It amazes me that people have become accustom to not being rejected. They see it as some great smack against them as a person if they are. There are many reasons why we get rejected. There are the superfacial. Big butt, wrong color hair, mole the size of Alaska that you refuse to get removed because some idiot told you it was beauty mark when you were twelve…hint…lady…when hair’s growing out of it and it’s not flat to your face it could be cancer.
Then we have the economical. The whole not enough demand to control the supply. A switch in the market. For us authors e-books have actually made the big six publishing houses pull back from new authors because they are still seeing how it all shakes down. Then you have indie publishers that are able to actually take more chances on new authors because they have lack of product sitting on shelves that they have to put initial costs out for. But indie publishers are also going to start with smaller niche markets that your book might not fall into.
Then there are the people that just don’t get you. That doesn’t mean that you are a bad person or did some horrible thing. It could be that some one named Carrie wronged them when they were young so all girls named Carrie get an autoreject email. Who knows? But if they don’t “get you” why would you want them editing your book? Or trying to publish it? They would be horrible at marketing and could even turn people away. You want someone who loves your book at least half as much as you.
Beyond that, rejection is a normal process. Ever since books began being published by houses you had rejection. There is a cost involved and time investment that not every house can afford. I sometimes wonder if my house knew how many emails I could generate in a day when they signed me…luckily they didn’t so that contract makes them have to at least open the emails.
But rejections happen. I love that Stephanie Meyer talks about her twelve rejection letters and how she was ready to give up when she got an agent in the thirteenth letter.
Really? Twelve rejections? Seriously? Okay lets look at the woman who wrote The Help by Kathryn Stockett, she had seventy-five rejection letters. Now lets look at Sherryln Kenyon (one of my heroes) she was rejected for over ten years. She was even rejected from a creative writing program because they were only admitting people that had potential. As someone who’s had a New York Times best seller every month for the past six or seven years, do you think that selection committee ever regrets that rejection? Who cares? If they wouldn’t have rejected her she wouldn’t be where she is now.
Then you come to me. Thanks to the ease of email I estimate I’ve received over one hundred and fifty rejections. Two so far have come months after I signed my contract, because they were behind in reviewing query letters. And by behind we’re talking over nine months.
Finally Jack London. He got rejected in the time of snail mail and sending full manuscripts to publishing houses. Now considered one of the great voices in American literature, Jack received over four hundred rejections.
Don’t fear rejection. Embrace it. Love it. Eat a pan of brownies and work to improve. Look for agents and publishing houses telling you what they want to see in a query and tweak yours to fit them. Just never compromise your book for them. And if it’s not for them it’s not because it’s bad, it’s because it’s not for them. But someone out there may love your book. Just like your soul mate, it’s about timing. Don’t settle for who comes first, find the perfect fit for you.
Then we have the economical. The whole not enough demand to control the supply. A switch in the market. For us authors e-books have actually made the big six publishing houses pull back from new authors because they are still seeing how it all shakes down. Then you have indie publishers that are able to actually take more chances on new authors because they have lack of product sitting on shelves that they have to put initial costs out for. But indie publishers are also going to start with smaller niche markets that your book might not fall into.
Then there are the people that just don’t get you. That doesn’t mean that you are a bad person or did some horrible thing. It could be that some one named Carrie wronged them when they were young so all girls named Carrie get an autoreject email. Who knows? But if they don’t “get you” why would you want them editing your book? Or trying to publish it? They would be horrible at marketing and could even turn people away. You want someone who loves your book at least half as much as you.
Beyond that, rejection is a normal process. Ever since books began being published by houses you had rejection. There is a cost involved and time investment that not every house can afford. I sometimes wonder if my house knew how many emails I could generate in a day when they signed me…luckily they didn’t so that contract makes them have to at least open the emails.
But rejections happen. I love that Stephanie Meyer talks about her twelve rejection letters and how she was ready to give up when she got an agent in the thirteenth letter.
Really? Twelve rejections? Seriously? Okay lets look at the woman who wrote The Help by Kathryn Stockett, she had seventy-five rejection letters. Now lets look at Sherryln Kenyon (one of my heroes) she was rejected for over ten years. She was even rejected from a creative writing program because they were only admitting people that had potential. As someone who’s had a New York Times best seller every month for the past six or seven years, do you think that selection committee ever regrets that rejection? Who cares? If they wouldn’t have rejected her she wouldn’t be where she is now.
Then you come to me. Thanks to the ease of email I estimate I’ve received over one hundred and fifty rejections. Two so far have come months after I signed my contract, because they were behind in reviewing query letters. And by behind we’re talking over nine months.
Finally Jack London. He got rejected in the time of snail mail and sending full manuscripts to publishing houses. Now considered one of the great voices in American literature, Jack received over four hundred rejections.
Don’t fear rejection. Embrace it. Love it. Eat a pan of brownies and work to improve. Look for agents and publishing houses telling you what they want to see in a query and tweak yours to fit them. Just never compromise your book for them. And if it’s not for them it’s not because it’s bad, it’s because it’s not for them. But someone out there may love your book. Just like your soul mate, it’s about timing. Don’t settle for who comes first, find the perfect fit for you.
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