Hi, my name is Clare and I’m a submitting writer. It’s been one day since my last rejection. This post goes out to all those who are submitting their work to agents, competitions, journals or the man in the moon. Big hugs everyone.
Rejection ALWAYS comes when I least expect it. Thanks smartphone. The latest polite message came when I was walking aimlessly around a forest. Tip: rope parks are more fun for kids than for the accompanying adult on the ground.
Every rejection is a test of your BELIEF in yourself and your work.
Accept the CHALLENGE! One particular person at one particular point in time cannot or does not wish to take this specific piece of work. Change the person, the time and the piece and anything is possible.
DESPAIR will make an appearance with each rejection. Keep it brief. Just let the big D come and go again and you’ll be fine. Treat the two imposters just the same and all that.
In the old days writers waited for the postman. Now the poison dart is sent by EMAIL and you will hear a ding before you are struck. Assume the crash position and click!
You come to treasure the personalized rejections because they contain precious FEEDBACK. We will take these crumbs from the publishing table because, you know, starvation. Hearing that my story was “strongly crafted” gives me wings.
Submission GUIDELINES. They are serious about this S**T. Ignore at your peril.
HOWEVER. This word comes after something half positive like “I genuinely liked the work” or “I enjoyed reading your chapters”. It means no.
INSIDE job. Don’t get all bitter about other people getting published because of some perceived unfair advantage. Authors get dropped by publishing houses all the time. You still have your chance.
JUST be yourself. Authentic work is what counts. There is no point trying to mould your writing to fit a particular fashion. Anything that is popular now is likely to be old hat by the time you are submitting and your version won’t ring true.
KNOWLEDGE The publishing industry is just that, an industry. Don’t be a total ingénue. Do your homework and be preprared for a long apprenticeship.
You’ve got to LAUGH a little, cry a little, until the clouds roll by a little.
“Could you send me the full MS?” These words herald a good day. The great big hot air balloon of hope rises but you need to pull it back down quickly. At the very least it will lead to precious feedback.
NETWORK. I’m not talking about stalking agents, although twitter is good for building up a picture of someone. The best networking you can do is among peers who support each other and pass on valuable information.
ORGANISATION is a key part of perseverance. Do the research and keep a record of every submission and whatever progress it makes. Keep a note of what agents / journals are looking for. Could save you legwork the next time.
Nobody likes to be ignored but that doesn’t mean we can break the golden rule of submitting. Be POLITE. You don’t want to end up the star of the ‘crazy author’ anecdote at the annual agents’ bash.
QUITTING. Don’t even think about it. If Donal Ryan sent his second book out to 45 agents, I’m not giving up after 16 and neither are you. But don’t forget to write the next book or story. Helps take the sting out of things.
Be prepared for RADIO silence from time to time. It happens. Even after a request for a full manuscript. Some agents simply cannot keep up with their correspondence. Not to be taken personally.
STANDARD rejection. ‘Not right for my list.’ ‘Unable to offer representation at this time’. ‘He’s just not that into you,’ as Miranda would say. If you are getting annoyed by standard rejections, try drafting your own to see if you can do any better.
Submitting is a quest and should retain at least a modicum of enjoyment and optimisim. If it’s becoming a grim obsession give yourself some TIME OUT.
Don’t UNDERESTIMATE how long the process of submission is. Putting together a good submission takes time and effort. Multiply that by a large number and then add the waiting game. We are in this for the long haul or we might as well forget it.
VANITY. Actually this should be PRIDE but I’ve already used up my P. We all want recognition but don’t let pride become too central in this quest. Modesty is the best policy.
WORD count. The devil is in the detail. 10,000 words, the first three chapters, one-page synopsis, under 500 words, less than 3,000 words. Read the fine print.
The eXCEL sheet is where you keep track of all the rejections. Date sent, name, email, submissions policy, response. Mine is colour coded (I know). After each rejection I upate the file and I feel back in control. An important little ritual.
YES! One day you too will be asked to the ball and you will be able to smile and say YES!
ZEN is the only way. The writing is one thing and the business is the other. The hard truth is that not everyone can get picked for the team so let’s keep this in perspective. Life outside writing has to be more important.
Why do the rejections ALWAYS come in on Sundays? Just when my defenses are down, in swoops a rejection on a day I have no armor on.
It’s all part of the universe’s wicked plan 🙂
And the plan is definitely wicked.
I feel as though I just had a bowl of alphabet soup. I kept slurping and slurping because it was so good. I swear I had had the same soup before. And then I slurped again and there was no more. I wanted more but I was to be denied….rejected! Nice piece, Clare. You’re a good cook. Thanks for serving this up.
Now there’s an idea … a cooking blog. I wonder has anyone thought of that before?
I am still undecided as to whether the fact that the more rejections you get, the less they sting, is a blessing. Great post, Clare.
Thanks Safia. As long as we don’t cross the line from thick – skinned to thick 😉
I love your witty posts on the horrors of the writer’s life and smiled my way through this one ( and not only because I’m smug that I’ve left that behind for the moment). Did wonder how Luane got her rejections on a Sunday – I always relished the weekends because for a couple of days of respite from that horrible NO!
Thank you Anne, you’ve been that soldier too no doubt.
Terrific and uplifting post! I’m going to reread it the next time a rejection comes through.
Thank you Alana! So nice to hear your reaction to this. Thanks for the follow too, reciprocated.
There are two things I make myself do when I cross an agent off my list (usually because it’s so long since I sent in my sub they could well be dead)
1) I look at the very mediochre writers I know who have got agents, and say, well, if that’s what they’re looking for, they’re obviously not right for me and my masterwork
2) I look at the track record of many of said mediochre writers with agents and note how many of them have yet to find a publisher, and how many of them are published by small publishers with low sales. Who needs an agent to get that far? I can do that all on my own 🙂
Cue Gloria Gaynor: I’ve got all my life to live and I’ve got all my writing to give. I’ll survive. I will surive. OOoooooooh ….
I knew there had to be a song to describe it 🙂
A clever A to Z. Who knew there was so much to say about rejection? I wish we could just write and not worry about the business side.