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So,
you’ve written your novel and printed it out and it’s been through
twenty seven drafts, and nothing, not a single word, is out of place.
It’s been honed and crafted over the past two years, and your family and
friends are asking the unanswerable question: so, when’s it going to be
published?
Of
course you can’t answer that yet, because you haven’t even sent it out.
And even as you peel off the sticky stuff to seal the big padded
envelope that will carry your novel to its destination, you can feel,
bubbling under the surface of desperate hope and anticipation, a black
cauldron of fear beginning to simmer: the fear of rejection. What if the
publisher (who may have even requested to see the manuscript after
reading an initial few chapters), rejects you?
After
twenty-two years in the industry, and 38 books published by both big
publishers and small independent presses alike, I can say with some
certainty that being a novelist means in fact, to be in the business of
rejection. Mostly. And that takes guts, or hide, or tenacity. And a
certain amount of skill: we have to be able to discern things like,
after ten rejections, is there a problem with the book, or a problem
with the publishers, (perhaps I’m sending to big houses that are only
accepting unsolicited manuscripts in very specific genres and I’ve
mis-sent my book), or out of all the rejections, it’s clear not a single
person has actually read my manuscript, or maybe the book really does
fall flat and isn’t living up to what it needs to be. Here are a few
tips to help minimise the number of rejections, and dealing with them
when they come.
To Minimise the Sheer Number of ‘Dear Author, Unfortunately…’ letters:
1)
Choose publishers very carefully. Look at exactly what they publish and
make sure it’s as close to a perfect match as possible.
2)
Make sure your query letter specifically addresses why this particular
publisher may find your book a good fit, and why you want to publish
with them.
3)
Dream big, but don’t pass up the opportunity of working with a small or
mid-sized press. They often offer unparalleled dedication and
commitment to making a success out of a book.
4)
Submit to several publishers at once if you can find them. (Many
publishers don’t want simultaneous submissions, but if you send out a
novel to one place at a time, you may be 144 years old before your work
is accepted). I’ve had thousands of rejections, and 38 acceptances and
I’ve never had two publishers say yes to the same book at the same time!
Dealing with Rejection:
1) Open a folder (either on your computer or in your paper filing cabinet) under ‘R’ for ‘rejections.’ Start your collection.
2)
If there is anything more than ‘Dear Author, thanks but no thanks’ in
the rejection letter, get over the disappointment of not being
discovered as the next JK Rowling, and then be happy that someone thinks
your work is worthy of a response! Read over the reasons for the
rejection. Decide whether there are some points that seem helpful and/or
true, which you could use to make your work better or more appropriate.
Decide whether you have written something that you believe in, or
whether this is best regarded as a practise run.
3)
Finally, sometimes getting published is a matter of believing in what
you’ve written so much, that you’re willing to wait twelve years through
one hundred and eighteen rejection slips before you find someone who
believes in your work. (Been there, done that!) Sometimes the only way
to deal with rejection is to send your work out to another ten places so
that it’s always out there.
The difference between someone who gets published and someone who doesn’t, is sometimes simply persistence! Good luck out there.
Lucy
Wright, sixteen and a paraplegic after a recent car accident that took
her mother’s life, lives in Queensland on a 10,000 acre farm with her
father. When Lucy investigates strange lights over the creek at the
bottom of the property, she discovers a mystery that links the lights to
the science of cymatics and Scotland’s ancient Rosslyn Chapel.
But
beyond the chapel is an even larger mystery. One that links the music
the chapel contains to Norway’s mysterious Hessdalen lights, and beyond
that to Saturn and to the stars. Lucy’s discoveries catapult her into a
parallel universe connected to our own by means of resonance and sound,
where a newly emerging world trembles on the edge of disaster. As
realities divide, her mission in this new world is revealed and she
finds herself part of a love story that will span the galaxy.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre - Young Adult SF
Rating - PG
More details about the author
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