckle up kids, think it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Rejection Would Be Preferable!

For years, we writers have been complaining about the length of time it takes to get any answers in this business. Sometimes it can take years after we send out our first pitch, before someone rejects or buys the manuscript. Like everyone else, I’ve schemed ways around this, sending out multiple pitches or spending all my time trying to find someone to email the manuscript to, hoping to get a quicker turn around.

And every once in a while, it happens. Recently an acquaintance of mine emailed our writing group claiming the award for fastest rejection ever. He had sent out a query and had the rejection in his in-box in a record seven minutes. Not great for his writing ego, but at least he got an answer.

My pet peeve though is a newer trend I’m spotting from U.S. agents and publishers– no answer at all. They might respond to the query, even shoot off an email to say they received the manuscript. And from then on, it seems as though any effort to communicate with them goes into a big black hole in space. Didn’t their mamas teach them any manners?

I’m not the only one noticing. Just this month, one man I know finally did get an answer to a query he sent out in 2005. It was fine with him, the manuscript in question had gone on to be published in 2006 with another house.

Don’t give me the economy as an excuse either. Snail mail queries and manuscripts are routinely sent out accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope. How long does it take to scrawl, ‘Not right for me’, or ‘I’m not taking on clients at this time’? As for email correspondance, hitting reply and typing in a quick, ‘Sorry’ is even easier.

My plea to these folks is simple: Send me a blistering critique. Return my manuscript with coffee stains and pen scratches. Just scribble No Way! on my query letter. But don’t ignore me. Be more professional than that.

Better yet, buy the darn thing. You know you want to.