Or something like that. 
My partial just got rejected, but alas, it's not all bad news.
While I didn't get a "helpful" rejection (as in detailed feedback), hearing the agent really liked reading the partial is good news.
Being rejected because it isn't right for the agency isn't as disheartening either. It does mean the story has to land on the right desk, at the right time, and the agent or editor has to be the right one.
I'm not going to let a rejection get me down. If I did, I'd best get out of this writing business right now, because once I do find the right agent, the right editor, it won't be all smooth sailing.
There will be people who hate the story and they will probably say so. In a way, I see rejections as a precursor for any bad reviews I might get. (No book gets 100% good reviews, let's not deceive ourselves.) I'm determined to remain positive and look ahead, and treat every rejection the same way I want to treat a bad review: They didn't like it, but it doesn't mean it sucks. Move on.
I have seen authors get into veritable wars with reviewers or nay-sayers. I refuse to join that particular club.
Sure, I have my own opinions, we all do. I'm not one to never speak up, either. I do, however, respect someone elses opinion and while I may not agree with them, they are entitled to it. I may change my mind, after all, I'm far from perfect. But I try to be amicable about it, and what's more, I try to be professional about it.
Writing is what I do in my spare time, but I would like to give up the day job some day and write full time. It's not a hobby, it's a business I love. An obsession, if you must know the truth, because if I didn't write, you'd have to eventually find a nice padded cell for me.
Many of us budding authors treat writing far too casually, far to "hobby" like. If you plan to make a living from writing, then tell people who ask that you are a writer first, everything else second. After all, if YOU don't take it seriously, why should they?
So go ahead, take your writing seriously, treat it like the career it is. Just don't go overboard in the wrong direction.
Don't fight with readers, other authors, agents or editors.
If you're rejected, take it with dignity.
If you get a bad review, take it with dignity.
You can learn from a rejection, and from a bad review. In fact, you probably learn a lot from a bad review, if you take the time to get over the battered ego and find out why the reader didn't like your story.
If you have the chance to contact the reviewer, do so, but only to gather feedback, not to yell at them.
You never know, the things they didn't like might be avoidable. It may give you an insight you didn't have before.
Yes, it hurts. Of course it does, it's your baby, your lover, your life – all rolled into one. Still, get over the hurt and see the positive side. You can learn from it, if you really choose to.
So I'm not going to beat myself up over the rejection, although I would have loved to work with the agent I queried.
I'll go over it again, double check everything, and one day I will find a home for the book.
5
Mar
Chuck Sambuchino from Guide to Literary Agents is hosting the third "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest.
Here is the gist of it:
This will be a recurring online contest with agent judges and super-cool prizes. Here's the deal: With every contest, the details are essentially the same, but the niche itself changes—meaning each contest is focused around a specific category or two. So if you're writing a novel-length work of urban fantasy or paranormal romance, this third contest is for you!
But don't just listen to me… go check it out for yourself!
Click here to see what it's all about.
Good luck to those who take part!
6
Feb
It's up to you.
I don't like being overly snarky, though sometimes I might be.
I don't want to go and offend anyone, but I also have my own opinions. If others don't agree with them – fine. Live and let die. Or something in that vein.
The topic of this post is content, and what your content says about you, the author.
Believe it or not, it says a lot.
The topics you choose tell your readers where your mind goes to wander, where it tiptoes through fields of daisies, or tapdances through minefields. (The latter is to be avoided, you tend to end up minus some limbs.)
Personally, I prefer to tiptoe through minefields, but hey… that's me.
The crux of the matter is this: What you post is out there for all to see. Once it's out there, you can't take it back. Even if you delete it, some search engine probably already archived it someplace you can't demolish — even if you want to.
And don't for one second think no one will see your unfortunate outburst. When you query an agent or a publisher, if they consider to take you on — they will research you. They'll see all that dirty laundry you hung out, rummage through your virtual drawers and navigate around your Pr0n collection. (I call 'em hunks, my other half calls it my dirty little secret. HA! What does he know…)
Anyway, what I'm saying is, people see what you write and they judge you by those posts. They'll form an opinion about what you're like. How well they may get on with you, or work with you.
If you post stuff you wouldn't want your boss to see — then don't post it.
Don't deceive yourself – any publisher / editor / agent out there is pretty much a potential boss.
They look at it with a far more critical eye than any employer ever would, because while you might never set foot out of an office - having a book out there is rather different.
There is marketing to consider. Image.
Your image can be ruined before you even get noticed, and rebuilding it is a tricky business.
And Image is important. Sure, you can pretend to be nicey-nice and all that, but that just makes you a bit bland in my opinion.
You can have opinions, we all do, but if you post it, then be rational about it, and don't jump on people if they comment and disagree with you.
