Blogger: Rachel Kent
After weeks, possibly months, of waiting for an answer to your submission, you receive a short, polite letter (or email) informing you that your project isn’t right for the agent or editor you were submitting to. Your hopes and dreams were resting on that publishing connection. You feel like you’ve been dumped. Even worse, this letter isn’t the first rejection you’ve received. So what are you going to do about it?
My advice to you: “If at first you don’t succeed try, try again.” Whenever I hear that quote, I think of Elmer Fudd and his never-ending hunt to capture Bugs Bunny. That’s the kind of dedication you need to have to survive in the publishing “hunt.” Like Elmer, however, you need to try new, unique methods to catch that “wascally publishing wabbit,” and if you’ve started to collect a large pile of rejections, that’s a sign it’s time to try something new. Here’s what you can do…
If your query letter is rejected consistently, the reason could be:
#1: Your query letter. Perhaps you aren’t presenting your book the way you need to. Ask a few unbiased readers to look over your query and let them offer advice on how to make the letter clearer–or more exciting. Then take the best advice and revise accordingly.
#2: Your project idea. Perhaps your project isn’t quite right for the marketplace at the current time; consider revising your idea or shelving it and starting in on a new one.
If you have a pile of rejections from sending requested proposals or manuscripts, most likely your query letter presents your idea well and your idea interests publishers and agents, but the writing fell flat. This is the time to have your critique group step in and help you to see what could be improved on the project. Attending writers’ conferences and workshops can also help you to improve your writing.
If you receive a rejection letter that asks you to resubmit after some revision, be sure to follow through. Do the work and resubmit.
I believe that if you are passionate about writing, then you are supposed to write for one reason or another. Even if you never are traditionally published, your writing can still touch lives.
So keep trying! Don’t let rejection get you down, and don’t take it personally. Work on improving your writing and know that your writing makes a difference.
What helps you get over the sting of a rejection?
Great Expectations for Writers
Dear Author, thanks for sending me
your brand-new manuscript.
Here’s it back, pardon the tea
stains, and the pages that I ripped.
This story has no traction here,
the narrative is way too flat,
and to me, it is not clear
that it wasn’t ghosted by your cat.
The stream-of-thought writing style
does not provide the punch you seek,
and the concept is, well, quite senile
Amish Zombies are SO last week!
But do keep trying, don’t give up;
rejection’s not the hemlock cup.
Amish Zombies! Now I want to read that. You crack me up, Andrew.
Praying your day has no zombies*, Amish or otherwise.
*i.e. it’s better than average
Elissa, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
It’s a good, zombie-free day, learning phrases in ASL to impress Barb with when she gets home from work, since speech is impossible now.
Things like:
“How are you?”
“I love you.”
“God loves you.”
“You sing like Ozzy Osbourne.” (She’s actually a very good singer, and fortunately did appreciate the levity)
Five+ years in the publishing world is a bit passé, I suppose.
Thanks, Rachel! This is great advice and I’m just about to jump into try, try, trying once again on a ms. that’s been moldering on my computer that I pulled out, dusted off, and revised the heck out of!
Thanks for this, Rachel!
Rejection in any sense is so very hard. But, especially as Christians, we must cling to and believe in God’s greater plan for our life, our writing, etc. We also, of course, have to utilize the resources that are out there and do our best with the passion and journey God has put before us with writing and life.
That’s what I’m holding onto because my journey to publication has not looked anything like I thought it would for good and disappointing reasons, but it’s okay because God has used all of that and continues to use it to challenge me and urge me on in this journey. And the bottom line is to give Him the glory no matter what even if my writing is only for one beta reader or my critique partner. I do my part and God will enact His plan. Keep going everyone! We are called to a higher purpose. 🙂
Rachel, one agency to which I submitted, requesting the attention of a particular agent, received no response. Would it be foolish to submit to a different agent at the same agency? What’s the policy at Books & Such? Thanks.
We don’t mind authors sending a query again to the attention of a different agent. I think all agencies have different policies. Since we aren’t responding directly to all query letters–we have a standard auto-response that explains how our query system works–it isn’t too time consuming to take a look at a query.
This is any area my agent (now retired) and I had some great conversations over. I was INCREDIBLY blessed to connect with him at my first writers conference (at Janet’s recommendation I should add!), and the editor rejections all had positive things to say, so I did not have to deal with the “no, just no” wonderings.
That said, on several discussions he noted that I did not seem to get down about the rejections, and I think it was because whatever things I do (write, speak, ministry) I do not allow myself to be defined by them.
I have a great life, and I still want to see “Forgotten Fruit of the Spirit: When Following Christ Doesn’t Feel Christian” published, but in HIS timing. It’s off the back burner as speaking opportunities have come up in late 2019.
The biggest thing I am thankful for looking back? That the book WASN’T published 6 or 8 or 10 years ago. The topic is so much better developed now, with the “napkin sketch” talking point that was missing for too long.
Who you are does not equal what you do.