Camels and Straws (write advice)
November 21, 2019 12:09 pm Leave your thoughts
You’ve heard it before, some of the best selling books in the world were rejected by numerous publishers. This includes the Harry Potter series, (rumoured to have been turned down 12-22 times) which is probably one of the highest selling franchises in history. So, what makes your manuscript so un…reject…able, huh? :\
I’ve been writing for a long time (since I was a nerdy tween.) However, it wasn’t until over a decade ago that someone slurred me a drunken ply of knowledge standing in someone else’s backyard with music blaring in the background. They told me I should actually try to publish my work because, “Why the fuck not, mate?”
Why hadn’t I tried? Tried tried? Hadn’t I had the confidence to present the project I’d worked on for so long? I’d sent a couple of letters/emails regarding publishing and representation when I was younger but they probably could have been constructed better and planned more effectively. Hey, I was a kid!
The internet wasn’t so helpful for me at the time either. If people knew the secret formula, they weren’t sharing it in any forums I was frequenting. TBH, I barely knew where to start in the first place and, like the effect it has on many people, sometimes things seem too overwhelming to get yourself motivated enough to try.
I’ve learned to word things in a better way over the years through having to adult, and I’ve learned to create a decent proposition for agents, job interviews, plays, song pitches (and the list goes on.) All those super fun, anxiety-inducing types of letters and correspondence with adults who are more adulty than me.
But rejections are many, no matter how great your cover letters/queries and story is. Sorry about that.
Again, look at JK Rowling’s experience with Harry Potter, (an example I’m mentioning again because everyone knows it.) Submitting work is like a job interview, and also not. (ha!) Convince the agent/publisher that you are the person who should be writing this story and that only you can tell it in this way…then hope the next guy doesn’t do it better.
Rejection rule that I follow: Sometimes your art/expression just doesn’t fit what someone is looking for.
It could be that you actually do need to revise or present it in a different way…BUT sometimes your writing or painting, or your audition just doesn’t hit home for someone…and that is the beauty of ART and creation. It’s subjective and individual interpretations and opinions are based on countless factors the person reading, viewing or hearing has experienced through their own life.
Another thought I’ve experienced before is that…maybe some publishing houses merely reject you based on some internal procedure none of us mortals are privvy to. This isn’t sour grapes or something, I’ve proven I DGAF when I published my own stuff, but it’s a thought I’ve had occasionally after receiving some rejection emails. And I’ll tell you why. (*please Lord, let me find the screenshot so I can prove my case! It has been on my mind the past few years.)
This is the reason I first considered going Indie.
It happened during a crazy time in my life. I sent a few query letters out which garnered responses, but it was a small part of what was going on for me at the time so it wasn’t terribly disappointing to receive a “no thanks” weeks after I had sent my initial submission. The rejection email above made me laugh out loud before I headed off for another few hours of medical treatment.
The fact that even the canned response was so unimportant that they didn’t ADDRESS the email to me made me think that it wasn’t totally about my work not being suitable for their business model. It made me consider if most of what gets sent to agents is just deleted, ignored or is sent to the Spam Folder before anyone actually has the choice of spending a few minutes looking over it.
When I first began to reach out to publishers some of the advice was;
- Don’t make it clear you intend on writing a series. You need to show that the book is standalone, then send them a query letter again for the second book and so on.
- Base it on Australian culture.
- Reconsider the protagonist/anti-hero being female.
There are a few more points of advice I was given and/or that I discovered from publisher rejections that maybe I will a post another time and do a pros and cons list for people that have the dilemma.
For me, going indie was mostly that I hadn’t the time to solicit multiple publishers anymore. Rules some of them had didn’t fit with what I needed either. Most would state that you couldn’t approach another publisher/agent while your work was POSSIBLY being read by their agency…and they reserved the right (perhaps understandably due to the volume of submissions they might receive) to not reply to you before a three month period or not at all if they weren’t interested.
Well, I ain’t getting any younger, MF!
Two other reasons (of many) included the fact that my work may be toned down to suit pallets of the agency I wanted to be represented by (fair, it’s a business decision,) and I was also disliking my lack of input into any cover art/marketing they would do.
Another thing that was worth thinking about: the writing advice I was given in the early days has done a complete 180 now. EG. People are falling all over themselves to have female leads in television shows and movies as well as books. Advice for writers tends to say that pitching a book and mentioning there is potential for a series (or that it is already part of one) is good because it means potential earnings over a period of time for the company and therefore, may attract an agent to the work.
So do yo thang. Choose traditional or indie, but get your work out there. Someone wants to read your story, and even if you only get a few people reading it, you deserve to see it in the flesh after all the hours/days/weeks/years(for some of us) you spent slaving over it.
TLDR:
*Traditional vs Indie publishing has pros and cons
*It’s hard but try not to take the rejection too personally. There are sometimes reasons for it that have nothing to do with you.
*Sometimes you DO need to revise. Be open to modifying a little if you want an agency to represent you.
*Indie has been far more fun for me.
*The traditional publishing game has changed a lot.
*The “Ain’t nobody got time fo dat” lady is my spirit animal.
All content is no copyright infringement intended. All posts are opinion only and are subject to change due to experience, kicking ass and learning how to adult more effectively. If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Elements of original content may be reproduced with expressed permission from Ever Eden.
Tags: adulting, audition, camel, creation, ego, emails, ever eden, ever eden author, female lead, Harry Potter, literary agents, publishers, queries, query, query letter, rejection, rejection letters, response, straw, submission, sweet brown, thick skin, write advice