Some things (and I've seen stuff like this) are just a total no-no.
For instance, if you query a sweet historical with a publisher, yet on your blog you rant and scream about how the genre sucks, and is only read by imbeciles — you think they want to work with someone who doesn't believe in their own book? Or who insults their entire readership? Them?
Not bloody likely.
(I'm being very nasty and harsh above, that isn't reflecting how I feel about sweet historicals or it's readers, it's just an example — before someone comes and hits me over the head with a brick, or something!)
Or hey, go all political! It's not like anyone cares, right? Then add religion into the mix and you've found an almost guaranteed way to offend half the population. (While the other half likely agrees with you.)
As I said, I prefer to tiptoe around in my minefields. I have my own opinion, obviously, and it may (or may not) mesh with other people's opinions. But why take the chance? I don't need to ram it down their throats, they don't need to know what I think about how well a president or prime minister is doing, or whether I do or don't like the church. Keep that stuff private, or among friends. Not out there, for all to see (and judge). There are plenty of neutral topics, blog about those instead.
Keep it light and informative. Research anything you present as fact – or else it will likely come back to bite you in the ass.
If you have a writing blog, treat it as such. Stick to topics about writing, or writing life. If you mix business and pleasure, don't go into too much detail. In both cases, be aware of your audience and consider your topics carefully.
Your content is your marketing tool. If it would impact negatively on your career – then don't put it out there.
Ah. Now look what I've done.
I've put my opinion out there, for all to see!
(I tend to avoid writing about any of my real hotbuttons though…)
Obviously you don't have to take this advice, especially since I'm not always sticking to it either, but maybe it'll give you some food for thought.
There are many blogs out there where the authors rant about every topic imaginable. It gets kind of boring, you know? And they aren't doing themselves any favors, either.
I mean, if you were a publisher — would you want to work with someone who explodes on the page every two seconds?
I know I wouldn't.
So consider what you post, before you hit that publish button.
25
Jan
That query thing is hard.
Worse, it's putting your heart and soul out there.
I've heard so many different takes on this. Pretty much everyone told me "Be professional".
Well, duh. I am.
But the thing is, I kept sending queries that were dry and bland and just plain boring.
Yeah, they were professional, but they had no soul.
None.
My last query went out about two weeks ago. I haven't heard anything yet, but I have a better feeling about this one, than any previous ones.
When I posted it on our board, the entire crew had a good ole giggle reading it.
Hopefully the agent I sent it to will get a chuckle out of it too, and remember to read what I've submitted to her.
I figured this professional lark is all very well, but if I can't bring my personality into it, my voice, then I've already failed before the query even lands in anyone's in box.
I let you in on a little secret — writing that particular query letter was SO much easier than any I wrote before. Why?
Because I wrote it the same way I write my books. Off the cuff, making the reader grin or laugh outright. (With the odd Kleenex moment thrown in.)
Okay, no need for Kleenex when someone reads my query, that would be taking things too far.
But there are a few things anyone can do:
- Make sure your full (real) name is on the email you use, not a screen name or something.
- Make sure the email address is your own. With shared mail accounts, there is a default email. Before you hit "Send", make sure you're sending from the right account.
- The subject line should be short, and not too generic.
Query – Welcome to Hell – Juppenlatz
rather than:
Query – Paranormal Romance
I imagine they get lots of those. Make yours stand out. - Be professional, but be yourself.
That's all the advice I have. Clearly I haven't gotten anywhere with it yet, but I'm hopeful.
And if it doesn't work, then I'll just keep on going, because… I believe I can do this. I believe there is a market for my writing out there — and when I find the editor who believes this as much as I do, then things will happen.
So, my best advice is…
Put some SOUL into your query, not just into your book.
22
Jul
It's difficult, loving a story and it being rejected.
I feel like I'm missing the boat, which is probably not the case.
I feel like my writing sucks, which is perhaps not the case either.
Will it ever happen for me? Who knows. It might.
The fact is, if I don't keep sending out queries, it will definitely not happen. That's the only constant of the process.
Of course I get jealous of others selling their books. It's natural to be envious, when it is something you want yourself.
Are they better writers than I? No. They are different writers.
They have different stories to tell.
Alas, we continue.
Oh, I haven't heard back from the two contests yet.
Fingers crossed.
3
Jul
I am not giving up.
I take it one at a time though, although I should perhaps query multiple agents. I just don’t like blanketing inboxes with queries.
As far as I know, the agents don’t like it either, but I could be wrong.
Still, the next query is out, and hopefully with every query I send, there will be a little feedback.
Hopefully.
Would be nice to know if it’s my mini synopsis, my query, or just me, who is failing to reach out and grab.