I just got my first official rejection of my newest book, A Dead Tomato Plant and a Paycheck. This is the humorous memoir I have been working on for about six months, and I recently finished the first draft and a proposal. The next step was to start sending queries to agents, which I did early in December.
The other day, I received a response from the first agent on my list with a pass. Interestingly enough, her response had a few typos. Hmmm..... Maybe it is just as well. So now, the query is out again. Attacking the marketplace is the best antidote I have found for the "rejection blues."
That same day, I received a message from my grandson that he had just been turned down by another publisher. So we could do the "poor me's" together for a while until I told him to just hang in there and send it out again. Or maybe send it out again and just hang in there.
In sort of a serendipitous moment, I just found this charming post on the Guide to Literary Agents blog written by by Abhijit Dasgupta, executive editor of India Today magazine, In the post, titled The Tale of My Novel, Two Agents, and Three Continents, Dasgupta chronicles his attempts to acquire representation in an enjoyable read. Not only is it funny and insightful, it also stresses the importance of not giving up.
Hear, hear. Tenacity is still the greatest strength a writer can have in this challenging world of publishing.
What do you think? How often do you consider quitting, only to bolster your muse and get back at the keyboard?
7 comments:
I think any rejection is like a piece being bitten out of you - and how could that not make you reconsider your work? But you keep on chugging along. You develop a thick skin, but skin is skin and any rejection hurts a little.
Helen
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I have to say, I have not received a rejection yet, but it is actually a terrible thing: it is because I have not tried! Cheers to you for putting yourself out there, and taking a step that many writers never even take. Here is to many rejections - and hopefully some acceptances - in the future!
Thanks for stopping by to comment. Helen, you are so right, and the rejection did hurt. I just had to bolster my spirits and get past it. It helped that I could focus on encouraging my grandson.
Well, I'm finally here reading your blog after inviting me to do so many months ago. Enjoyed your writing style although, as a cheerleader in your court, hated to hear about the rejection letter. That one acceptance letter is in the near future and once again you'll be juggling book signings.
Do you have any of your old columns posted on-line? C. Fisher
I once had a friend who was in sales and his credo was “Sales is a numbers game,” meaning you have to knock on ten or twenty doors before finding someone that will give you their time. The outlook being that for every rejection you are one step closer to finding the person that will talk with you. The last letter I got from an agent said they were not enthusiastic enough about the work to take it further, which may make some feel disappointed and make others think about those authors who were rejected umpteen times, before their work was taken and published to be a huge success. I wish you had received better news, but according to my friend you might be just one letter away from getting represented.
Hang in there. I'm sure that the rejection game is no fun, and I'm also sure that every no brings you that much closer to a yes. Keep on truckin'! :)
Thanks for the encouraging words,Clint, Cindy and Frank. I did send a query out again yesterday.
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